Upcoming Speakers
New Zealand and Australia have been described as the “two most connected countries on the planet”. This connection, which traditionally plays out along economic, trade and tourism lines takes on additional significance in an era of increasing strategic complexity and uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters is in Canberra to discuss how New Zealand and Australia share a similar Pacific ambition and how we will work together to navigate emerging risks and opportunities in our region and beyond. New Zealand’s new Pacific Reset strategy complements Australia’s Pacific aims and will provide opportunities for further collaboration. Minister Peters will outline the continued strength of the trans-Tasman relationship, a relationship underpinned by the world’s most comprehensive free trade agreement.
Mr Peters grew up in Northland and holds a BA and LLB. He entered Parliament in 1978 in the seat of Hunua and was MP for Tauranga from 1984 till 2005.
In 1993, Mr Peters and others formed the New Zealand First Party and gained representation in the last First Past the Post election, and then in 1996 won 17 seats in New Zealand’s first MMP election.
He was Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer from 1996-1998, leading business and finance delegations to Asia’s capitals, the US and Canada.
From 2005-2008, Mr Peters was Minister of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand Aid in the New Zealand First confidence and supply arrangement with the Labour Government.
He is credited with being personally responsible for thawing NZ-US relations.
Mr Peters has gained a reputation for his tenacious pursuit of fairness and accountability, highlighted by victories in a number of political exposes. This continues to underscore his politics.
Mr Peters has been successful in two by-elections, one in Tauranga in April 1993, and again in Northland in March 2015.
As well as being a former primary and secondary school teacher, Mr Peters has practised as a Barrister and Solicitor, including in his own law firm.
He is a former New Zealand Maori rugby representative.
After the 2017 general elections, New Zealand First formed a coalition government with the Labour Party. Mr Peters is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, State-Owned Enterprises and Racing.
This event is run in conjunction with the Canberra Writers Festival 2018.
In this a not-to-be-missed event, former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will riff about life on the land and discuss his ode to the bush, Weatherboard & iron. In what promises to be a spirited session with senior Press Gallery reporter Mark Kenny, Joyce will also discuss the big issues confronting Australia – and provide a rare insight into the controversies that have plagued his recent career.Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth, NSW, in 1967. In 1999, he set up an accountancy practice in St George, Queensland, and secured a seat in the Senate at the 2004 federal election. He is also the only federal politician to have won back for his party a Senate seat and a House of Representatives seat, having moved to the lower house in 2013 and secured the seat of New England in NSW, thus becoming the only Australian politician to have been a Senator in one state and Member in another. One of the nation’s longest serving Agricultural Ministers.He became Leader of his party in the Senate then later resigned from the Senate when he successfully challenged and won the seat of New England. He was elected Leader of the National Party in 2016 and was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for two years before resigning to go to the back bench in 2018. Barnaby Joyce has held multiple portfolios, from Agriculture, Water, Infrastructure, Northern Australia as well as shadow portfolios. He is both loved and loathed but never silent nor still.
Mark Kenny
Mark Kenny is the national affairs editor for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.He has formerly worked for ABC and The Advertiser as the national political editor. He is a director of the National Press Club, and regular on the ABC’s Insiders program.
This event is run in conjunction with the Canberra Writers Festival 2018.
The West is in decline; Europe faces further fracturing; the rise of China threatens peace in our region. At a time of unprecedented global change, our experts try to make sense of a world in turmoil. Join us at the National Press Club for a world-class panel session featuring Gwynne Dyer, (London based Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian); Afua Hirsch (British writer, broadcaster, barrister of Ghanaian, British, Jewish heritage); Greg Sheridan (Australian Foreign Affairs journalist and commentator) moderated by Chris Uhlmann, journalist and television presenter, Political Editor of Channel 9.Gwynne Dyer
Gwynne Dyer has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries. In Canada, Dyer’s column appears regularly in about sixty newspapers while in the United States in more than 20 newspapers. Outside North America, papers that use Dyer’s column regularly include an additional 35 outlets globally.Greg Sheridan
Greg Sheridan is a foreign affairs journalist and commentator. He joined The Australian in 1984 and worked in Beijing, Washington, and Canberra. He has been the foreign editor of The Australian since 1992. He is active across radio and television, specialises in Asian politics and has written four books on the topic.
