Bre Bonney, 21 - Emergency service worker (Alice Springs)
When the call comes, day or night, Bre Bonney is always there. A volunteer with the Northern Territory Emergency Service (NTES) and the Northern Territory Fire Rescue Service, Bre heads out in thunder and rain to sandbag river beds, find shelter for flood victims, patch roofs and clear driveways. She’s undertaken heartbreaking land searches for missing people, saved burning houses and become a vital member of the NTES Vertical Rescue Team. Since putting her hand up to volunteer at the tender age of 17, Bre has gained qualifications and training in everything from storm damage operations to air observation. In her former role as call taker for the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Bre handled countless challenging calls each day, from people threatening suicide to those involved in horrific accidents. Now a police officer in Alice Springs, Bre remains dedicated to helping people in their time of need and truly lives up to the NTES motto: ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
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Kenneth Kadirgamar, 22 - Youth leader (Karama)
After migrating to Australia at the age of 10, Kenneth Kadirgamar has employed all his talents and skills to contribute to his community. Kenneth has been a member of the steering committee overseeing National Youth Week, has judged Young Achiever Awards and as a NT Statehood Ambassador was a public face of the statehood campaign. As President of the Charles Darwin University Engineering Students’ Society, Kenneth fostered a collegiate educational environment. Deeply involved in community radio broadcasting, Kenneth is a regular presenter on the youth-led multicultural radio show Tectonic Youth Radio and is the national youth convenor for the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcaster’s Council. Despite a taxing role as a graduate civil engineer, Ken continues to devote many hours to youth radio and plays an active role representing young community broadcasters and organising national conferences and events. A shining example of community service, Kenneth inspires other young people to find their passion and make a difference.
Benjamin Masters, 19 - Musician and impresario (Woodroffe)
The drive of this young Darwin drummer is making opportunities for up-and-coming performers in the Top End. Benjamin Masters is passionately engaged in his local music scene, performing, mentoring and supporting local talent. Ben’s all-ages, drug and alcohol free monthly music gigs have grown in size and create opportunities for Darwin bands to play to a big crowd. The driving force behind the Terrorfest music festival, Ben coordinates an event which attracts a line-up of more than 10 bands and receives a rapturous response from the crowd. Ben’s heavy metal band, I, The Burden, has won awards, produced EPs and music videos and toured nationally. A drumming tutor for high school musicians and mentor for MusicNT, Ben also established his own booking agency to give beginner bands a shot at jumping on stage with some of their national idols. A shining example of a young leader, Ben is using his passion for music to help others and strengthen his community.
Miranda Tapsell, 28 - Actor and diversity champion (Darwin)
Best known for her role in the 2012 Australian film The Sapphires, Indigenous actress Miranda Tapsell sparked a standing ovation at the 2015 Logies and made waves on social media after urging the entertainment industry to embrace diversity. Miranda, who won two Logies for her performance in the TV program Love Child, used her acceptance speech to plead for Australia to “put more beautiful people of colour on TV, and connect viewers in ways that transcend race and unite us”. A Larrakia woman, Miranda grew up in Jabiru in West Arnhem Land. At 16, she landed a Bell Shakespeare Company regional performance scholarship and graduated from the National Institute of Drama and Acting in 2008. Now a well-recognised face of the stage and screen, Miranda understands the pain of racism after being bullied about her mixed heritage at high school. Determined to drive a conversation about racism, Miranda also urges other young Indigenous people to “dream big and dream fierce”.