Griffith Law School academics welcome Queensland’s Human Rights Act Bill and are available for comment
Associate Professor Sue Harris-Rimmer, Australian Research Council Future Fellow says: “This is an importantbill for Queensland, especially remote and regional Queensland. This bill will focus on equity for all Queenslanders in access to government services.”
Professor Penelope Mathew is a refugee law expert, andwas alsothe Human Rights Legal and Policy Adviser to the Human Rights Commission in the Australian Capital Territory. During her time at the Human Rights Commission, Pene conducted the Human Rights Audit of the ACT’s Correctional Facilities — a year-long empirical project which documented and assessed practises in the ACT’s remand centres against international human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners.
ProfessorDon Antonlooksforward to helping to pioneer research focusing on the Act’s application to the intersection between human rights and the environment.
ProfessorElena Marchettiis keen to ensure that the rights of Indigenous Australians are protected particularly when it comes to their involvement with the criminal justice system.
ProfessorCharles Sampfordisinterested in the protection of social and economic rights and their interaction with civil and political rights- in drafting, in institutional support and in judicial interpretation.
Dr Chris Butleris interested in following how the new QueenslandHuman Rights Actmay:encourageforms of democraticparticipation in public affairs; enhance procedural protections in relation to public decision-making; and contribute togreatersocial and economic equality.
DrTim Cadmanwill contribute to exploring the interaction between free, prior and informed consent, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, international environmental policy, and human rights.
Mr Shahram Dana– says all at Griffith Law School will be watching the implementation of the QueenslandHuman Rights Act to ensureQueenslanders have effective avenues for redress and remedy of human rights violations.
Joanne Stagg-Tayloreagerly anticipates researching how the Act will protect and impact on patientrights, privacy, gender-based issues and the rights of LGBTQI people.
Jovana Mastiloviclooks forward to contributing to research focusing on the Act’s application to human rights, particularly refugee studies, and how it can improve the lives of displaced people and their access to education and protection.
Elizabeth Englezosis currently reviewing the rights and protections for data subjects and hopes to contribute to the development of a rights-protective framework that is appropriate to the modern online environment.
Marissa Bowden and Sarah Schoeller have been announced as the joint recipients of Griffith Business School’s Outstanding Entrepreneurial Alumnus Award at the School’s annual Gala Dinner.
The news of their win couldn’t have come at a better time either, with the pair celebrating an important milestone in their business lives as the founders of The Village Markets in Burleigh.
“It really is such an honour receiving this award especially after we just celebrated 10 years in business last month,” former Bachelor of Business student Sarah says. “Running your own business certainly is hard work and it’s moments like this that make it really worthwhile.”
Marissa, also a Bachelor of Business graduate, is similarly thrilled with their win. “We are so grateful to Griffith University for recognising our achievements.”
Outstanding Entrepreneurial Alumnus Award recognises exceptional success in the areas of start-ups or other entrepreneurial ventures, significant contribution to industry and the profession, and contribution to the community.
And The Village Markets definitely embodies all of that. It’s an iconic boutique market and community for creative entrepreneurs held at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, with a second location to be launched at Stones Corner in Brisbane in December. The event showcases a carefully curated line up of 100 fashion, vintage, art, and homewares designers; food stalls; a monthly pre-loved designer and vintage rack sale; and live music in a relaxed outdoor setting. The thriving event has provided a launch platform for more than 200 emerging creative and continues to go from strength to strength.
The idea came to them when they were struggling during the Global Financial Crisis, with Marissa and Sarah joining together to develop a business plan for the markets. “Marissa and I believed the Gold Coast lacked a cultural event that catered for all ages and we longed to bring together the creative community,” Sarah explains. “Having visited markets in London, Melbourne and Sydney, we created The Village Markets as a unique boutique market that showcased a curated selection of stalls, great food and amazing live local music.
“We then pitched it to interested parties and kicked off in October 2008,” she says.
Their creative idea blossomed and is now a Gold Coast institution, helping to foster the careers of other designers and artists. Sarah says a number of their early stallholders that launched at the markets have become huge successes in their own rights. They hope to replicate the same success when their markets launch in Stones Corner, Brisbane, later this year.
