That is the message Tasmanian Australian of the Year Craig Leeson is aiming to impress on the Prime Minister, Governor-General and corporate leaders in Canberra this week.

"I am trying to bring the message that we need to act now and the time for talking is over," he said. "I see that as a critical role that I play.

Mr Leeson, who hails from Burnie, is in Canberra ahead of the awards ceremony on Tuesday alongside fellow North-West Coasters Kaytlyn Johnson and Bruce French who are nominated as Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year and Senior Australian of The Year respectively.

Kimberley Smith, who now resides in Hobart but grew up on the Coast, is Tasmania's Local Hero award winner for his efforts as a volunteer with the Rotary Club of Sullivans Cove.

"Meeting all the other Australians of the Year is fantastic," Mr Leeson said.

"Their stories are incredible, their journeys are unique and the change maker in all of them, how they started and what motivated them, are all great stories."

For Ms Johnson, the experience is a chance to show young people from regional towns and First Nation people that anything is possible.

"It is really important for, particularly young people in rural areas and indigenous young people, to realise their potential," she said.

"It is not often talked about enough that although we grew up in small towns, or maybe with a low socioeconomic status, we still have the power to influence change on a national or global scale. It is really important that we address that."

In 2021 Ms Johnson had the opportunity to attend the global climate summit in Glasgow, her first large scale international event.

"For me, the main thing I took away from it was how inaccessible it is for First Nations people and young people to have a really big impact on those decisions."

Mr French said he was using the opportunity to share the power of edible plants.

He is motivated to empower hungry people across the world through his curation of the world's largest database of edible food plants.

"It is a matter of trying to empower them with good information so that they can feed themselves well."

Mr French works daily on the Food Plant International website.