Community
22 December, 2025
Australia Day ambassadors revealed
We reveal the names of the ambassadors for Wingecarribee, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley and Wollondilly Councils. Goulburn Mulwaree remains a mystery!
With Australia day just around the corner, this masthead can reveal the names of local council ambassadors in our regions.
Wingecarribee Shire Council will welcome Kumar Pereira, a former MasterChef contestant, and a whole lot more.
Pereira, born in Sri Lanka, studied design in London, his work is exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of history.
Upon moving to Australia in 1988 he worked at TAFE, before a new career began aged in his 60s. That new career; appearing on the channel 10 show MasterChef. The move has seen Periera reinvent himself as a cookbook author, a host of culinary tours to Sri Lanka and author of recipes for the Hearing Australia magazine.
Pereira will be at the Australia Day celebrations in Berrima.
In Wollondilly, Michael James Crossland will be the Australia Day Ambassador. James is a motivational speaker and ‘humanitarian.’ James is an internationally renowned keynote speaker where he reflects on his life experience.
That life experience includes a diagnosis of stage 4 brain cancer with only a 4% chance of survival, and he also represented Australia in Baseball.
James has shared the stage with the Dalai Lama and will now share the stage on Australia Day with Wollondilly Mayor Matt Gould and dignitaries.
In the Upper Lachlan Shire, Amanda Rose has accepted an appointment as Australia Day Ambassador. Rose is a strong advocate for women in business. In 2024 Rose made a plea to Australians to buy Australia Day merchandise at ‘small businesses’ commenting that ‘I am not interested in what big companies do’.
In January this year Rose, in the role of Small Business Australia CEO discussed her role as an ambassador ‘I have been an ambassador for a few years, it’s community, it’s hope, it’s an opportunity for people to get to know other cultures’.
Rose added to the Daily Telegraph in January this year ‘not everyone may want to celebrate on January 26, but councils should not make that decision.’
Yass Valley Council has doubled up with 2 ambassadors, namely Ben Maguire AM and Marina Maguire OAM. The Maguires will not have to travel far from their farm just outside Yass.
Founders of the not-for-profit organisation Remount, the Maguires have made an enormous contribution to veterans and first responders. Remount assists those members of the community through farm work helping them achieve life changing outcomes.
Ben Maguire says that Remount reminds ‘people there’s a community who appreciate their service. It can break a cycle of someone’s lack of self-worth and really remind them of how good life can be.’
At the time of publication, we do not know the identity of the Goulburn Mulwaree Council ambassador. We have reached out to the Australia Day Council for comment.
In the lead up to Australia Day we will provide full details of all events across our regions.
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