Xenia received the prestigious Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship at a gala ceremony in Sydney last week. The judging panel, which included singers Anke Höppner and Peter Coleman-Wright and conductor Nicholas Braithwaite, praised the young mezzo-soprano for her “outstanding performance”.
“Xenia posses a beautiful voice of magnificent potential,” they said.
“She inspired the audience with her energetic stage presence and fearless desire to engage with the characters she portrayed at the deepest emotional levels.”
The scholarship includesa return international airfare to New York, a living allowance, support for further study and a recording session back in Australia.
Xenia said winning the scholarship was “a dream come true”.
“This changes what I go on to do after graduation in a big way,” she said.
“I now have the opportunity to spend three months in New York and work with some of the world’s most renowned voice coaches and musicians.
“I’m young, and my voice has a long way to develop, but I’m getting there.”
The scholarship has capped off an extraordinary few months for the young singer, who is completing a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the Queensland Conservatorium.
The Queensland Conservatorium is one of the only institutions in Australia that offers students the chance to perform in a fully-staged opera production each year, and Xenia credits her time at the ‘Con’ for helping to shape her as a world-class singer.
“We are so lucky to put on these big productions with a full orchestra, international directors and beautiful sets and costumes – each role I’ve been given has helped me grow as an artist,” she said.
“It was so exciting to originate a role in Paul’s opera – it was a wonderful experience to have the world premiere of Dry River Run here at the Queensland Conservatorium.
“My teacher, Margaret Schindler, has given me wonderful technique and instilled a really strong foundation that will last a lifetime. ”
Griffith Law student Lachlan Ryan will set sail next year after being selected to represent Australia alongside 11 other delegates for a unique international exchange funded by the Japanese Government.
The Ship for World Youth program invites young people from several participating countries including Australia, Chile, Sweden, Tanzania and Japan, to discuss global issues and develop their skills in leadership and cross-cultural communication.
Lachlan will spend a week doing on-shore training in Tokyo, which includes a cultural exchange in a Japanese prefecture, before boarding the Nippon Maru cruise ship for four weeks.
During the four week voyage, the Nippon Maru will call into ports in Darwin, Brisbane, the Solomon Islands and the Republic of Palau, giving participants the opportunity to learn about different cultures.
Lachlan says he expects that this knowledge and skills from his Bachelor of Law/Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political and International studies, will be put to good use.
“I’m looking forward to meeting all the delegates from around the world and to learn their perspective. I want to know how they think, operate and solve problems,” he says.
Lachlan will take part in the 31st voyage for this program, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), a period of rapid modernisation in Japan according to the Australian Japanese Embassay.
By Dr Steven White
Griffith Law School
Issues of animal protection continue to command significant attention in a crowded national policy and political agenda. The harm experienced by animals exported live to south-east Asia and the Middle East is regularly highlighted in investigative exposés, most recently in April of this year when 60 Minutes screened undercover footage from an export ship transporting sheep to the Middle East. This footage was the first obtained from a ship in transit, and the horrific scenes garnered world-wide attention. Predictably, much concern was expressed by the political class about the suffering experienced by the sheep, and governmental reviews initiated amid ministerial commitments to do better. This response reflects an all too familiar pattern. An expose a few years earlier, concerning the killing of Australian cattle in Indonesian abattoirs, had so shocked the country that tens of thousands of Australians rallied around the country calling for an end to live export. Reviews were conducted and ‘reforms’ implemented. The story also prompted a temporary ban on export to Indonesia, prompting disaffected cattle farmers to commence class action litigation in the Federal Court of Australia against the then minister, a matter still to be resolved (see Brett Cattle Company Pty Ltd v Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, NSD1102/2014, 27 October 2014). Despite the unceasing examples of the harms imposed on exported animals, the current federal government has ruled out a phased end to the trade.
Another animal protection issue garnering significant public attention exploded in 2015 when the Four Corners program screened footage of the extensive use of live animal baiting in the greyhound racing industry, highlighting the participation and/or complicity of senior industry figures. This led to criminal prosecution of some individuals. More broadly, responses included a short-lived proposed ban of the industry by the NSW Government, a complete re-structure of the broader racing industry in Queensland and, earlier this year, a racing ban in the ACT. Free range farming is another issue often commanding the interest of the media, in part because of a series of actions brought by The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against producers and sellers making misleading claims about the free-range status of their meat or egg production. The plight of wild animals also regularly evokes public concern, including the mass killings of kangaroos, the treatment of ‘feral’ animals such as wild horses, and the suffering and death of species experiencing habitat loss, such as the koala.
