The man who has spent decades empowering Indigenous Australians both in the Top End and across the country has been named the Northern Territory's 2023 Australian of the Year.
Samuel Bush-Blanasi, who is the chair of the Northern Land Council, was one of four people recognised at last night's award ceremony for their contributions to the Northern Territory.
The Australian of the Year Awards recognised Mr Bush-Blanasi's work negotiating sea country rights for traditional owners in recent years, including the incorporation of the Aboriginal Sea Company (ASC) earlier this year.
With family members in the audience, Mr Bush-Blanasi last night spoke about his deep passion for fishing rights, and his legacy in contributing to the High Court's Blue Mud Bay decision, which gave traditional owners control of 6,000 kilometres of Northern Territory's coastline.
"My mum and my grandparents are from Blue Mud Bay," he said.
He said establishing the ASC would "benefit Indigenous people from the Queensland border to the Western Australia border".
Mr Bush-Blanasi has been working at the local and national level for years, including the handing back of a large portion of Kakadu National Park to 14 local clans.
He was also involved in developing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which has laid the groundwork for the looming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
"[The Referendum] means a lot to us Indigenous people in Australia, because we need to be included in the Constitution," he said.
NT Senior Australian of the Year: Bernard Tipiloura
Bernard Tipiloura, 83, was named NT Senior of the Year for his suicide prevention work over two decades on the Northern Territory's Tiwi Islands and in Queensland.
Mr Tipiloura's efforts have been credited with a drop in suicide rates on the islands since 2006.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr Tipiloura explained how he approached improving the mental health of young Indigenous people.
"I teach them about their father homeland, their mother homeland, their mother dancing, their father dancing ... because I strongly believe that's the only way we can improve young persons to understand and to improve, to continue the culture that we have created, and that's my strong belief," he said.
"It's our job to continue to educate our young people to continue the culture we have created."
NT Young Australian of the Year: Jadhai Vigona
Hailing from the Tiwi Islands, Jadhai Vigona, 21, has been working to improve health in Aboriginal communities, including through delivering health messages on how young Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students can seek help for mental health issues.
He was last night named the NT's Young Australian of the Year, having been recognised earlier this year as the NT Young Achiever of the Year.
He has been involved in programs to help Indigenous men become involved in health services in their own communities and is currently the chair of the 2022 NT Youth Round Table.
"Being a young person myself growing up here in the territory, I didn't really have other role models as young people coming from my circumstances," he told the ceremony last night.
"It's just about being a voice, being someone who these young people can see as themselves. And that is what my service is."
NT Local Hero: Sacha King
Social worker Sacha King, 32, received the NT Local Hero Award for her work since 2019 to improve access to mental health support in the Northern Territory.
She founded the organisation Two Two One, with the aim of delivering accredited mental health training and community workshops in the NT.
She also organises events in Darwin to let young people relax, connect and get support.
Ms King said the Northern Territory was suffering from a combination of high demand for mental health support and not enough services.
"What I'm pushing for is those basic rights around our mental health, just as much as we have rights around our physical health," Ms King said.
"Part of your work and your life and everything you do every day is mental health."
The four winners of the NT awards will travel to Canberra for the national Australian of the Year Awards in January.
