This year's Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg will headline the Australian of the Year Breakfast at the Adelaide Convention Centre next Wednesday 10 June. In one of her first major public appearances in the state since receiving the nation's top honour in January she takes a moment to share her journey so far and what's left to achieve until she hands over the baton.
Bennell-Pegg is Australia's first astronaut, selected from more than 22,500 applicants for training at the European Astronaut Centre. If selected for a mission, she will be the first Australian to reach space under the national flag. But the platform she has used in 2026 is not about her own ambitions — it is about the country's.
The main message behind her national STEM outreach tour is clear - the nation's future depends on getting more young people, particularly women, into science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Recently in Western Australia, she told a sold-out audience that Australia is not entering the space industry for the first time but reclaiming its place in it — pointing to WRESAT-1, launched from the South Australian outback in 1967, as proof the ambition has always been there.
The urgency behind that message is backed by data. Girls make up just 36.5 per cent of Year 12 enrolments in intermediate and higher mathematics. Tertiary STEM enrolments for women have been declining since 2021. The proportion of women in STEM-qualified occupations has held at 15 per cent for three consecutive years. Bennell-Pegg speaks to those numbers not as statistics, but as a call to action.
Australia's space sector is building at pace around her. The Roo-ver — a semi-autonomous rover developed with NASA — is headed to the Moon before the decade is out. Australia's space exploration program is already returning more than $7 for every $1 invested. Bennell-Pegg has spent six months making that case, state by state, audience by audience.
She brings that story home to South Australia next Wednesday when she headlines the Australian of the Year Breakfast. Guests will hear directly from her about what six months at the nation's top has looked like, and what the six months ahead will bring. The event also features South Australia's 2026 award recipients, whose own stories of ambition and service reflect the breadth of what the awards recognise.
Audience questions submitted ahead of the event capture the breadth of public interest — from the personal ("Was there a moment you nearly gave up?") to the systemic ("What does Australia need to do now so the next generation of astronauts don't have to leave the country to reach space?").
"Six months as Australian of the Year has confirmed what I always believed – Australians are ready for this conversation. Every room I have walked into, from classrooms to universities and political settings, the appetite to back our space future and invest in the next generation of STEM talent is real.
"South Australia is truly at the heart of Australia's space sector. I cannot wait to come home, and to talk honestly about what this year has meant and where we go from here," said Katherine Bennell-Pegg.
Jan Chorley, CEO, Australia Day Council of South Australia said that Katherine has already achieved so much and is a phenomenal role model for our state and nation - especially as nominations open for next year's Australian of the Year.
"Katherine Bennell-Pegg has used every moment of this year to shift the conversation about what Australia is capable of. Having her back in South Australia, the state that launched the nation's first satellite and the home of the Australian Space Agency that has supported Katherine's career ambitions, to mark this midpoint of her year is a genuine privilege. This Breakfast is also the moment we look forward: nominations for the 2027 Australian of the Year Awards open at this event, and we invite South Australians to think about who else in their communities deserves that recognition," said Jan Chorley.
The Australian of the Year Breakfast is near capacity. Tickets are available now via Humanitix — Members $77 + booking fee, non-members $110 + booking fee. The event also marks the official launch of nominations for the 2027 Australian of the Year Awards. Nominations close midnight 31 July 2026. Nominate at australianoftheyear.org.au.
