Annalise grew up in Kununurra, a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern boundary of the Kimberley. She is embarking on her first year studying Law at Curtin University in Perth. Annalise was an active member of her remote community and joined the Save The Children National Youth Ambassador program in 2017 to advocate for regional issues, including education inequality. As part of this program Annalise visited Canberra with other young people from around the country and it was here, she experienced the disparity of remote and urban services, opportunities, and support. This set the path for Annalise, who has chosen to study Law as a pathway of expertise and credibility in raising awareness of the challenges for remote living. 

“I found it confronting to realise how little others in the group from the city areas, knew about the reality of living remotely; the travel and the lack of services and access people face daily. In Canberra I was able to talk about things that the others had no concept of. I want to help. I miss home every day, but I know I need to be here to make a difference to remote and regional areas into the future. I plan on being a powerful advocate for remote residents when I have completed my degree and have some professional experience behind me” said Annalise. 

Mr Coffey said “Annalise is committed to supporting and assisting people in the outback which is an important element of the E.J. Connellan Award. We are happy to support Annalise given the additional costs that people from outback Australia have in accessing specialist courses such as Law. Remote Australia is rapidly changing and in some places the gap between services in remote and urban locations is only increasing. We hope that in supporting Annalise, she will return to the bush and continue to advocate and champion positive change and advancement for people in the outback.”   

The Award was established in 1988 by the Connellan Airways Trust in honour of the founder, the pioneer Northern Territory aviator and pastoralist, Edward Connellan (known as E.J or Eddie). EJ was man of strong and passionate character, with special abilities attuned to trail blazing. He was a successful pastoralist and a visionary businessman and played a prominent role in Central Australian affairs. The Connellan Airways Trust has been supporting outback people for nearly forty years through a variety of grants and scholarships. 

The Connellan Airways Trust’s purpose is to enable the advancement of people in the Outback, with a focus on education and wellbeing.