WHEN Simon McKeon was diagnosis with multiple sclerosis a decade ago, he vowed to make every day count. 

The father of four, who has dedicated his energies to helping others, was last night named as the Australian of the Year by Julia Gillard at a ceremony on the lawns of Parliament House.

Solo sailor Jessica Watson was named Young Australian of the Year.

Conceding he was "extraordinarily humbled", Mr McKeon, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 10 years ago, said he had drawn inspiration seeing "hope conquer despair".

The Australian newspaper reports that the 55-year-old is an award recipient for a new decade, reflecting an Australia no longer confined to applauding sporting prowess but also proud to celebrate the efforts of those who dedicate themselves to the community.

A successful investment banker, Mr McKeon stepped out of the rat race in 1994 to take up a part-time role as an executive chairman of Macquarie Group to devote more time to philanthropy.

In 2001, after he was diagnosed, Mr McKeon became the founding chairman of MS Research Australia, a role from which he recently retired.

The disease temporarily blinded him and paralysed him from the waist down. He said his experience of the disease had, in its own way, enriched his life. "I hope I can continue to make every day count. I'm a lousy kick with the footy. I have my own experience with how fickle life can be and I've been very blessed," Mr McKeon said after accepting his award.

"I don't talk publicly about my MS very much because I'm up the easy end of the spectrum.

"It is a wonderful thing for me really, because I encountered what life might have been like if I had been struck with it permanently," he said.

"MS will be a number of things I would like to help change."

Growing up in a poorer part of Melbourne, he said he learned not only to recognise need, but to do something about it. "It was just an obvious thing to do," he said.

He hopes to spend the year inspiring as many Australians as possible about charity work.

"Indeed, I come from the big end of town and for many years have tried to preach the good news for what happens when a corporation tries to make money.

"I am hopeful that someone like me can actually call upon business to do its part this year."

He previously served on the board of World Vision Australia and is chairman of the CSIRO and the Business for Millennium Development, which encourages business to engage with the developing world.

Mr McKeon also works with the Global Poverty Project and Red Dust Role Models, which connects well-known Australians with indigenous youth in remote communities.

Mr McKeon takes over from mental health expert Professor Patrick McGorry, who proved outspoken in his role - raising awareness of mental health issues and securing a more committed response to the problem from the federal government. He was also a frequent critic of the government's asylum-seeker policy.

Mr McKeon, who is married to Amanda Jane, has degrees in law and commerce from the University of Melbourne. Before he joined Macquarie, he practised as a solicitor with Blake Dawson Waldron in Sydney.

He is also a member of the Big Issue Advisory Board, a director of the Global Poverty Project and was last year appointed by the federal government as the chairman of CSIRO.

Despite his merchant banking origins, Mr McKeon is no hard-eyed business advocate. An avid sailor, Mr McKeon set a world speed sailing record in 1993 with crewman Tim Daddo.

He was also the helmsman of Macquarie Innovation which in March 2009 became the first sailing boat in the world to sustain more than 50 knots, including hitting a peak of 54 knots (100km/h), and is a patron of the Australian Olympic sailing team, which won two gold medals and a silver at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Speaking after he received the award yesterday, Mr McKeon said he hoped to have a sense he had achieved something once his tenure as Australian of The Year was up.

"You know I've got a successful career but I'd just like to know I can do more," he said.