Because of their universal impact, the pandemic, the economic devastation it has caused, the "Black Summer", and climate change can divert attention from less publicised crises which are just as devastating for those caught up in them. The awards were a unique opportunity to reflect on these challenges and the brave and wonderful people driving change.

Our Australian of the Year, sexual abuse survivor and advocate Grace Tame, is truly inspirational. Rather than be crushed by an experience that often destroys lives, she fought back to achieve a significant change to Tasmanian law.

Ms Tame was galvanised into action when the teacher convicted of grooming and then repeatedly raping and abusing her when she was just 15 used an interview with Bettina Arndt to claim he was a victim of extreme feminism.

When Ms Tame tried to set the record straight, she discovered that under Tasmanian law she was prohibited from doing so - even though the perpetrator and the media could talk about her case.

Despite the obvious injustice of this, it took a two-year-long, $10,000 Tasmanian Supreme Court case to obtain an exemption. Once allowed to publicly self-identify, this courageous young woman used the #LetHerSpeak campaign to have the law repealed in its entirety. Tasmanian sexual abuse survivors now have the same rights to speak about their experiences as those elsewhere.

The importance of this freedom was highlighted by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which ran from 2013 to 2017. Hundreds of people spoke of the ordeals they had endured; many for the first time in their lives publicly. Their courageous testimony contributed to a significant shift in public perceptions of the scale and impact of abuse, and to the laws governing reporting, compensation and redress. Silence, as Ms Tame said on Monday night, only helps the perpetrators.

Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, our Senior Australian of the Year, is also remarkable. The first Indigenous teacher in the Northern Territory, the respected elder is a long-time campaigner for reconciliation, a fighter for the recognition of the value of her culture and spirituality, and an advocate for white Australians to learn more about the lived Indigenous experience.

"I've learnt to walk in two worlds and live in towns and cities, and even worked in them," she said. "Now is the time for you to come closer, to understand us and how we live."

Rosemary Kariuki, 2021's local hero, is a living, breathing embodiment of the value of love, friendship and acceptance. She was honoured for helping domestic violence victims, volunteering with newly arrived women and the migrant community, and breaking down cultural and racial silos. "I would love to see more Australians... open their doors to their neighbours," she said.

Isobel Marshall, the 22-year-old 2021 Young Australian of the Year, was deservedly honoured for her work, in conjunction with business partner Eloise Hall, in addressing menstrual stigma, a very real issue that bars millions of women in developing nations from access to education and employment opportunities.

It is a mission which, like all of those highlighted at Monday night's ceremony, is changing lives for the better.

These four remarkable women, along with the many other nominees, are proof that each of us has it within ourselves to make a difference if we try.