Melanoma in the spotlight as Wagga, Australian citizens honoured

Wagga's Annette St Clair was announced the city's 2024 Citizen of the Year on Thursday evening after many years of efforts to raise awareness about the effects of melanoma following the tragic passing of her daughter Amie in 2009.

"The enormity of it still hasn't sunken in yet," Mrs St Clair said on Friday.

After Amie was diagnosed with melanoma in 2007, she made a point of letting people know she had melanoma.

"Amie wanted people to know about it so they were aware and [stayed] safe in the sun without getting melanoma," Mrs St Clair said.

When Amie died, her parents continued the fight and Mrs St Clair said she was accepting the Citizen of the Year accolade on behalf of her daughter.

In 2010, Mrs St Clair and husband, Peter, founded the Amie St Clair Melanoma Trust to educate and support families across the Riverina suffering from the horrific cancer.

A decade later, the Trust merged with the Melanoma Institute of Australia, whose co-directors Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long were named joint Australians of the Year on Thursday night.

Mrs St Clair hoped both her award and those given to Mr Scolyer and Ms Long would boost coverage of the issue over the next 12 months.

"I hope to increase awareness of melanoma and skin cancer and prevent others from dying as a result of melanoma," she said.

Mrs St Clair said the two Australians of the Year have a "very close connection" to Wagga, having visited the city on multiple occasions.

She said the pair were also "very supportive" of what was being done to fight melanoma in Wagga.

As part of her efforts to combat melanoma, Mrs St Clair is pushing for early detection.

Over the past decade, the five-year overall survival rate for advanced melanoma has increased from 10 per cent to more than 50 per cent.

Mrs St Clair said a melanoma diagnosis used to be akin to a "death sentence" and attributed the amazing turnaround to research, praising the "amazing" results being achieved by Ms Long and Mr Scolyer.

Mrs St Clair also hoped to combat over exposure to the sun through pushing for more shelters around Wagga's sportsgrounds.

She also sees the award as an opportunity to "give back to the community".

"When Amie was sick, we received an enormous amount of support from them and they have continued to give," she said.

"The success of the Amie St Clair Melanoma Trust is a result of us living in a very generous community."

More information about melanoma and the Melanoma Institute of Australia can be found on its website.