A Canberran business and philanthropic leader has been listed as a finalist for the Australian of the Year award with NBA star Patrick Mills in contention for the Young Australian of the Year title.
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Glenn Keys, a former test flight engineer with the Australian Defence Force, has been recommended for his contributions to the disabled community in Canberra and corporate leadership.
Mr Keys, an inaugural board member of the National Disability Insurance Agency, has worked with the ACT government to offer home ownership options for people with disability through Project Independence.
As chairman of Special Olympics ACT, the 51-year-old has worked to provide opportunities for athletes with disability to develop fitness, gain skills, and forge friendships.
National Australia Day Council chief executive Jeremy Lasek said the finalists represented the diversity of Australian society with five having Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and another six born overseas.
Six of the eight finalists for the Australian of the Year Award are women – the highest number of female finalists in the category since state and territory award process were introduced in 2003.
"It's wonderful to see so many women among the finalists in all four award categories and across the board it's great to recognise Australians whose strength of character, courage, achievements and vision are making Australia a better place," said Mr Lasek.
"Their contributions and achievements are also widely varied – ranging across science, human and equal rights advocacy, community leadership, medicine, volunteering, breaking down barriers and setting new benchmarks – but they are all inspirational Australians."
Patrick Mills, who has already been given the keys to Canberra, became the first Indigenous Australian to win an NBA championship in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs.
Child sexual assault campaigner and Canberran Damian De Marco has been listed as a finalist for the Australia's Local Hero award with humanitarian Sandra Mahlberg nominated for Senior Australian of the Year honours.
Mr De Marco bravely became the public face of the royal commission case investigating the institutional response of the Marist Brothers to allegations of child sex abuse against two of its brothers – the only person to testify without anonymity.
