Mr Leeson will now follow in the footsteps of last year's winner Grace Tame, who spoke at the awards ceremony about the "seismic shift" that her win had help reverberate across Australia.

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And Mr Leeson may have the same impact.

The newest Tasmania Australian of the Year received his award while at the international climate summit, COP 26, held in Glasgow, where he was due to present what could be a universally significant climate-based documentary.

While admitting he was grateful to receive the award, Mr Leeson used the opportunity to highlight what he said was the immediacy of action needed to be taken by the Australian government, and leaders the world over, to save the climate from "life support".

"My hope is that we recognise the life support systems on planet Earth are in deep trouble," Mr Leeson said.

"I've witnessed this first hand in the eight years that it took to make [documentary film] A Plastic Ocean and the four years that we filmed in 21 countries.

"We are in deep trouble. Scientists tell me we've got about eight to ten years to turn this around, and if we don't then the life support systems will start to cascade into collapse. We're seeing it happen already. We're seeing our oceans spoiled, our food chain compromised ... and the climate crisis now is something very immediate and real."

The climate campaigner, who cut his teeth as a journalist in Tasmania before going on to be a documentary filmmaker, has documented the effect the modern world has on the world's climate and environment for several years.

His 2017 award-winning documentary A Plastic Ocean was widely acclaimed and credited with raising global awareness about the challenge oceans are facing from plastic pollution.

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The documentary underscored his co-founding of A Plastic Oceans Foundation which remains dedicated to reducing the amount of single-use plastic used across the world.

Despite his work, Mr Leeson said, as an Australia, he was "asked constantly, 'what is Australia doing? Why isn't Australia committing to this problem?'"

"As an Australian, and even a Tasmanian, you feel this burden. People ask me 'what happened to the lucky country? What was that like?"

Putting aside his climate campaigning for a moment, Mr Leeson took time to describe his advocacy for Tasmania.

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He said when he was asked where the most beautiful place he had ever seen was, he always answers, "Tasmania".

Returning to his campaigning, he said it was vital Tasmania's beauty was protected from climate change and other environmental problems.

Mr Leeson was among of host of three other award winners, and 16 nominees in total, who were described at the Hobart ceremony by Tasmanian Governor Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC and Premier Peter Gutwein as representing the very best of Tasmania.

"They are individually and collectively inspirational role models. They all represent what can be done to enrich our communities," Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC said.

Tasmania Senior Australian of the Year - Bruce French AO - Agricultural scientist and Founder of Food Plants International

Burnie's Bruce French AO has dedicated his life to edible plants, and those who can benefit from them, now he is the 2022 Tasmania Senior Australian of the Year.

Seventy-six-year-old Mr French AO founded Food Plants International 22 years ago and has since helped document more than 33,500 edible plants.

While the organisation was founded in 1999, its roots date back to the 1970s when Mr French AO noticed Papua New Guinea villagers suffering disease and malnutrition despite being surrounded by sustaining edible plants around them.

Food Plants International teamed up with Rotary Tasmania in 2007 and has since helped establish the Food Plants Solutions project aimed at providing food security through nutritious edible plants easily grown in various environments.

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"I'm very close to having every edible plant in every country of the world documented in plain English that everybody can understand, illustrated with photographs ... if you live in the desert you'll grow a desert plant, if you live in the swamp you'll grow a swamp plant, if you live on a coral atoll you'll grow a coral atoll plant," Mr French AO said.

Mr French AO said his work had been 55 years in the making, but that he was close to finishing - at least the documenting part of the food identification job.

"You've still got to find out how you cook it and make it taste nice. We're still chasing food values for lots and lots of plants ... We're still chasing lots of information. It'll take me another 55 years at least," he said.

He explained who he was most inspired by - women - the people who grown "most of the food on planet Earth".

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"I spend hours, and hours, and hours in markets talking to the ladies. What is it? How do you grow it? Won't it kill me? And then I say, 'I'm writing it down, I'm taking photographs, I won't make a cent out of it and I'll send it back to your country so the people in your schools, will know the information that's in your head," he said.

Mr French AO used his speech to continue to "practice what he preaches". He said a typical stir-fry he would cook at home would be made up of 10 or 15 vegetables.

When asked how he would like to see the world come along on his journey with him and see the majority of the population eating a healthy and nourished diet he said it was about sharing the information he had played such a huge role in forming, and making that information more readily available.

Tasmania Young Australian of the Year - Kaytlyn Johnson - Youth leader and singer-songwriter

Twenty-year-old palawa woman Kaytlyn Johnson, from the North-West Coast, has added to an impressive collection of accolades by being recognised at the Tasmania Young Australian of the Year.

The latest recognition adds to her First National Real Estate Leadership Award and the Premier's Young Achiever of the Year Award she claimed earlier this year.

Ms Johnson, from Wynyard, has made a strong commitment to the community in her two decades on earth.

From raising money to support women and children fleeing family violence to aiding an initiative empowering young women to develop new skills and use their voices to campaign for change, Ms Johnson continues to make an impact.

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"My drive comes from people like [last year's winner] Toby Thorpe making way. He is shaping the future that we need. We need to be focusing on a climate positive future and he is doing that," Ms Johnson said in the wake of her victory.

"We need to be focused on screaming louder for young people in Tasmania in rural areas and for mob - we are so important for this community."

Ms Johnson said a project she had been part of, Project O, helped enable young women to make achievements in their rural and regional communities.

"Whether that be managing events, whether that be speaking publicly at community events that are already in place, or whether that be paving our won way to university or beyond what we see every day in Burnie or Wynyard or our rural town.

Ms Johnson described how she had used music to "scream" in order to express how Tasmanian Aboriginal people were such an integral part of the state's community.

"we need to spread more awareness that we are here, and we are strong, and we are proud and we deserve to be heard," she said.

"That is going to be one of my aims through my song writing, but also through my advocacy work and story telling."

Ms Johnson described growing up in a home that was often unable to afford hot water, and going to a school where only three people went on to university, and how that adversity had inspired her in her life.

"It is not out of reach to do something that has never been done before in your community."

Tasmania Local Hero - Kimberley Smith APM - Community volunteer with the Rotary Club of Sullivans Cove

Eleven years after retiring from the police force, Australian Police Medal recipient Kim Smith APM has been recognised as the Tasmania Local Hero.

Sixty-seven-year-old Mr Smith APM is a Rotarian and who formed two successful programs aimed at helping others in need including recovering youth drug users and female teenage survivors of abuse and neglect.

Mr Smith APM also developed an initiative to help deliver learner driver training at his local community house that has received government grants and produced videos in five different languages to cater for the diverse West Moonah community.

Mr Smith APM was awarded ahead of Jay Chipman, founder, Homely Retreats, Paul Hosking, founder of HOPE at St Paul's Kitchen and Tani Langoulant, founder of Gree2b Girls.

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Even upon receiving the recognition on Friday Mr Smith APM stood on the dais and suggested further ways for Tasmania to be improved.

Mr Smith APM said the reward he received for his work as a learner instructor was the smile on the face of hundreds of people who had benefitted from his efforts.

Mr Smith APM spoke extensively about others during his acceptance speech, of those marginalised and excluded communities he stood up for.

He explained how his driving program had seen refugee families consolidate themselves in the community and through mobility were able to secure jobs, homes and lives.

The Tasmania Australian of the Year award winners will now come up against winners from other states to be in the running for the national gong.

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