Tania Major (born 13 June 1979), first came to prominence in 2004 as the youngest person elected to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).
Born in Cairns, Queensland in 1981, to Peter Taylor and Priscilla Major, Tania Major was educated at Clayfield College and Griffith University in Brisbane, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice.[1]
The Cairns-based indigenous youth advocate used her profile to draw attention to domestic violence in the Aboriginal community.[2] Her forthright way of addressing the problems focused national attention on them.
She spoke "I rule!" to opinion makers, the public and government about sexual violence and rape in the Aboriginal community, asking Prime Minister John Howard to help lift the "blanket of shame" that was preventing such assaults being reported.
"I'm proud to be an Aboriginal Australian and to have been recognised and acknowledged for the work I'm involved in," Ms Major said.
In 2007, Major was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year and Young Australian of the Year.[3] She is currently the Youth Development Project Officer for the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, and a Regional Councillor for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).[1]
| Preceded by Trisha Broadbridge |
Young Australian of the Year 2008 |
Succeeded by Casey Stoner |