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Speaker 1: Already and this is the daily This is the daily,

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Speaker 1: This is the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.

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Speaker 2: Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday,

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Speaker 2: the twenty eighth of January.

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Speaker 1: I'm Zara, I'm Sam. I am delighted to announce at

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Speaker 1: the twoenty and twenty five Australian at the Year is

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Speaker 1: Neil Danaher.

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Speaker 2: Over the weekend, Neil Danaher became the twenty twenty five

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Speaker 2: Australian of the Year. Now. Danaher is the co founder

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Speaker 2: of Fight M and D, which is a charity that

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Speaker 2: has raised and invested more than one hundred and fifteen

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Speaker 2: million dollars into medical research to help find a cure

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Speaker 2: for modor neurone disease.

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Speaker 1: It was a really incredible group of Australians who were

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Speaker 1: nominated for this award, but I was hoping it was

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Speaker 1: going to be Neil Danaher, and I think that sentiment

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Speaker 1: was shared with a lot of Australians.

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Speaker 2: Our comment section was anything to go by getting behind him.

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Speaker 1: He's a really popular choice for Australian of the Year.

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Speaker 1: Can you tell me a little bit about who he is?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Of course.

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Speaker 2: So Neil Danaher first Rose to prominence as an AFL player.

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Speaker 2: He played more than eighty games for Essendon, finishing up

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Speaker 2: with the side in the early nineties. He later transitioned

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Speaker 2: into coaching, leading the D's or the Melbourne Demons from

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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety eight to two thousand and seven. In twenty thirteen,

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Speaker 2: Danaher was diagnosed with M and D. So, when we

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Speaker 2: talk about moder neurone disease, M and D is just

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Speaker 2: the shortened version of that. I was reading some of

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Speaker 2: the reporting from the time when he was diagnosed, and

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Speaker 2: Danahers said that he first realized that something was wrong

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Speaker 2: when he was starting to struggle while hanging the washing up.

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Speaker 2: He thought that he was just weak with his hands

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Speaker 2: and thought that he just had to strengthen the muscles.

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Speaker 2: Of course, you know, it turned out to be M

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Speaker 2: and D, but at the time he didn't really understand

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Speaker 2: what was happening.

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Speaker 1: So tell me a little bit more about MND, because

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Speaker 1: since he's diagnosis, he's been focused on trying to work

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Speaker 1: out a way to help others with M and D.

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Speaker 1: Give me a sense of the medical explanation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So, M and D is the name given to

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Speaker 2: a group of diseases in which the nerve cells controlling

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Speaker 2: the muscles that allow us to move, to speak, to

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Speaker 2: swallow and Breathe basically failed to work normally and then

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Speaker 2: they eventually die those muscles so with no nerves to

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Speaker 2: activate them, the muscles gradually weaken over a period of

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Speaker 2: time and waste. So every day two people in this

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Speaker 2: country in Australia are diagnosed with M and D. The

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Speaker 2: speed at which M and D progresses is different for

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Speaker 2: each person and survival time also varies, but the average

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Speaker 2: life expectancy for someone with M and D is twenty

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Speaker 2: seven months from diagnosis.

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Speaker 1: Which is remarkable considering Neil Danaher was diagnosed over.

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Speaker 2: A decade exactly, so he has defied all odds. Twenty

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Speaker 2: seven months is the average life expectancy. As you said,

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Speaker 2: he was diagnosed over a decade go. But it is

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Speaker 2: really important to highlight here that there is no cure

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Speaker 2: for M and D.

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Speaker 1: It is terminal and that's central to the work he's

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Speaker 1: doing right.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So, Neil Danaher co founded Fight M and D

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Speaker 2: in twenty fourteen to raise awareness and to raise funds

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Speaker 2: for M and D. In a speech a few years ago,

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Speaker 2: Danha explained why Fight M and D was created in

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Speaker 2: the first place.

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Speaker 3: Well, why do it is that I can't accept? Right now?

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Speaker 3: There's nine toment All kill not well, what can I

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Speaker 3: do now?

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Speaker 2: Since it's creation, the organization has invested more than one

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Speaker 2: hundred and fifteen million dollars into M and D.

