Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg plans to use her new platform to inspire young people to chase their dreams as she prepares for a full day of festivities in her new role.

The trailblazing space scientist received the honour at a ceremony in Canberra on Sunday night, recognised for her work as the first astronaut to train and fly under the Australian flag.

“As a kid, I used to lie on the dry grass in my backyard and gaze up at the stars in awe,” she said in her acceptance speech.

Bennell-Pegg, who is still waiting to be called up for spaceflight, said she wanted to use the next 12 months to encourage people to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or maths.

“I have not been to space yet, but I accept this recognition very gratefully as a mission of a different kind,” she said.

“To help open doors to space, to STEM, and to help others to see further.

“As humans venture around the moon once more, I hope that we’ll all look up, knowing that there is no aspiration too big for any Australian, or for Australia,” Bennell-Pegg said.

Katherine Bennell-Pegg is Australia’s first astronaut candidate. Photo: AAP

Winners of the Australian of the Year awards have a jam-packed schedule for Australia Day.

They’ll attend the national citizenship and flag-raising ceremony in the morning on the shores of Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin before travelling to Sydney for the Australia Day Live concert at the Opera House.

In the other categories, runner Nedd Brockmann won Young Australian of the Year for his 46-day feat of endurance running from Perth to Sydney to raise millions of dollars to fight homelessness.

Pioneering dementia researcher Henry Brodaty won Senior Australian of the Year for his work identifying cost-effective, targeted interventions to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Local Hero award recipient Frank Mitchell, a Whadjuk-Yued Noongar man from Western Australia, has created more than 70 upskilling roles for Indigenous people in the construction and electrical industries.

In honour of outgoing Australian of the Year Neale Daniher, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also announced the creation of the Neale Daniher MND Clinical Network, a government-funded program to help tackle motor neurone disease.

Daniher, who suffers from MND himself, did not attend the awards ceremony at Canberra’s National Arboretum because he was too unwell to fly, his wife Jan said.

Runner’s homelessness mission

Young Australian of the Year Nedd Brockmann, an ultra-runner who helps the homeless. Photo: AAP

Nedd Brockmann has run thousands of kilometres and battled injuries most people have never even heard of — including finding maggots in a blistered toe.

But winning one of the nation’s highest honours brought him undone.

“I’m a blubbering mess,” he said when accepting his Young Australian of the Year award at a ceremony in the nation’s capital.

The ultra-marathon runner has been given the award in recognition of his fundraising efforts to end homelessness in Australia.

In 2022, that goal saw him run nearly 4000 kilometres from Perth’s Cottlesloe Beach to Sydney’s Bondi Beach over 46 days, raising more than $2.6 million from 37,000 donors.

Along the way, the former electrician dealt with inflamed tendons, swollen feet and even maggots nesting in the blister on his toe.

“We should be proud of this amazing country. We are so lucky to call it home,” he said.

“But unfortunately not everyone feels that way.

“Why is it that 122,000 Australians sleep rough every night? That number should stop us all in our tracks.”

Since his Perth-Sydney epic, the 27-year-old has also completed a brutal 1600 kilometre run over 12 days on the running track at Sydney Olympic park.

Brockmann said he was just a few thousand dollars away from his fundraising target of $10 million.

He has also written two books about his feats of endurance: Showing Up and Fire Up.

Australia Day Council boss Mark Fraser praised Brockmann’s fundraising work and congratulated him on the award.

“Nedd, confronted by how easily people can experience homelessness and the growing scale of the problem, chose not to look away,” Fraser said.

“Instead, he took action and he hasn’t stopped since. He continues to run for change, finding new ways to help end homelessness, and engaging others to join the fight along the way.

“He is a young man on a clear mission to challenge us all to make a lasting difference.”

-AAP