My Australia

I'm proud to be Australian because, as an Australian farmer, I'm producing some of the cleanest most nutritiously dense food in the world.

Hi, I'm Charlie Arnott – a regenerative farmer from Boorowa in New South Wales.

Regenerative agriculture is about using a number of different practices and techniques to produce beautiful, clean, healthy, nutritious food and at the same time restore and enhance habitat and the ecology.

I felt a sense about 15 years ago that what I was doing wasn't congruent with my values. That's when I took out the use of chemicals.

We looked at the whole the farm holistically. We started using biodynamics.

I think it's really important that farmers consider regenerative practices because we have two major problems, global problems.

One is human health, and the second one is global environmental health and regenerative agricultural practices actually address both of those.

I'm not just producing food, I'm a steward of this landscape so i'm actually responsible to make sure that I hand this land onto my children and subsequent generations in a better state than when I found it. 

I'm proud to be Australian because we're a country of innovators.

My name is Matthew D’Souza. I'm studying Mechatronics Space Engineering, and Physics at the University of Sydney and i'm also involved in the USYD Rocketry Team.

I was an Avionics Engineer for USYD Rocketry Team Spaceport America Team.

Spaceport America Cup is the biggest rocket competition for universities. So our category was the biggest category of all. These were big name unis from all around the world and we were the first Australian team ever to compete in this competition.

We were definitely the underdogs going in. No one thought we'd do so well in our first year. We won our category with the highest points total in the history of the competition.

In 10 years, I'd like to see myself heavily involved in the domestic aerospace industry.

I'm really passionate about staying local and trying to find ways of building the industry at home.

It's really inspirational for younger people coming through to see that Australians can do these things in space and that they don't need to go overseas to have these opportunities. 

I'm proud to be australian because of all the opportunities that we are given. 

I am Christine and I'm an English and Drama teacher at Liverpool Boys High School. 

In 2017, we were going "We really need need to make sure that our students are prepared for the real world."

So we've reoriented our school. We decided to assess on skills because we saw that our students have amazing skill sets. 

They might be wonderful communicators or really innovative and creative. But that's not reflected in their final mark. One mark
doesn't show you very much about a student.

So the idea of the skills profile is to actually go, "These are the skills that they have," alongside the ATAR that they received.

It allows employers universities to look at the students as a whole.

Yes, it's important to celebrate literacy in our language but it's also important to develop those skill sets as well.

You know if a kid's an amazing, creative individual that should be celebrated.

I'm proud to be australian and proud to run an australian business.

They're like, "What's a budgie?"

And you're like, "It's a small bird."

And they're like, "Well, why would you choose a small bird?"

And it's like, "Well, it's it's self-deprecating..."

Did i think i'd be producing tight fluoro swimwear for a living? 

I wanted to represent Australia in some capacity. 

Sports was probably what I wanted to do but lacked, uh, you know, some important characteristics: athletic ability, speed, um, strength, coordination.

S,o this was sort of the next opportunity available to me.

The Budgie Smuggler wearer is basically just someone that's good to have beers with and a laugh.

When we started board shorts were past the knee. They're now to here, and there's quite a lot of blokes that have just made the jump straight to the Smuggler. So, I think we will kill the curtains of shame. 

I'm proud to be Australian because it's allowed me to achieve my dreams. 

I remember like it was yesterday. When I was a kid, honestly the cliche the minute I was put on my boots, it was like ingrained in my head I wanted to play the NRL.

I was very privileged to have the opportunity to play for Australia.

I think also the privilege to play for Lebanon. You know, I've got a Lebanese father, he was extremely proud when I put the the Lebanon jersey on, especially with my family.

And when I played for Australia they were just as proud.

Hazem El Masri really pioneered a way for a lot of young Lebanese boys, especially for myself.

There's definitely a lot of more Lebanese kids that are coming through the ranks.

I think it just shows like how much of a strong community and how much time there's actually out there for like Lebanese players.

This country has given me the best life possible. I think there's so much opportunity here, we're a sport for choice.

Like it's such a beautiful country, so many nationalities. Everyone just respects everyone's cultures, beliefs. 

And this country, like the life it's provided me, you know I'm extremely grateful for it.

I'm proud to be Australian because Australia is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world

Being in the ocean makes me feel the most present and the most connected to myself.

When I'm in the ocean I feel completely free, and just at one with nature.

The feeling is second to none and, yeah, that's where this inspiration and drive to protect the ocean has come from.

When I became really passionate about plastic pollution in our oceans, I immediately wanted to do something about it.

So, I approached Take 3 to ask if I could be an ambassador for them.

If we continue on the path that we're on right now, then the next generation won't be able to experience the beaches like we have.

We live in one of the most beautiful  countries in the world, that is home to some of the most unique ecosystems in the world as well.