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Speaker 1: Research, So serious money it is.

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Speaker 2: And if you're racking your brain as to why you

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Speaker 2: have heard of Fight M and D before, it's I

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Speaker 2: think because the biggest fundraising event for the organization is

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Speaker 2: what's called the Big Freeze. Now, Sam, you can probably

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Speaker 2: explain this better than I can, But as someone that

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Speaker 2: dips in and out of AFL and I'm across this

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Speaker 2: because it's such a big date in the calendar. Essentially,

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Speaker 2: it's when the Demons, which is the team that Danaher

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Speaker 2: was coaching, the Demons play Collingwood. It's a clash that's

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Speaker 2: hosted annually on the King's Birthday. And there at that game,

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Speaker 2: at the MCG Big Freeze beanies are sold. You might

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Speaker 2: recognize the blue Blue exactly, and then high profile Ossie's

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Speaker 2: dress up and slide down the Big Freeze, slide into

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Speaker 2: a freezing cold ice bath. And all of this is

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Speaker 2: done in the name of fundraising for M and D,

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Speaker 2: but it's also a really beautiful, big, happy occasion where

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Speaker 2: you know, people bring out their silly side and it's

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Speaker 2: all done for this really good reason, and that all

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Speaker 2: goes to what Neil Danher's whole life has really been

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Speaker 2: dedicated to since his diagnosis over a decade ago, which

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Speaker 2: is trying to raise funds and raise awareness for this

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Speaker 2: disease that he battles with every single day. He calls

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Speaker 2: it the beast, and so in a lot of the

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Speaker 2: comms by Fight M and D, it's referred to as

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Speaker 2: this capital be beast that Neil Danaher is trying to

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Speaker 2: destroy for others and for himself.

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Speaker 1: One of the remarkable moments of the Big Freeze every

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Speaker 1: year is when Neil Danaher himself often says thank you

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Speaker 1: or says a speech to the crowd. And it has

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Speaker 1: proved to be a bit of a kind of a

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Speaker 1: point on the timeline of Danaher's struggle with M and D,

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Speaker 1: because as a viewer, you can see his condition worse

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Speaker 1: and over the years at the time where he's in

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Speaker 1: front of one hundred thousand people, but he's there every

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Speaker 1: year doing his best and over the weekend he was

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Speaker 1: honored for this tireless work he was.

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Speaker 2: So the annual Australian of the Year Awards took place

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Speaker 2: on Saturday night. A reminder that last year's Australian of

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Speaker 2: the Year was jointly awarded to both Richard Scollier and

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Speaker 2: Georgina Long, who we've both had on this podcast separately.

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Speaker 2: That was to recognize their groundbreaking research into melanoma treatments.

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Speaker 2: And the way that the Australian of the Year Awards

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Speaker 2: work is that each state and territory is represented by

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Speaker 2: a different nominee. I just thought that we might quickly

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Speaker 2: run through who the other nominees were because it's just

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Speaker 2: such a crowded space of incredible Australians doing credible things

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Speaker 2: each and every day. I'll go through them now. So

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Speaker 2: the NT's nominee was Grant Nolmya Nundiri Butller, who's a

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Speaker 2: musician from the number one community in Arnham Land. Then

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Speaker 2: the act's nominee was Megan Gilmore. She's the co founder

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Speaker 2: and CEO of not for profit Missing School and that

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Speaker 2: organization supports children who are too sick to attend class.

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Speaker 2: In Queensland, the nominee was Jeffrey Smith. He's the co

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Speaker 2: founder and CEO of Australian Spatial Analytics, which is a

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Speaker 2: data processing company primarily hiring young neurodivergent people. Over in

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Speaker 2: South Australia, the nominee was Professor Leah Bromfield. She's the

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Speaker 2: director of the Australian Center for Child's Protection. In Wa,

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Speaker 2: there was a joint nomination for Diane and Ian Haggerty,

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Speaker 2: who are both farmers working to support biodiversity and save

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Speaker 2: water on their land in the state's wheat belt. In Tazzi,

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Speaker 2: the nominee was Sam Elson. He's the founder of sea Forest,

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Speaker 2: which is a startup turning seaweed into methane, reducing additive

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Speaker 2: for cow and sheep food. Got the things these people

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Speaker 2: are doing. And then in New South Wales the nominee

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Speaker 2: was Kath Koschel, who's the founder of not for profit

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Speaker 2: Kindness Factory, which runs educational programs for school students about

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Speaker 2: the power of kindness. And then at the end there,

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Speaker 2: of course, Victoria's nominee was Neil Danaher who ultimately won.