Afua Hirsch
Afua Hirsch is an author, journalist, broadcaster and former barrister. Having studied and worked across 15 countries in West and Central Africa on international law and development, Afua became the West Africa Correspondent for The Guardian, establishing the paper’s first ever regional bureau in Ghana. She is also the former social affairs editor at Sky News, and the author of the Sunday Times bestselling book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging (2018), winner of the Royal Society for Literature Jerwood Award. Afua appears on regular current affairs debate shows on Sky News, CNN, the B.B.C, writes a column in the Guardian, and broadcasts, writes and speaks widely on identity, diaspora, socio-economic developments and social justice.
Moderated by Chris Uhlmann
Chris Uhlmann is political editor for Nine News. In 19 years at the ABC he co-hosted Canberra’s top rating breakfast program and the national broadcaster’s flagships: AM, 730 and Insiders. Chris spent a decade leading the ABC’s political coverage across all platforms, winning a Walkley for broadcast interviewing and the Gold Quill for the Four Corners-Fairfax investigation of Chinese Communist Party influence in Australia. With Steve Lewis he co-authored The Marmalade Files, Mandarin Code and Shadow Game which were made into the Logie winning mini-series Secret City.Inequality is a hotly debated topic around the world. But has inequality worsened in Australia in recent years? The Productivity Commission has completed a comprehensive, evidence‑based study to uncover trends in inequality in the context of 25 years of sustained economic growth.
Join Peter Harris, Chair of the Productivity Commission, and Commissioner Jonathan Coppel at the launch of the report on ‘Rising Inequality? A stocktake of the evidence’ for a stimulating discussion around a topic that is conditioning many public policy debates. The speakers will make us think about the issues surrounding inequality by looking at some of the evidence presented in the report.
Many questions about inequality will be addressed, including:
· How has income and wealth inequality changed over time?
· How do we compare internationally?
· What role does economic mobility play in mitigating inequality?
Both speakers will take questions on the study and related issues, including how the study relates to the recent ‘Shifting the Dial: 5 Year Productivity Review’.
This will be Peter Harris’s last major public address before his departure from the Productivity Commission in September. So this will also be an opportunity to explore a set of broader issues.
Peter Harris
Peter Harris is Chairman of the Productivity Commission. Mr Harris has previously served as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and the Victorian Government agencies responsible for Sustainability and the Environment; Primary Industries; and Public Transport. Peter announced earlier this year that he would not seek reappointment as Chair of the Productivity Commission and his term will come to an end in September of this year.Jonathan Coppel
Jonathan Coppel was appointed as a full-time Commissioner in July 2011. Jonathan is an economist with extensive international and domestic experience advising governments on macroeconomic, investment, energy, social, environmental and regulatory policy. Prior to his appointment, Jonathan was Head of the OECD G20 Sherpa Office and in Australia has held senior management positions at the Reserve Bank.Fiona Simson believes that agriculture is an industry of the future. Collaborative and passionate, she has been an agricultural industry leader at both a state and federal level since 2008.
Elected in 2016 as the first female President of National Farmers Federation in its 39 year history, she is now leading industry through an exciting period of change.
A farmer herself with her husband Ed and family from the Liverpool Plains in NSW, she hopes to create opportunities for more women to become involved in industry, and was instrumental in the launch of the NFF’s first Diversity in Ag Leadership Programme in 2018.
She is a skilled and experienced Board Director, with particular experience in policy development, communication and governance. She also sits as a Director on the Boards of Australian Made Australian Grown, NRMA (NSW), and AgStewardship.
Heather Ridout
Heather Ridout is chair of AustralianSuper – the nation’s largest superannuation fund with $140 billion of members’ retirement assets; a Director of ASX Ltd and a Director of Sims Metal Management – the world’s largest publicly listed recycling company.Her other appointments include member of the Boards of: the Advance Australia Advisory Board; Asialink; Australian Chamber Orchestra; Australian Cyber Security Growth Network Board; and is a member of ASIC’s – External Advisory Panel.
