There have been some phenom Aussies absolutely kicking butt over the last year. Whether it’s sticking it to ~The Man~, doing their bit when it comes to educating the masses on the important stuff, or raising primo funds for good causes that need it, people can be bloody good eggs.
If you haven’t already heard, PEDESTRIAN.TV, together with our pals Swarovski, have decided to recognise the best moments in Australian pop culture – including the folks who made the news for their top bloke/sheila endeavours – by throwing The Inaugural ‘PEZZYS’. Wait, what?
They’re basically like the Nobel Prize/Grammys/Australian Of The Year/Oscars all rolled into one, except absolutely not at all like that – basically, we’ll be giving much-deserved love to things that went on throughout 2017.
There are eight categories (each with five nominees for a PEZZY) that’ll share the spotlight during the evening which, when viewed collectively, form quite the comprehensive cross-section of the happenings in Australian pop culture not too long ago. It’s on Feb 28th, so we need your help to make sure the right person takes home the gong.
Without further ado, here’s who we’re nominating for the “Strayan Of The Year” category, otherwise known as the A+ humans who did good.
TRACEY SPICER TACKLED SEXUAL HARASSMENT FOR THE #METOO MOVEMENT
#MeToo was the biggest social movement of 2017, but for a while the uncovering of sexual misconduct in the Aussie media industry was on the quiet front. Enter Tracey Spicer, who pulled together a team of lawyers, police, witnesses and victims of sexual misconduct as she vowed to expose and take down perpetrators in the industry.
SALLY RUGG WORKED TIRELESSLY TO ACHIEVE MARRIAGE EQUALITY FOR AUSSIES
Sally was at the forefront of the fight for marriage equality in Australia – the GetUp creative and campaigns director seemed to never sleep, pushing for Aussies to vote in the Marriage Equality Postal Vote, to rock up to rallies, to make their voices heard. And it paid off – we won marriage equality, and Sally’s a huge part to thank in that.
REBEL WILSON TOOK ON BAUER MEDIA IN LANDMARK DEFAMATION CASE, AND WON
If there’s one thing Aussies love, it’s sticking it to the big wigs. And that’s exactly what comedy darling Rebel did last year – she went head-to-head with media powerhouse Bauer over a series of articles that claimed she had lied about her age. After winning the case, she tweeted that any money she won would go toward charity, scholarships or be invested into the Aussie film industry.
SAMUEL JOHNSON USED HIS LOGIE WINS TO RAISE AWARENESS (AND MILLIONS) FOR CANCER RESEARCH
The most heartbreaking and heartwarming moment of 2017 had to be Samuel Johnson tirelessly fighting for cancer research in the lead up to his sister Connie‘s passing from the disease. After forming the ‘Love Your Sister‘ charity in 2013, Samuel’s been dedicating his life and career to funding cancer research, and was last year awarded Victorian Australian Of The Year for it.
CLINTON PRYOR WALKED 5,581KM ACROSS OZ IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Imagine spending a year walking across the unforgiving terrain of Australia. That’s exactly what Clinton Pryor, Indigenous activist, did – arriving in Canberra in September after leaving Perth a year earlier. It was all to protest the forced closures of Aboriginal communities, and Clinton collected the stories of fellow indigenous Australians from communities across the country, before arriving at the Tent Embassy in Canberra and entering discussions with Malcolm Turnbull about indigenous rights and issues.
Inspired? Moved? Vote for who you think deserves Strayan Of The Year below:
[ptv_quiz quiz_id=”674015″]