These issues, and the many more which could be listed, suggest that current animal protection regulation is not fit for purpose. In the face of this failure, novel legal approaches seeking to advance the interests of animals catch the headlines. For example, the Nonhuman Rights Project in the United States is engaged in litigation seeking common law recognition of animals as legal persons. Other jurisdictions, including South America, India and New Zealand, have recognised elements of nature, such as river systems, as legal persons. In Australia, the response is likely to be more prosaic. There is significant political consensus emerging on the need for an independent office of animal welfare, whether at the federal or state level, moving administrative responsibility for animal protection away from conflicted agencies such as departments of agriculture. As well, there is increasing recognition that the triple demands of animal welfare, environmental protection and health promotion intersect, creating the potential for powerful coalitions challenging prevailing practices which impose cruelty on animals, and which harm our environment and our health. Importantly, contesting established harmful practices found in industries such as commercial animal farming cannot just be a matter for ‘consumer’ action. Institutional responses entrenching shared citizenship norms and providing actionable regulation are critical.
Some of these matters are examined in an upcoming special issue of the Alternative Law Journal. The special issue follows an animal law conference hosted by the Law Futures Centre (LFC) in November 2017, funded through the Law and Nature Program (a summary of the conference proceedings can be found here). The December 2018 special issue (volume 43(4)) will feature a series of articles addressing governance of human-wildlife conflict (by PhD candidate Katie Woolaston, a member of the LFC’s Law and Nature Program); potential reform of farm animal protection regulation in Australia (by Steven White, also a member of the LFC’s Law and Nature Program); representations of animals in film and their relation to law (by Griffith Law School alumnus Michelle Gunawan); regulation of animal welfare, with a focus on free range labelling (by Professor Christine Parker et al, University of Melbourne); and recent significant changes to New Zealand animal welfare regulation (by Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, University of Otago).
Melbourne-based Cancer Therapeutics Co-operative Research Centre – which Griffith University is a foundation participant of – has struck a blockbuster research partnership with global pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer that could eventually be worth as much as $US460 million ($650 million).
CTx CRC specialises in the “small molecule” approach to treating cancer by modulating — switching on or off — cancer-causing chemicals in the body, a more targeted approach than blasting cancers with radiation or chemotherapy.
Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx) was established in 2007.
Professor Vicky Avery heads the Discovery Biology team at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, who are leaders in the field of high throughput screening and high content imaging. The Discovery Biology team use sophisticated image-based assays to support CTx projects such as those that lead to this collaboration with Pfizer.
Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Ned Pankhurst congratulated the CTx management on this outstanding partnership.
“Outcomes such as this highlight the incredible value of multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaborations to benefit from the scientific expertise within Australia,” he said.
“Griffith University is proud to be a contributing member of this successful team.”
Brett Carter, CEO of CTx, said: “We are very excited to work with a company of Pfizer’s calibre on the progression of these programs. This deal, together with the three prior deals for CTX technology, has the potential to return a billion dollars to Australia. Funds that will help support the biomedical sector and that can be ploughed into new drug discovery programs; providing opportunities for the world class team we have developed, and potentially leading to the delivery of new treatments for patients and economic benefits for the nation.”
Dr Robert Abraham, Senior Vice President and Group Head of Pfizer’s Oncology Research & Development Group said: “We are constantly searching the globe for the best science that has the potential to change the way we can treat people with cancer in the future. What we have found at CTx with these two chromatin modifying enzyme targets are very promising, differentiated programs that have the potential to provide new treatment options for patients.”
Asked why CTX had achieved such great success, Dr Ian Street, CTx CSO said: “Every new cancer drug starts with a great idea, however what Australia lacked was a good mechanism to convert these ideas into potential new medicines, and this is the niche that CTx has filled.”
