Tania Major
I don't want my people to remain recipients of government handouts. I want them to get out of passive welfare dependency and be proud and have self-respect for themselves, to have their own industries, grow our own doctors and lawyers, and have more educated Aboriginal people from Cape York.
Tania Major, Board Member
Tania's Story
Tania Major is a Kokoberra woman from the remote community of Kowanyama in Cape York Queensland, and holds a degree in Criminology from Griffith University and a Masters degree in Public Policy from Sydney University.
Tania's Achievements
At 21, Tania became the youngest elected regional councillor in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
In 2006 Tania was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year, and was further honoured as Young Australian of the Year in January 2007.
Tania has also achieved international recognition in winning the Political Legal and/or Government Affairs section of the Junior Chamber International's Outstanding Young Persons of the World contest held in India in 2007.
Since 2002 Tania has publicly addressed many national and international forums, speaking on Indigenous and youth affairs as these relate to remote communities, particularly those in Cape York.
Along with her mentor, Noel Pearson, she has tried to bring the realities of life in many of these communities to the foreground of wider Australian thinking and to engage mainstream Australians in the collaborative challenge of seeking solutions to longstanding problems.
After four years with the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, Tania is working to establish a private consultancy and advocacy business, and to set up a youth foundation to support other young indigenous people with the potential for leadership.