Success Story - Citizenship 'no decision at all' for Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year for 2006 and Scottish-born scientist, Professor Ian Frazer, said becoming an Australian citizen was 'no decision at all'.
'We'd been in Australia a couple of years and decided we wanted to stay here,' Ian said.
'As time went by it was obvious that we were going to, so becoming a citizen was the natural thing to do.'
Ian, an immunologist, worked in Melbourne and Brisbane to develop a vaccine to prevent and treat cervical cancer, a disease contracted by 500 000 women each year, with half dying from the disease.
In worldwide trials the vaccine has prevented viral infection and reduced pap smear abnormalities by 70 per cent.
Winning the Australian of the Year Award as an overseas-born Australian is not uncommon.
'A third of all Australians of the Year are first generation Australians, and that actually reflects the demographics of the country pretty well,' Ian said.
The department is a partner in the Australian of the Year Awards, which are coordinated by the National Australia Day Council and presented on Australia Day.
Ian said the award came as a 'considerable surprise' to him.
'I've always felt that what I do in life should be good for the community,' he said.
'I think that's the measure of being an Australian citizen.
'It's not so much where you're born, it's what you're actually doing beyond what people expect of you.'
Ian first came to Australia as a student in 1974 through the Australian Working Visit Scheme.
Australia's reputation for scientific research in immunology led to his return.
He settled here permanently with his family in 1981, becoming a citizen in 1998.
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