Jason Shields
2 May 2022
This article was written by Jason Shields and published by the Sunraysia Daily HERE.
TEENAGE Mildura civil rights and social justice campaigner Conor Pall has just been given a bigger platform from which to spread his message – on Friday night he was named Victorian Young Achiever of the Year in the Connecting Communities category.
It was the latest success in the rise and rise of this 18-year-old domestic violence campaigner.
Now studying social work at La Trobe University, Conor said he hoped to match it with Masters in law – using both degrees and his own personal experiences as the foundation for a role in public policy.
"I'm still shocked I had made it as a finalist in awards as prestigious as these, amongst so many people doing so much good work in, and for, their communities," Conor said.
"To win it is something so very special but it is not really mine, it is for every survivor, women, men and children, and while I appreciate this acknowledgment for me, and that it recognises my work in advocacy, it also recognises all the advocates pushing for change, for understanding and, most of all, protection.
"We have come such a long way since the Royal Commission, but we have a much longer way still to go – and that's where I will be focused."
A member of the Victorian Youth Parliament for the past two years, Conor had a significant role in the 2021 'Bill' proposed by the young members to seek introduction of 'coercive control' as a crime equal with physical assault charges in domestic violence situations and again, in the 2022 proposal – returning passenger rail services to Mildura.