June Oscar AO, the current Desmond Tutu Reconciliation fellow, has won the Western Australia Local Hero award and was nominated as one of the 32 national finalists for 2017 Australian of the Year.

National Australia Day Council CEO, Chris Kirby, said the finalists were chosen from four award categories including educators, community volunteers, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and humanitarians.

Helping a person in need is very easy to do. All it takes to get started is a smile and asking them if they need your assistance. Serving people who need help may not cost you anything more than a few minutes of your time, but the joy you can bring to someone’s life is priceless. And it could even win you the Nobel Peace Prize.

Over 60 doctors and professors from a remarkably diverse range of disciplines have urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, Leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce, Leader of the Greens Richard Di Natale, and Senator Nick Xenophon to take a strong stance against hate speech in Australia. In an Open Letter to Australia’s Prime Minister & political leaders, the academics voiced their opposition to recent statements made by several public figures which followed a disturbing trend of religious discrimination, especially towards those of the Muslim faith.