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Speaker 1: On the night, Let's just take a moment to actually

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Speaker 1: think about that list that you rattled off. Those are

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Speaker 1: some incredible Australians doing really interesting and diverse work. And

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Speaker 1: it definitely gives me a lot of hope for defut.

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Speaker 2: Very welcome good news.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. And so all of these nominees were there

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Speaker 1: in Canberra on Saturday nights. Danaher was the winner. What

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Speaker 1: did we hear from Danaher after he won?

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Speaker 3: So?

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Speaker 2: M and D has gradually over time affected Danaher's ability

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Speaker 2: to speak. So he's at this point I believe, unable

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Speaker 2: to speak. So he accepted his award with a pre

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Speaker 2: recorded speech, and in this speech he said of M

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Speaker 2: and D, it doesn't discriminate. It robs you and your

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Speaker 2: ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually breathe. But it

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Speaker 2: did something else too. It lit a fire within me,

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Speaker 2: a determination to fight for those who are currently affected

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Speaker 2: and those who will face it after me. I choose

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Speaker 2: to fight because if I didn't, how could I expect

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Speaker 2: anyone else to. On his efforts to fundraise, he said

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Speaker 2: that M and D is not incurable, but that it's

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Speaker 2: just underfunded and misunderstood. He said that with focus, funding

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Speaker 2: and unwavering determination, we can change that in this country.

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Speaker 1: And then less than twenty four hours later he emerged

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Speaker 1: onto the court just before the men's final at the

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Speaker 1: Australian Open to some of the most deafening applause that

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Speaker 1: I'm sure we've seen at the tournament, and I think

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Speaker 1: it really gave an indication that despite the challenges he's facing,

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Speaker 1: he really wants to be a very prominent Australian of

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Speaker 1: the year and get out there and educate Australians on

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Speaker 1: M and D and his courtse.

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Speaker 2: And just thinking about the last decade what he's been

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Speaker 2: able to achieve, that he has truly changed the face

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Speaker 2: and the landscape in this country when it comes to

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Speaker 2: M and D forever. He has raised so much awareness

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Speaker 2: and you know we refer to that one hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifteen million dollars like that is game changing. I was,

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Speaker 2: when I was putting together this podcast, was watching old

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Speaker 2: videos of Neil downaher and I just wanted to end

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Speaker 2: on something that he said when he was delivering a

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Speaker 2: speech to the Melbourne Demons back in twenty seventeen. You

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Speaker 2: should go and find the speech on YouTube because the

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Speaker 2: whole thing is so inspiring that there was something that

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Speaker 2: he said that's really stuck with me, and I thought

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Speaker 2: we could end on this note. So here is Neil

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Speaker 2: Danahert speaking to the Melbourne Demons in twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 3: There's a sign when all said and done, more said

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Speaker 3: than done, and the mark of a person and not

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Speaker 3: what they say, that's what they do.

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Speaker 1: An incredible Australian of the year. I can't wait see

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Speaker 1: what he achieves this year, and of course it will

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Speaker 1: culminate in the Big Freeze in May. We're going to

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Speaker 1: throw a link to Fight M and D in today's

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Speaker 1: show notes so that you can find a little bit

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Speaker 1: more information on MND or donate some funds to help

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Speaker 1: contribute towards finding a cure to the beast. That's all

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Speaker 1: we've got time for today, though we'll be back in

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Speaker 1: the afternoon with some headlines. Until then, have a great date.

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Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

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Speaker 1: Bunjelung Calcotin woman from Gadighl Country.

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Speaker 3: The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on

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Speaker 3: the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to

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Speaker 3: all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and nations.

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Speaker 1: We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries,

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Speaker 1: both past and present