During its first two decades, the Australian of the Year award grew steadily in national prominence, but it increasingly suffered from its close association with the Victorian Australia Day Council. A competing Australian of the Year award was established by newspaper "The Australian" in 1971. In 1975 the newly formed Canberra Australia Day Council also began to name a rival Australian of the Year. The Canberra council was run by a vibrant group of local inhabitants, who pursued a more progressive agenda than their Victorian counterparts. In particular, the Canberra council was sympathetic to the emerging republican movement, while the Victorian council was staunchly committed to constitutional ties with Britain. The Victorian council also battled a common perception that it was an exclusive organisation that represented the Melbourne Establishment. Australia's turbulent political climate nourished this division and the Australian of the Year award was embroiled in a wider debate about Australian nationalism.