Her previous appointments include: member of the Reserve Bank Board; member of the Henry Tax Review panel; board member of Infrastructure Australia; member of the Business Roundtable on Climate Change; member of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Committee; member of the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing; co-Chair of the Australian-Canada Economic Leadership Dialogue and a delegate to the B20 – the key business advisory body to the G20.
In June 2013, Ms. Ridout was awarded the rank of Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the general division for distinguished service to business and industry through significant contributions to the development of economic and public policy.
Professor Ian Chubb
Emeritus Professor Ian Chubb was Chief Scientist for Australia from May 2011 to January 2016.Prior to that, Professor Chubb was Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University from January 2001 to March 2011; Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University of South Australia for six years and the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Monash University for two years.
From January 1986 to September 1990, Professor Chubb was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong and Honorary Professor of Biology. During the period 1978-1985 he was a staff member in the School of Medicine of Flinders University. Before that he was at Oxford University: 1971-1977 he was a Wellcome Foundation Scholar (Christ Church), a Junior Research Fellow of St John’s College, and a Royal Society Research Fellow. He spent 1969-1971 as a JF & C Heymans Research Fellow at the University of Ghent, Belgium.He was Chair of the Commonwealth’s Higher Education Council from September 1990 to December 1994 and was, until mid-1994, Deputy Chair of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training.
In 1999 Professor Chubb was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and in 2006 a Companion (AC) in the order for “service to higher education, including research and development policy in the pursuit of advancing the national interest socially, economically, culturally and environmentally, and to the facilitation of a knowledge-based global economy”. Professor Chubb was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001, and was the ACT’s Australian of the Year in 2011.
He has been awarded six honorary doctorates: a DSc by Flinders University in 2000; a D.Litt by Charles Darwin University and a D.Univ by the Australian National University, both in 2011; an LLD by Monash University in 2012, a D.Univ by the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2014 and an LLD by the University of Melbourne in 2015.
He was elected a Fellow of the Australian College of Education in 2008 and a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 2014. He was Awarded the Academy Medal of the Australian Academy of Science in 2016 and elected Fellow of the Academy in 2017.
Professor Anne Tiernan
Professor Anne Tiernan is Dean (Engagement) for the Griffith Business School, Griffith University. A political scientist, with earlier careers in government in the Commonwealth and Queensland, and in teaching and consultancy, Anne is respected for her independent, professional and research-informed analysis and commentary on national politics, public administration and public policy. Anne consults regularly to Australian governments at all levels.Professor Tiernan’s research focuses on the work of governing. Her scholarly interests include: Australian politics and governance, policy advice, executive studies, policy capacity, federalism and intergovernmental coordination. She has written extensively on the political-administrative interface, caretaker conventions, governmental transitions and the work of policy advising.
Anne’s exceptional oral and written communication and presentation skills are demonstrated in her publications, which include six books, articles in national and international journals and invitations to deliver keynote lectures and public addresses. She has a strong media profile across broadcast, print and online platforms and is an experienced public speaker, moderator, facilitator and emcee.
Professor Tiernan is a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and a Fellow of ANZSOG. She is Chair of the Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal and an Ordinary Commissioner of the Crime and Corruption Commission. Professor Tiernan was previously Assistant Commissioner, Collaboration for the Public Service Commission; and Member of the Public Records Review Committee of the Queensland State Archives, the Board of Commissioners of the Queensland Public Service Commission and a Director of St Rita’s College Ltd.
Kate Jenkins has been Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner since 2016. She is leading the Australian Human Rights Commission’s work on the National Inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. It’s the first inquiry of its kind in the world to respond to the issue of workplace sexual harassment.
In her role, Kate has been leading a number of other projects including working with Australian Universities to better respond to and prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus and continuing the Commission’s collaborative project on cultural reform with the Australian Defence Force.
Kate is the convener of the National Male Champions of Change group (established 2015), and the Co-Chair of Play by the Rules, a joint project between human rights agencies and sports commissions to make grass roots sports safe, fair and inclusive.
