Stephen Hagan named Aboriginal Person of the Year

A University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Academic, Author, Publisher and Activist has been named Aboriginal Person of the Year.

Stephen Hagan accepted the Award at the 2006 National NAIDOC Ball and Awards Ceremony in Cairns on Saturday night.

Stephen said he was proud to accept the Award from NAIDOC Chairman, Aden Ridgeway.

'This is my contribution for fighting for justice and improved conditions for aboriginal people.

'Some say I am famous and some say I am infamous, but at the end of the day my long journey of fighting publicly, especially against racism, has culminated in this Award.'

The Award came almost seven years after Stephen first tried to convince authorities to remove the name ‘Nigger' from a Toowoomba sports stand.

'Well it's a vindication of my lone campaign since 1999 to remove the work ‘Nigger' from the E.S. ‘Nigger' Brown Stand at Toowoomba Athletic Oval.

'When I started out it was never my intention to seek publicity – I tried to negotiate with the Toowoomba Sports Ground Trust to remove the offensive word without any fanfare.'

Stephen later campaigned to have the name removed through the legal process, taking the case all the way to the High Court.

'I then went to the Untied Nations in 2003, where I was successful, but Australian Attorney-General, Daryl Williams and Prime Minister, John Howard refused to abide by this final arbitrator.'

Stephen said he was pleased at the support he received from the University.

'I get a lot of good support from the staff at USQ and I am grateful to those who are aware of and support my activism.'

Former Aboriginal Person of the Year recipients include Aden Ridgeway, Deborah Mailman, Anthony Mundine, Bob Randall, Ernie Dingo and Kath Walker.

Stephen received a Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature at the Sydney Opera House in September 2005 for his published non-fiction book – The N Word, One Man's Stand and in March this year published his second book, Australia's Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100.

He is married with two children and currently studying for his PhD.

Media Contact: Amy Cass, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2092 or 0412 097 326