About CTx
CTx is an oncology focused small molecule drug discovery and early development biotechnology group, established under the Australian government’s Cooperative Research Centre initiative. CTx’s unique partnership model leverages the capabilities and expertise of its Industry Participants with those of a number of Australia’s pre-eminent Medical Research Institutes and Universities. CTx’s Participants are the Children’s Cancer Institute, CSIRO, Griffith University, Melbourne Health, Monash University, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Clinical Genomics, SYNthesis Research, CTxONE, Cancer Trials Australia, Medicines Development for Global Health Limited, Cancer Council of Victoria, Syneos Health and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
When Nelson Bayer graduates this year with a Bachelor of Dentistry and Oral Health, it will be the culmination of a hard fought and long path to success.
After years of determination to succeed in his chosen field, Nelson says he never wavered from his dream which began when he was just eight.
“My dentist at the time was a real legend and I remember thinking how it must be amazing to work on people’s teeth and restore confidence in people when they didn’t feel good about their mouth!
“I decided there and then that was what I wanted to do with my life and so I got as much work experience as I could through my school.”
But the Gold Coast student’s career path was not as straightforward as he had hoped.
“Unfortunately my grades were not good enough to get into dentistry so I got into the Bachelor of Dental Technology instead, which then led into the Bachelor of Oral Health Therapy.”
Still thwarted in his chosen career
Nelson graduated from the program in 2011, but was still thwarted in his chosen career when he realised that his GPA was not up to scratch in order to undertake the Bachelor of Dentistry and Oral Health.
Undaunted, he began work as an oral health therapist, undertaking basic fillings, extractions and hygiene work with young people. In addition, he undertook a year of a Bachelor of Business Studies in order to improve his GPA, which he was successful in doing.
“The great thing about this period of my life, was that as well as gaining valuable work experience in basic dentistry, I was also gaining some great business experience which will definitely hold me in good stead for any potential future business I may own,” he says.
Looking back on his career path, Nelson does not have any regrets.
“Apart from telling my eight year old self that I should have worked a lot harder, I am really excited about where I am now. I stuck with it all the way and never lost sight of what I love about dentistry which is that it is a fantastic integration of science and people.
“I love the technology and having the ability to heal people’s oral health, as well as the artistic flair that is needed to make and fit a truly perfect filling.
“Griffith has also been really good to me in terms of the high standard of clinical education; I have had some great mentors during my time here.”
A group of Griffith students took out the top award at the 2018 Opmantek Awards by creating health and safety solutions for factory and production line workers using virtual reality (VR).
On October 24, three of the highest achieving groups from Griffith multimedia, design and IT presented their Industry Project in competition for $2000 of funding – the finalists included Virtual Soccer Coach, CSI Application and Vision VR.
The award-winning group Vision VR were able to use the unique capabilities of VR to tackle complex issues of health and safety for factory and production line workers.
This allows employees to familiarise themselves with training, machinery and daily operations. The detailed and varied training modules allow for the guiding and assessment of employees’ safety, featured knowledge and protocols.
With the support and funding from Opmantek, these Griffith students will continue to lead the development of safer overall operations for future companies and employees.
Gold Coast City Councillor and judge Glenn Tozer said theimportance of training in a virtual environment is revolutionary in lowering the risk and injury rate of employees in our workplaces.
“Anyone can have a great idea – the difference between those who become phenomenally successful is the execution,” he said.
“Ensure to seek support from the community, with organisations such as the Gold Coast Innovation Hub. Overall, the Opmantek prize provides students the opportunity to develop business solutions and systems, to solve current issues in our community and workforces.”
Griffith University ICT & Work Integrated Learning Project Professor, Dr Andrew Lewis confirmed “Opmantek have given students the opportunity to work with not only their own company but exterior organisations, allowing them to learn, make mistakes and grow their technical abilities to succeed in their future workplaces.”
Opmantek Chief Technology Officer & NMIS Founder, Keith Sinclair who was also an executive judge said the Opmantek and Griffith University community project brings value to the IT industry.
“It was great to see training, learning and safety aspects featuring in the student projects, as well as reusability and business strategy integration being applied. For student and innovators to be successful in the technology industry and the workforce as a whole, you must have passion, conviction and persistence to drive you forward,” he said.
About Opmantek
Opmantek is a multi-award winning Software Company operating in the field of Intelligent Network Management and IT Audit software.
Opmantek’s commercial open source network management, and IT audit software, helps IT teams detect faults, review current and historical network performance, and predict where future failures are likely to occur.
Opmantek software is used by more than 100,000 organisations in 130 countries and manages some of the world’s most complex IT environments, including some of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers, managed service providers and banks.
