Contribution to Community
Community Organisation Division
Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic – Public Interest Law Clearing House
The Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic has helped over 4,000 people since it was established by the Public Interest Law Clearing House in 2001.
Through the clinic, lawyers from leading Melbourne firms provide pro-bono services at crisis accommodation centres and welfare agencies across Melbourne to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The clinic also conducts law reform, public policy, advocacy and community development activities to protect the human rights of people experiencing homelessness.
Corporation Division
Intensive Needs Team – State Trustees
State Trustees Ltd provides financial support for people unable to manage their affairs because of a physical or mental disability.
A key initiative of the company is its Intensive Needs team, which links people in distress with social services such as crisis accommodation, hospital and mental health care and case management services.
It also provides urgent cash payments where normal banking institutions refuse service and advocates on behalf of its clients, some of whom are itinerant or stigmatised as a menace.
Individual Division
Professor Patrick McGorry
Professor Patrick McGorry's work in developing early intervention services for young people with mental illness has changed lives.
Over a remarkable 27-year career, he has developed and advocated for timely, effective and caring treatment for young people with serious emerging mental health issues.
Considered the 'founding father' of the early intervention movement in psychiatry, Professor McGorry's work has attracted thousands of visiting researchers, clinicians and policy officials to Melbourne, and given many young people a more positive, productive future.
Contribution to Environment
Community Organisation Division
The Centre for Sustainability Leadership
The Centre for Sustainability Leadership aims to help young people who care about sustainability get into positions of influence.
Established in 2006, one of its key initiatives is a Fellowship Program, which the centre likens to a Green MBA. This eight month course is one of only a handful of its kind in the world and the only Australian program to combine leadership training with sustainability education.
Corporation Division
Zoos Victoria
Titled 'They're Calling on You', the Zoos Victoria campaign encourages people to hand over their old phones to be refurbished and resold to community groups in need. Launched in October 2008, thousands of phones have now been collected from homes, schools and business across Melbourne and Victoria, and redistributed to those in need.
The campaign also reduces demand for a metallic ore used in mobile phones called coltan, which is found in the African forest habitat of the mountain gorilla.
Individual Division
Ellen Sandell
Ellen Sandell is one of Australia's most prominent young environmental leaders. She first became interested in environmental issues while studying at Melbourne University and in 2007 launched the Leadership in Environmental Action Program (LEAP), an annual, four-day environmental leadership conference for high school students.
Ellen attended the United Nations Climate Change Conferences in Bali in 2007 and Poland in 2009. She now works with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and recently started its Switched on Schools program which provides students and teachers with information and resources about climate change.
Contribution to Profile
Corporation Division
Melbourne Cricket Club, National Sports Museum Volunteers and MCG Guides
The tradition of volunteer guiding at the Melbourne Cricket Ground dates back to the opening of its first cricket museum in 1969 and the start of ground tours in 1977. The National Sports Museum, which opened at the MCG in March 2008, also draws volunteers from across Melbourne to assist with visitor service operations.
The museum presents Australia's most comprehensive display of sporting artefacts and captures the spirit of Australian sporting life. Together, MCC Guides and National Sports Museum volunteers contribute 45,000 hours of service each year. They bring to life the unique sporting heritage of Melbourne and Australia.
Community Organisation Division
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
First staged in 1987, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is Australia's largest cultural event. Hugely popular with performers and audiences alike, it attracted more than 400,000 people to hundreds of events throughout the city in 2009.
The festival showcases Australian and international headline artists, and also nurtures new talent. It is an important national and international drawcard, generating significant economic benefits for Melbourne and Victoria.
Contribution to Profile – Individual Division
Max Kirwan OAM
Max Kirwan OAM has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to establishing and promoting water skiing in Melbourne.
He first came up with the idea of running water ski events on the Yarra River in 1956. In 1960 he negotiated the first Moomba Masters Water Ski Championships, a six-day event that has since grown into one of the world's most famous water ski events.
Melburnian of the Year
Susan Barton
As the founder and director of Lighthouse Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to reducing youth homelessness, Susan Barton has been caring for over 500 young people for over 33 years.
Lighthouse provides displaced youth with a family environment and safe home through its eight Lighthouse Foundation homes located in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Susan has been widely recognised for her dedication and commitment and she has significantly contributed to the Melbourne community.