And I truly believe that, as Australians, we can protect these ecosystems and ensure that they survive many generations to come. 

I'm proud to be Australian because we always give back.

As a young boy, growing up in AV, the surf club for me was like a second home.

I wasn't in a real good place, a little bit of bullying at school and things like that.

So getting fit and strong with surfboat rowing and having that discipline from training really changed my life.

Surf clubs can play a pivotal role in getting people outdoors and into a healthy lifestyle.

It makes me proud to be a lifesaver. We're a total volunteer organisation.

If i can be that person or we we can be that organisation that people know that they can come to the beach and be safe, yeah, I'm very proud.

Surf lifesaving, it's that act of giving back. It's a it's a real Australian thing, we just come together and achieve that one goal of keeping our beaches safe and our community safe.

I'm proud to be Australian because it's such a laid-back atmosphere and a place that's been so supportive.

I'm Hugo Griezmann, I'm a musician and in my spare time an artist and I'm best known for my work as one half of Flight Facilities.

Initially at school I was an artist, I suppose it was the one thing that I consider myself half decent at.

I somehow veered away from it, because I think I was too afraid to be judged for something I considered myself to have a talent at, and so I found my way into music where essentially I knew nothing.

I definitely think Australia is one of the best places to work on your craft.

Look at Australia's impact on the rest of the world, especially through things like art and music and how successful we've been for such a small country.

Australians should value the arts because it's such a big part of who we are. The Archibald Prize, for example.

And there's so many musicians as well that have made it outside Australia from working in their bedrooms.

And I think it's an important industry to support you. 

I'm proud to be Australian because Australia gives me the opportunity to become the best version of myself. 

[Music]

I came to Australia to study English.

And I just want to to explore what was going on in the other side of the world.

I fell in love with the country instantly, and been living here for the past 11 years.

I love the people.

I love the the way that people communicate with each other, the respect, the security, the opportunities.

I'm just very happy that I'm an Aussie already.

And I'm part of this environment, and I'm part of this country.

And I feel that I belong here.

So i appreciate, and I do not take it for granted. I'm gonna cry. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm very silly. 

I'm proud to be Australian because when the going gets tough we all come together.

I'm Simon Mercier and I'm the owner of Mercier's Gelato and Coffee in Huskisson, Jervis Bay.

The business started when I came down to Huskisson and one night we were talking about how cool would it be to sell ice cream on the beach. 

And so I found an old caravan online and I bought it straight away.

So the tourism community here is quite strong because it is a major part of what we have in this town.

With a pandemic there was a feeling of oneness. Everybody was in the same boat.

I think Australians should be holidaying more in their backyard because it really teaches us to appreciate what we have. 

I really hope the future of Australian tourism is that we do appreciate it a lot more.

You know the water's glassy, there's dolphins every morning. And there's kangaroos running down the street. That's the norm, that's what we that's what we have here. It's beautiful. 

I'm proud to be Australian because we have a strong healthcare system and a great community.

[Music]

My day starts early getting my head around what may have happened overnight.

So my first question in the morning is, "How many new cases? What's significance of those new cases?"

I think sleep's really, really important and I do get around six hours but I've got to admit that i've often got to unwind for, you know, a few hours in the late evening so that my mind's stopping racing when I do go to sleep.

I do get joy out of my puppy dog, who's called Molly, who's16 but she's very beautiful.

No, Molly doesn't know we're in a pandemic, although she did enjoy it when people were working from home because she's a human dog, and she does like that human interaction.

I have one of the great jobs in the world that allows me to touch on many varied aspects of health.

My portfolio before COVID was very much all the way from obesity and drug and alcohol, through to how to keep smoking rates as low as possible, organ donation, Aboriginal health.

Being a Chief Health Officer in an era of responding to a major pandemic is a weighty  responsibility but this is not a solo endeavor by inhumans.

I've always been proud to be a public servant in health because I get to work with the most passionate and compassionate people.

And each and every day they're driven by the desire to change the lives of people in a positive way.

I'm proud to be Australian because I love the fact that I can make a difference to help protect our marine environment  and ensure it's there for future generations to come.

I saw my first seahorse in 1996 diving here in Nelson Bay and because of that I completely changed my degree to become a marine scientist.

What I discovered over the past decade is that they're declining because of their habitat loss.

We came up with the idea of putting in these things called sea horse hotels and these are artificial habitats that are purposely designed for the seahorses to live in which will hopefully lead to successful reproduction.

So one of the most exciting things about the seahorse hotels initiative is that it's actually been adopted around the world.

So this little idea that we came up with Nelson Bay in Australia is now being used in the UK, it's been used in Portugal, the US, Philippines, indonesia.

So whilst the research I do is all about saving a White's sea horse, it's actually much bigger than that.

If we can save the marine habitats that the seahorses rely on, it's going to benefit all the other marine species.