Pat Cronin Foundation shares unimaginable grief with Aussie students to shift attitudes towards violence

The senseless death of a “treasured” Labor figure sent shockwaves through the nation and triggered an outpouring of grief for a man remembered as a devoted father and a person who brought joy to many.

Tim Picton spent weeks in a coma before he died following an alleged one-punch attack outside a Perth nightclub on December 27.

The father was a respected political and business leader who was credited for helping Western Australia Labor secure a landslide win in the 2021 state election.

Anthony Albanese said Mr Picton should have had many more decades ahead of him.

“That he has been taken from the world so young is such a cruel tragedy,” the Prime Minister said.

The news rocked Matt Cronin, whose own son Pat died when he was coward punched from behind 10 years ago.

“Every time we see something like what happened with Tim, we think, ‘Here we go again, that family’s going to have to go through what we’ve gone through’,” he said.

A Monash University study published last year found that almost 300 people were convicted of coward punches across Australia between 1990 and 2020.

Most offenders were male with a median age of 26, more than a third involved alcohol and most incidents occurred between 6pm and 6am.

Mr Cronin and his wife Robyn never expected their son to die a violent death.

Pat was 19, he had a scholarship to attend university and was the captain of his football team, but one fateful night in April 2016 he never made it home as a result of a coward punch.

“As parents we never even gave it a thought that we would lose a child like this to violence, car accidents was the thing that we worried about,” Mr Cronin said.

“Pat was just a good kid, he was a leader in every way that you can think of.”

Pat went out for a quiet night with his mates, and while he was out, one of his friends was attacked.

Mr Cronin said Pat did what they always taught him to do, which was to help his friend and drag him away from trouble, but in that moment of courage he got struck from behind.

“Pat didn’t get knocked out. He didn’t hit the ground. He was walking and talking straight away after he was struck and continued to gather his friends together,” he said.

“It’s only later, two hours later, he had a seizure.”

Mr Cronin said Pat went back to a friend’s house to stay the night, then complained of a headache.

He phoned home to say he wasn’t feeling well and his mum thought he sounded a little drunk because he was slurring his words.

“But we now know that he wasn’t drunk because they did a blood test on him later. He had a seizure and never regained consciousness. Two days later we turned his life support off,” Mr Cronin said.

A friend involved in White Ribbon suggested they start a charity to talk about violence against men and established the Pat Cronin Foundation.

They worked with school leaders, the Victorian Education Department and Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to develop a program to run in schools that sent a message that violence was never OK.

The Victorian government has funded the Pat Cronin Foundation since 2021 and delivers the Be Wise education program to 200 Victorian schools each year.

It also travels to most states to deliver the education program.

The program raises awareness of the ‘coward’s punch’ and supports students to make wise choices and avoid the tragic consequences of violence.

“It’s quite incredible the power of sharing Pat’s story,” Mr Cronin said.

“We get feedback all the time from students that it was the most powerful presentation they have seen and teachers tell us that the behaviour in the schoolyard changes the next day as a result.

“We survey students before and after the presentation to measure a change in attitudes and the difference is quite stark.

“We’re trying to send a message that violence is never OK.

“We share Pat’s story, we talk about consequences, and Pat’s story is the worst possible consequence.

“We know it’s making a difference, and for us, it’s about educating kids as young as possible.”

Monash University Department of Forensic Medicine Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann said further tragedies could be prevented by understanding one-punch cases to shape more effective legal and public health strategies.

“Alongside laws, changes in liquor regulations and public health campaigns have also played a role in addressing coward-punch violence,” she said.