While building their community of users, Opmantek has also sought to build the local Innovation community through the sponsorship and support of a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the knowledge, opportunity and expansion of innovative businesses. Opmantek are proud to partner with Griffith University for the 6th year to showcase and celebrate local talent and increase awareness of the Industry Projects program that Griffith deliver each semester.
By Associate Professor Sue Harris-Rimmer
Griffith Law School
South-east Queensland (SEQ) has just hosted the Commonwealth Games and is preparing to bid for the 2032 Olympic Games. As a successful bid brings the potential of spending around $12 billion of taxpayers’ money, Susan Harris Rimmer asks whether SEQ can think harder about human rights and social infrastructure.
In 2016, SEQ Council of Mayors began discussing the possibility of placing a bid to host the 2028 Games.
The Mayors of SEQ then released their Olympic Pre-feasibility Analysis Report, which indicates the region has the capability and capacity to successfully bid for and host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but the 2028 Games went to Paris.
Following the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Courier Mail reported last week that the Future of SEQ may be boosted by hosting the Olympics in 2032, Australia’s last chance after Sydney and Melbourne as previous hosts. All the reports were about physical infrastructure — transport, stadiums, hotels.
I argue that after a series of disgraceful practices at previous sporting events, human rights violations must be taken seriously as a risk to the success of these events, and also as a positive part of the legacy of a host. Could SEQ be the first to promise and deliver a fully human-rights compliant Olympic Games? Now that would be a gold medal outcome in every sense.
About Human Rights and Mega-Sporting Events
Mega-sporting events (MSEs) should be able to provide evidence of a human rights legacy: job creation, urban regeneration, new public housing, increased sports participation, and improved attitudes towards people with disabilities. However, the evidence that sporting events are in themselves intrinsically human rights promoting or apolitical events does not bear up to scrutiny.
Hosting a MSE makes the host face increased human rights scrutiny on areas of existing weakness (in Australia’s case, refugee policy, indigenous rights, rights of public assembly). For example, the 1986 Games were boycotted by many nations due to Prime Minister Thatcher’s refusal to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime in South Africa
Sport itself is the subject of international human rights law. The International Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Federation both now havehuman rights regulationin their host city manuals and bid processes that will start to kick in during the next decade.
If Australia wishes to host more MSEs, this is an area of practice that needs rigour and investment.
Learning from the Commonwealth Games
Gold Coast 2018 (GC2018) was the largest sporting event staged in Australia this decade. More than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 70 Commonwealth nations and territories came to Queensland. They were joined by in excess of 3,000 international media, 15,000 volunteers, a security force of 10,000 and over 1.5 million spectators, 670,000 from overseas. There was a broadcast audience of around 1.5 billion. How should we evaluate thehuman rights legacyof the Commonwealth Games, beyond the ‘inspiration’factor? What can we learn for an Olympics bid in 2032?
The good news
There were some visible moments of human rights triumphs during these Games:
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) did some ground-breaking work on a creating a meaningfulhuman rights policy.
GOLDOC took part in an Australian-first benchmarking program designed to measure the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) people within Australian sport.
The GC2018 Games can make claims proudly about the first major sporting event in history to have equal events and medal chances for men and women. This brought more focus on gender equality issues for the delegations. It also brought into sharp relief the highly challenging & complex questions aroundtransgender and Intersexathletes competing, where due process and dignity are paramount concerns.
Para athletes participating in mainstream events set a precedent at these Games, sparking a movement to reform the Olympics in the same manner. An exemplary moment was Kurt Fearnley’sspeechafter winning a silver medal, on bringing the topic of the rights of people living with disabilities into our daily lives: “Inclusion’s working, we’re nailing this… Let’s take the conversation further”
TheReconciliation Action Planis an Australian first for a MSE. GOLDOC established the Yugambeh Elders Advisory Group and the Indigenous Working Group.
The London Olympics took strides, but GC2018 can take pride in its Sustainable Procurement Policy.
GOLDOC worked with UNICEF to create a Safe-Guarding Children policy.
Queensland Tourism and the Gold Coast City Council created an Accessible Tourism website andresources.
The bad news
There were more questionable moments, from the Mayor of the Gold Coast opening the games whilst under anactive corruption investigation, sexual assaultchargesagainst a senior delegation official who then left the country, and anextraordinary security presencedespite no particular threat that raised civil liberties concerns.
