Little Athletics career:
WA Little Athletics:
1971/72 – 1973/74 Gosnells & Districts Little Athletics Centre
Nil athletics records, however as a Little Athlete, Tony was a regular and enthusiastic participant.
Post Little Athletics Career: (continuation in athletics/another sport, achievements, awards)
Tony graduated from High School in 1978 and entered the University of Western Australia (UWA) to study a Physical Education Degrees. He has completed further studies at UWA, Australian National University (ANU), Oxford University and Yale University achieving:
· Bachelor of Physical Education (Hons)
· Diploma of Education
· Bachelor of Laws
· Master of Industrial Relations
· Doctor of Philosophy (Law)
Tony has worked as high school teacher, lawyer, AFL player agent and legal academic. On 2 October 2010 he was elected as the Member for Armadale in WA.
Tony has written books, articles and other publications on the stolen generations, British child migrants, human rights, disability discrimination and sports law. His biography of Sir Ronald Wilson, A Matter of Conscience, won the 2007 Premier’s Book Award.
Currently Tony is deputy chair of the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee and is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition; Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Multi-Cultural Interests.
Tony has maintained an interest in running and has participated in numerous fun runs and completed marathons. Some of the more prestigious marathons that Tony has completed are the New York Marathon USA in 2011, Melbourne Marathon in 2012 and Boston Marathon USA in 2014. He also completed the 2013 Busselton Ironman.
Tony has been involved in many other sporting organisations including:
· Board member South Fremantle Football Club 1996
· Founding President Champion Lakes Boat Club
· Member Armadale Soccer Club and Armadale Tennis Club
· Captain: Colts Premiership team, Armadale Football Club, South Suburban League 1980
In 2017, Tony accepted the honourable role as Patron for Little Athletics WA. He has attended numerous events and presented at Conferences, always supportive of the Little Athletics aims and objectives. Tony has also actively supported several successful grant applications to assist and support the growth and development of local Centres, and to provide much needed funding for Little Athletics WA to proactively pursue greater programs for inclusivity and inclusion.
Tony has stated to audiences that his experiences at Little Athletics helped to define the person he is and gave him the determination and resilience to continue pursuing a career in parliament despite several barriers along the way. Tony has likened himself to the athlete that strives to be his best despite not winning races, or breaking records. It is this tenacity and determination that he carried into his academic career and has now led to his life achievements, successes and given him the strategies for coping with life’s challenges.
Any other relevant information:
Tony is very active in fund raising for charity groups in his community having founded the Rachael Doherty Foundation Fun Run in 2012 which is now an annual event. In 2016, Tony founded the Ride Against Domestic Violence; a 250km journey commencing at Busselton in South West WA and concluding at Parliament House in Perth. The ride stops near seven women’s refuges along the way where Tony hears from staff members and domestic violence survivors.
He is the Patron of numerous organisations including Little Athletics WA, the Fairholme Disability Support Group and serves on the board of a number of schools in his electorate. In 2011 he became a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Australian Navy (Legal, Reserves).
More than just a budding author, Tony has written or co-written a number of books including: Drugs, Sport and the Law, Separated: Aboriginal Childhood Separations Law, Sports and the Law, Brothers: Justice Corruption and the Mickelbergs, Sports and the Law. In 2008 he was awarded the Western Australian Premier’s Prize Winner and Non-Fiction Category Winner for his book “Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience”. In addition to his books, Tony has also written in excess of 50 articles which have been published in Journals or papers which have been presented to a large number of Conferences, Seminars and Workshops.
Tony has also dabbled in drama production and he was the Executive Producer, Co-Producer, Co- Director and Writer of the documentary “AFL: Not Just A Game”.
As a public speaker, Tony has had a fantastic grounding competing at the Concours International de Plaidoiries (Caen France) and reaching the top ten finalists in all four competitions; he was placed second in the world in 1997, and third in 2001 and 2005. Other career highlights included winning the C. Sanders Prize as the top student in the 1983 Diploma of Education class at The University of Western Australia and the Allens’ International Trade Law Prize from the Australian National University in 1991.
Tony commenced teaching as his first career in 1984 in Western Australia and commenced as a Lawyer at Dwyer Durack in 1993. From 1994 to 1997 he worked as a Human Rights and Public Policy lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia before moving onto a lecturing role at the Murdoch University Law School (1997 – 2006) and then at the University of Western Australia Law School where he attained the title of Professor (2007 – 2010).
At a by-election in October 2010, Tony was elected as a Member of the Western Australian Parliament as the member for Armadale in the Legislative Assembly. He was subsequently re-elected in February 2013 at the State Election.
Coles Little Athletics Australia acknowledges and pays respect to all traditional custodians of the lands of which we work, run, jump and throw throughout Australia. We pay respect to elders both past, present and emerging.
We are committed to a positive future for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to honor their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to this country and recognize the role and value of culture.
