Malcolm Turnbull announces Alan Mackay-Sim as 2017 Australian of the Year – video

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announces Alan Mackay-Sim as the 2017 Australian of the Year for his work with stem cells and the regeneration of the nervous system. 'I hope that it stimulates people to think about science, stimulates young people to get into science,' Mackay-Sim says after receiving the award. 'It's a great thing for biomedical science particularly; neuroscience, stem cell science.' Mackay-Sim says he wants to work towards a long-term, bipartisan plan for science funding in Australia. 'All the way round the world, budgets are going out of medical science,' he says. 'I don't want to be party political about it but I want to talk about the long-term view and the long-term requirements of science.'

" Australian of the Year named as biomedical scientist Alan Mackay-Sim