Laura John (2013 winner)
Ms Laura John has been awarded the Sir John Monash Medal for 2013 by the Faculty of Law.
Laura is passionate about refugee rights and the law. In 2012, Laura completed a three month internship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where she was responsible for reviewing Australian and New Zealand refugee protection policies.
That same year, Laura was selected as a Global Intern by the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and completed an internship with Human Rights First in New York City. During her placement, Laura worked in the Refugee Protection Program interviewing asylum seekers and assisting in providing pro bono legal assistance.
Laura has also volunteered as a paralegal with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Australia's largest asylum seeker advocacy, aid and health organisation promoting and protecting the human rights of asylum seekers.
Laura was able to use this practical experience working within the refugee protection system to inform her Law Honours thesis titled, "Breaking the people smugglers' business model: does deterrence work?" which explored the intersection between refugee law and migrant smuggling law. Laura's thesis challenged the application of policies of deterrence to refugees fleeing from persecution.
Laura is also a strong advocate for youth empowerment. She has held 
leadership positions with the Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run organisation committed to ending extreme poverty. While volunteering with Oaktree, Laura assisted in the national management of the End Child Slavery campaign. A key outcome of this campaign, which was run in parallel with campaigns from other development agencies, was Cadbury's announcement in 2009 that it would use fair trade certification for its milk chocolate range.
In 2011, Laura was selected as the Victorian Young Member for National Youth Week, helping to shape the national vision for this annual celebration of Australian young people. Laura was a member of the Victorian Government's Multifaith Multicultural Youth Network, which provides a platform for young Victorians to discuss issues of youth, culture and religion. Laura worked with other members of the network to deliver a regional schools tour which promoted tolerance by challenging high school students to explore diverse religions.
Laura was also the inaugural young person on the Board of Management for Youth Connect, a not-for-profit organisation that supports young people to pursue educational pathways. In this role, Laura attended monthly management meetings to provide a youth perspective on the strategic directions of the organisation.
In 2008, Laura was a member of the Parliament of the World's Religions Youth Committee. The Parliament is the largest interreligious gathering in the world that brings together thousands of people from various faiths and cultures to tackle global issues. As a member of the Youth Committee, Laura worked with other young people from diverse backgrounds to create the youth program, including community service projects.
Laura has completed numerous internships including with the Department of Justice, Office for Youth and Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. Last year, she was awarded the Young Citizen of the Year Award for the City of Kingston.
This year, Laura has been selected as the Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, the only position of its kind in the country. In this role she will travel around Australia consulting with young people to find out what issues they are most passionate about. Then she will join the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York where she will deliver a speech to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
Laura has made these contributions while maintaining a strong academic record. She has graduated from her law degree with First Class Honours.
Laura is committed to developing and using her legal skills to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society have access to the justice system. Upon completion of her term as Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, Laura will commence as a graduate lawyer at Australian Government Solicitor where she hopes to pursue her interest in public interest law.