Paul Collier (activist)

Paul Henry Collier (4 February 1964 – 9 March 2010)[1][2] was an Australian disability activist and the founder of the Dignity for Disability party.

Paul Collier
Born
Paul Henry Collier

(1964-02-04)February 4, 1964
DiedMarch 9, 2010(2010-03-09) (aged 46)
OccupationDisability activist
Known forFounder of the Dignity for Disability party

Collier was a quadriplegic, due to serious spinal injuries in a car accident on the way to his twenty-first birthday celebrations.[3] He held a DPhil from the University of Oxford, and held advisory roles with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and for the federal Minister for Disability.[4] He founded the Dignity for Disability party in South Australia, standing as its candidate for the South Australian Legislative Council in 2006 and 2010. He died after a brain haemorrhage a few weeks before the 2010 election, in which his party gained enough votes for a seat in the council; this was taken by the second candidate on the ticket, Kelly Vincent. In 2013, a scholarship in Collier's name was set up to assist potential leaders with disabilities.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Rann, Mike (6 May 2010). "COLLIER, DR PAUL". Hansard.
  2. ^ "SA election candidate Paul Collier dies". The Australian. 10 March 2010.
  3. ^ Shepherd, Tory (11 March 2010). "Vote for Dr Paul Collier "will help those in need"". The Courier-Mail.
  4. ^ "AAA farewells Paul Collier". 4 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Leaders scholarship commemorates Dr Paul Collier". Wadham College, University of Oxford. 12 September 2013.