Prior to joining the Commission, Kate spent three years as the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. In that role she held an Independent Review into Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, including Predatory Behaviour, in Victoria Police. She was also the Co-Chair of the Victorian Commission’s Disability Reference Group and a member of the Aboriginal Justice Forum.
Kate spent 20 years as lead partner with Herbert Smith Freehills’ and 15 years on the board of Berry Street Victoria.
Dr Richard Di Natale is the leader of the Australian Greens. He was elected to the federal parliament in 2010 and re-elected in 2016. He was the first Greens’ first Victorian Senator. His portfolios include health, multiculturalism and sport.
Prior to entering parliament, Richard was a general practitioner and public health specialist. He worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector. His key health priorities include preventative health, public dental care and responding to the health impacts of climate change.
Richard’s achievements in parliament so far include securing almost $5 billion towards Medicare-funded dentistry, winning a campaign to divest $250 million worth of tobacco stocks from the Future Fund, and spearheading campaigns into many issues of public significance such as dying with dignity, medicinal cannabis, and drug law reform. He is the co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends for Drug Policy and Law Reform, the Parliamentary Friends of West Papua, the Parliamentary Friends of Medicine and the Parliamentary Friends of Multiculturalism.
Women in Media Canberra presents eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on October 3.
Holding a unique position as the head of the first government agency in the world dedicated to online safety, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant will deliver a National Press Club address on “Australia’s approach to keeping its citizens safer online – the risks, challenges & opportunities”.
Julie Inman Grant is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that all Australians have safer and more positive experiences online. As the only nation in the world to have a government agency dedicated to online safety, Julie has created a pioneering, innovative and citizen-focused Office making an impact, both at home and globally.
Julie has been a passionate advocate of promoting technology for good and has been working at the intersection of technology and social policy for more than 25 years. She has been dedicated to combatting all forms of child sexual exploitation, online cyber abuse and has worked tirelessly to promote and protect the voices of women, children and vulnerable communities online.
As Commissioner, Julie has leveraged her extensive experience in the non-profit and government sectors, where she spent more than two decades working in senior public policy and safety roles in the tech industry at Microsoft, Twitter, and Adobe.
Julie’s career began in Washington DC, working in the US Congress and the non-profit sector before taking on a role at Microsoft. Julie’s experience at Microsoft spanned 17 years, serving as one of the company’s first and longest-standing government relations professionals, ultimately in the role of Global Safety Director for Online Safety Policy and Outreach.
At Twitter, Julie headed up Public Policy for Australia and South East Asia, managing a range of public policy issues, including online safety and countering violent extremism. Julie also built Twitter’s ‘Rules and Tools’ for safety, and conceptualised and piloted #PositionofStrength, which continues to serve as Twitter’s global female safety and empowerment program.
Immediately prior to joining the eSafety Office, Julie served as Director of Government Relations Asia Pacific at Adobe, working on a range of issues stemming from digital transformation in government, innovation & creativity & STEM promotion is schools. She also brought Adobe’s corporate social responsibility program, Project 1324, to Australia, building partnerships with local creative NGOs including the Sydney Story Factory and High Resolves.
Dr Goldie will launch new ACOSS/UNSW research on Poverty in Australia, which will provide updated analysis of the rate and number of people living in poverty in Australia, the profile of people living below the poverty line and trends over time using latest ABS data.
Cassandra Goldie has been CEO of ACOSS since July 2010. With public policy expertise in economic and social issues, civil society, social justice and human rights, Cassandra has represented the interests of people who are disadvantaged, and civil society generally, in major national and international processes as well as in grassroots communities. Prior to joining ACOSS, Cassandra held senior roles in both the NFP and public sectors, including as Director of Sex and Age Discrimination with the Australian Human Rights Commission, Director and Principal Solicitor with the Darwin Community Legal Service and Senior Executive with Legal Aid in Western Australia.
Cassandra has a PhD from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Law from University College London and is an Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Law, UNSW. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Cassandra serves on the Advisory Committee for the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, as a member of the UNSW Grand Challenge on Inequality and Law Advisory Committees and the Management Committee of the International Council of Social Welfare.