Generally speaking, Australia should not use MSEs as an opportunity to trial new security measures or experiment with counter-terrorism techniques, and stop the overly securitised nature of these events. Outside the netball stadium, I counted double the number of police/army uniforms to punters.
Thearrestof Stolen Wealthprotestors, including youth detaineeDylan Voller, also showed the darker side of thehistory of the Games. The Commonwealth Games were never just about sport, but also about the influence of the British Empire. The MSEs held in Australia have always been the site of indigenous protest.
Another site of public contention and comment during the Games was theabsconding of some athletes from the Village, possibly with the view of claiming asylum. It is a regular feature of MSEs in developed countries that athletes may make refugee claims,as is their rightunder international law. The treatment of these people after their visas expire will be another moment of international judgment. Two Ugandans are set for deportation this month.
Behind the scenes, the GC2018 made history in its human rights framework, but there is still so much further to go for future Games. What if the most lasting legacy of GC2018 was thenormative infrastructureit leaves for future hosts? How will we know if the local community are better off in the long-term and by whose measures? An Olympics bid could explore that issue more fully and deepen our own nation-branding and place-branding with real integrity.
The Games highlighted the deep and urgent need for the Queensland Government to honour its election promise to pass aHuman Rights Actthis term. Australia has no comprehensive human rights protections at either federal or state level, but has some institutional protection of rights and anti-discrimination measures; a “patchwork”. By 2032, if the Act is passed, we will have credible human rights architecture to offer as part of our bid.
The way forward
The missing link in the protection of human rights at MSEs is still the right to a remedy if rights are infringed. Will the assault of an athlete on film still receive impunity by 2032?
Some of the human rights issues that arise from hosting the Games cannot be resolved by the host alone, due to the ‘phoenix’ nature of the organising bodies. The Olympics should encourage the use of partnerships with national and local integrity mechanisms (national human rights institutions, ombudsman, civil society organisations, welfare providers) as well as international actors who can bring expertise but also add a degree of legitimacy to the Games human rights reputation.
Improved governance and modelling of human rights protection, education and promotion can itself be a Games Legacy. The Olympic Games should aim for sporting excellence but also seek to use the Games to strengthen human rights protection in the host nation and celebrate progress towards achieving better human right standards. A legacy worth celebrating.
Laura Waldie has received the Griffith Sports College Award for Most Outstanding Griffith Student Player in the 2108 AON Rugby Uni 7s Series.
The Bachelor of Oral Health Dental Science student was also named Players’ Player of the Series at an awards ceremony held at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus.
Laura, who was among 10 Griffith students to feature during the series, had a stellar season across the five weekends of tournament competition.
Griffith clinched the series in the final round in Adelaide with a third successive tournament win.
Wallaroo and Aussie 7s star and Bachelor of Education graduate Shannon Parry attended the ceremony for the inaugural presentation of the Shannon Parry Award to acknowledge the Most Outstanding Player which went to all-action player, Charlotte Kennington.
The Leadership Award was presented to team captain and Bachelor of Public Relations and Communication student Kiri Lingman (above), while Bachelor of Education student Kahli Henwood, who burst on to the sevens scene this year, received the Rookie of the Year Award (below).
“An award named after Shannon Parry sets the standard very high for any recipient and Charlotte certainly reached those heights with some magnificent performances during the series,” Director of the Griffith Sports College, Duncan Free OAM, said.
“Laura’s commitment both to her studies and her sporting endeavours is remarkable. She maintained the highest of standards on both fronts throughout the series. She is a worthy recipient of the first Griffith Sports College Award.”
Duncan Free OAM paid tribute to the work of players and coaching staff in taking out a highly-competitive national title.
“They have been great ambassadors not only for Griffith University but also for the sport of rugby sevens.”
The Leadership Award was presented to team captain and Bachelor of Public Relations and Communication student Kiri Lingman (above), while Bachelor of Education student Kahli Henwood, who burst on to the sevens scene this year, received the Rookie of the Year Award (below).
“An award named after Shannon Parry sets the standard very high for any recipient and Charlotte certainly reached those heights with some magnificent performances during the series,” Director of the Griffith Sports College, Duncan Free OAM, said.