Queensland Young Australian of the Year 2016 final four
Tasman Bain, 22 - Human rights champion (Toowong)
A determined campaigner to end violence against women, a shaper of global human rights and an emerging voice in youth mental health, Tasman Bain has packed a lot into his short life. As the co-founder of Meri Toksave, a youth-led women’s rights initiative in Papua New Guinea, Tasman is striving to end gender-based violence. Tasman has advocated for international child rights as a Plan Australia Youth Ambassador and a UNICEF Australia Young Ambassador. He has run marathons, volunteered in a remote Aboriginal community, had a composition performed at the Queensland Conservatorium and hiked the Kokoda Track. Beyond their quantity and quality, Tasman’s achievements are all the more extraordinary given his own personal struggle with mental illness and eating disorders. Tasman is a role model for others, demonstrating that mental illness is not a boundary to being a positive, proactive member of the community.
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Michael Baker, 26 - Indigenous health volunteer (Southport)
An Indigenous Birri-Gubba-Yuggera man on his mother's side, final year dental student Michael Baker is using his skills in dentistry to support better health in Indigenous communities. As an owner and director of a dental practice in Toowoomba, Michael is the volunteer program coordinator of Hope4Health’s dental clinic in Cherbourg. Through Michael’s work, fellow dental students in their final years of training are able to conduct four supervised dental clinics and treat over 400 people each year. With Cherbourg’s closest dental clinic more than an hour away and the wait list more than two years, Michael and his team fill the gap. Many of the clinic’s patients have extensive decay, broken teeth and chronic dental problems, causing social and psychological barriers. Michael and his team not only provide emergency treatment but dental education too. Michael raises funds for the program, establishes partnerships with sponsors, manages logistics, liaises with Cherbourg’s community members and makes a direct difference to the health of many.
Justice King, 17 - Suicide prevention advocate (Mt Isa)
After experiencing family breakdown as a child, Justice King says “school became an emotional boot camp” and her mind “became a warfront”. Bravely battling her depression, Justice became determined to find her passion for life by helping others. Starting in her home town of Mount Isa, Justice began driving campaigns to promote suicide awareness. She was appointed Youth Mayor of Mount Isa and most recently, youth representative for the electorate of Mount Isa in the 2015 Queensland Youth Parliament. As a participant in the National Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy, Justice contributed to the development of the RUOK? campaign. She has driven the Suckers for Suicide movement for the last three years, selling lollipops for youth-oriented organisations. Justice’s latest campaign, Raise Your Cards, encourages young people to discuss mental health, break down stigma and correct common misconceptions associated with mental illnesses. In sharing her own struggles and working hard to help others, Justice is tackling the leading cause of death among Australia’s teenagers.
Nic Marchesi, 21 and Lucas Patchett, 21 - Social entrepreneurs (Herston and Westlake)
Best mates Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett built a free mobile laundry in their old van to help the homeless and Orange Sky Laundry began. Aiming to connect the community and spark conversations, Orange Sky Laundry started helping people in September 2014. Since then, this world first idea has rapidly grown to four vans in Brisbane, Melbourne, South East Victoria and the Gold Coast – and they plan to expand their services Australia-wide. With the help of 250-plus volunteers, the custom fitted vans – each with two commercial washing machines and two dryers – service 22 locations and wash more than 200 loads each week. Orange Sky encourages people of all walks of life to come together. In February 2015, Nic and Lucas took their mobile laundry to North Queensland to wash clothes in cyclone-ravaged communities. The boys have found a way to treat others the way they want to be treated by restoring respect, while raising health standards and reducing the strain on resources.
