AFL legend and motor-neurone disease campaigner Neale Daniher named Australian of The Year

AFL legend and motor-neurone disease campaigner Neale Daniher is this year’s Australian of The Year.

The co-founder of FightMND, the charity which he helped set up following his diagnosis more than a decade ago, was bestowed with the honour for his tireless efforts to raise awareness as well as find a cure for the disease that has since ravaged his body.

Mr Daniher, who struggles to speak, delivered his acceptance speech in a pre-recorded synthetic voice while sitting in his wheelchair with wife Jan and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by his side.

“This recognition isn’t just for me,” he said. “It belongs to the entire MND community, the families, the carers, the researchers, the volunteers, all those at the FightMND Foundation and MND State associations, and the countless Australians who have joined us in this fight.

“The journey began for me in 2013 when I was diagnosed with motor-neurone disease, a beast of a disease. It doesn’t discriminate. It robs you of your ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually breathe.

“But it did something else, too. It lit a fire within me. A determination to fight for those who are currently affected, and those who will face it after me. I chose to fight because if I didn’t, how could I expect anyone else to?”

His individual fight soon morphed into a powerful movement driven by Mr Daniher’s belief that anything was possible.

“Together we have built a movement,” he said. “More than that, we have showed people living with MND that they are not alone.

“Our vision is simple. A world without MND. Some may call it a dream, but I don’t believe it is an impossible one. This disease is not incurable. It is simply underfunded and misunderstood.”

Mr Daniher was the general manager of football operations at the West Coast Eagles when he received the devastating news in 2013, forcing him into retirement.

The average life expectancy for someone with MND is roughly three years with doctors telling the former Essendon player and Melbourne Demons coach to go “tick off his bucket list” before the disease took hold.

But instead, the father-of-four, who is now 63 and has defied the odds, decided he wanted to do something different with the time he had left — to find a treatment and cure for “the beast” as calls it.

“When I was diagnosed in 2013, I was told the average lifespan was around three years and there was no hope,” Mr Daniher said in an interview for the awards.

“I didn’t like the sound of that, so we have set up the FightMND foundation to give those diagnosed in the future some hope.”

A decade on, the organisation has raised and invested more than $100 million with some of the money used to fund clinical trials, drug development projects as well as supporting research teams and researchers — something that was lacking at the time of Mr Daniher’s diagnosis.

One of the many ways Mr Daniher and FightMND has raised awareness in Australia has been through the annual Big Freeze event that is held at the MCG each June.

Former AFL players and sporting greats dress up as celebrities then slide into a pool of ice-cold water in front of a packed crowd before the King’s Birthday public holiday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne.

Mr Daniher has attended most of the events despite the limiting effects of the disease.

“Our impact has included injecting over $100 million into medical research in Australia,” he said. “This has been a real game changer in the fight against MND as we now fund a small industry of researchers whose aim is to find treatments.

“We have brought medical trials to those living with MND in Australia and we have driven great awareness to the fight however until we find a cure the fight will not end.”

Mr Daniher said Saturday night’s honour would help give his fighting message even more punch.

“I hope to leave a legacy that says this: No matter the odds, no matter the diagnosis, we all have the power to choose to fight, to choose our attitude, to choose to smile, and to choose to do something, because the mark of a person isn’t what they say, it is what they do,” he said.

“Tonight I am grateful and honoured to be Australian of the Year.

“I know that this nomination will help grow awareness for our cause together, as Australians, we can continue this fight against the beast and one day achieve our vision, a world without MND.”

Being made Australian of the Year is not the only accolade Mr Daniher has received in recent years.

He made a Member of the Order of Australia on the Queen’s birthday in 2016 and was then promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his distinguished service to people with MND and their families through advocacy, public education and fundraising initiatives.

Mr Daniher was presented with the accolade by the PM at a special ceremony at the National Arboretum in Canberra on Saturday evening.

West Australian Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett AM was named Senior Australian of the Year for his decades of helping to build and supply adjustable wheelchairs and occupational therapy expertise to children in developing countries, free of charge.

A young Indigenous scientist who uses the power of STEM to give back to remote communities has been named the 2025 Young Australian of the Year.

Dr Katrina Wruck set up a profit-for-purpose business, Nguki Kula Green Labs, which is poised to transform the consumer-goods sector by harnessing the power of green chemistry, while inspiring others to step into STEM.

Her method of converting mining by-products to zeolite LTA — which can remove contaminants from water that cause hardness — will be commercialised and her research examines how to break down dangerous “forever chemicals” into benign ones with hope her work will be a foundation for cutting global contamination.

Two women giving vulnerable migrants a pathway to belonging have been named as the 2025 Australians of the Year Local Heroes.

Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello run Cafe Stepping Stone in the ACT, which employs women mostly from migrant and refugee backgrounds and others who experience significant barriers to employment.

The sustainable vegetarian cafe has two locations which offer culturally and linguistically diverse women employment pathways, on-the-job training and qualifications through partnerships with registered training organisations.

Chair of the National Australia Day Council John Foreman AM said this year’s recipients were not only amazing but did “extraordinary things”.

“Neale’s dedication to changing the outcomes for people diagnosed with motor neurone disease while dealing with his own health is truly inspirational,” he said.

“Brother Olly’s compassion and energy are the driving forces which have brought mobility and freedom to countless children around the globe. He reminds us that, through volunteerism, you can truly impact the lives of others.

“Katrina is forging new futures for our planet and for industry. Her achievements and community work show other young people that they, too, have opportunities in the world of science and technology.

“Vanessa and Hannah are empowering migrant women to find identity, education and employment in a new country. Their empathy and ideas are creating bright futures and connection within communities.”