Cassandra was recognised as one of the Inaugural Westpac/Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence in 2012 and selected as an AFR/BOSS True Leader in 2013. In 2014, she was voted one of the Impact 25 Most Influential People in the Social Economy and recognised by the AFR in 2015 on their Annual Overt Power List. In 2018, Cassandra was recognised as one of Australia’s top 50 Outstanding LGBTI Executives by Deloitte.
Peter Maurer is the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (appointed in 2012).
Under his leadership, the ICRC carries out humanitarian work in over 80 countries. As President, Mr Maurer has a unique exposure to today’s main armed conflicts and the challenges of assisting and protecting people in need. He travels regularly to the major conflict theatres of the world including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan and Myanmar. As the ICRC’s chief diplomat, and through the ICRC’s principled, neutral approach, Mr Maurer regularly meets with heads of states and other high-level officials as well as parties to conflict, to find solutions to pressing humanitarian concerns.
Mr Maurer has served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Switzerland as well as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York. As a diplomat he worked on issues relating to human security, including mine action, small arms and light weapons as well as on the responsibility of states in the implementation of international humanitarian law.
The Business Council of Australia is the nation’s premier business organisation, advocating for a stronger and fairer society through a more prosperous Australia.
Jennifer Westacott AO has served as Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia since 2011, bringing a unique combination of extensive policy experience in both the public and private sectors.
Under her leadership, the Business Council tirelessly champions meaningful policies that strengthen the ability of businesses to grow the economy for the benefit of all Australians.
The Business Council believes robust economic growth with a strong safety net for the most vulnerable Australians is the nation’s best defence against inequality.
For Australia to thrive, private enterprises must be allowed to flourish in a modern, open economy that incentivises, rewards effort, and encourages aspiration.
Throughout her life, Jennifer has been a passionate advocate for greater social and economic inclusion.
Jennifer built her career in the public sector, working in senior leadership positions in the NSW and Victorian governments across housing, education, and infrastructure, planning and natural resources.
Jennifer, who grew up on NSW’s central coast, was the first woman to become director of Housing Victoria and the first public housing tenant to run a housing department.
Her first-hand understanding of disadvantage, coupled with an unwavering commitment to create opportunities to ensure all Australians can reach their full potential, has carried over to her work in the private sector.
As a senior partner at KPMG, Jennifer advised major corporations on climate change and sustainability and advised governments across Australia on significant reform priorities.
Jennifer has an unrivalled understanding of how the public and private sectors intersect and can work together to achieve the best outcomes in the national interest.
Since 2013, Jennifer has served as the Chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia and has been instrumental in focusing attention and resources on mental health issues.
Jennifer is a Non-Executive Director of Wesfarmers Limited, one of the nation’s largest and most respected private sector employers.
Following on from her work helping to develop Australia’s new International Cyber Engagement Strategy, Jennifer serves as a member of the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre. The centre aims to promote and protect Australia’s capabilities in cyber security research, development and commercialisation.
Jennifer is the Australian Co-chair of the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum which was established to discuss opportunities facing the two nations and identify where they can better collaborate on issues such as foreign policy, economic growth and education.
Jennifer is the Co-Patron of Pride in Diversity and is the Co-Chair of the Australia Sino One Hundred Year Agricultural and Food Safety Partnership (ASA100). The partnership seeks to promote, develop and advance international trade in Australian agriculture and manufactured food products.
In 2018, Jennifer was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to private and public sector administration through executive roles, to policy development and reform, to cross sector collaboration, to equity, and to business.
Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of New South Wales and in 2017 received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from her alma mater. She was a Chevening Scholar at the London School of Economics.
Joseph Stiglitz is the recipient of the 2018 Sydney Peace Prize and is in Canberra as a guest of The Australia Institute and Sydney Peace Prize.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute.
A recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979), he is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former member and chairman of the (US president’s) Council of Economic Advisers.
In 2000, Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, a think tank on international development based at Columbia University. He has been a member of the Columbia faculty since 2001 and received that university’s highest academic rank (university professor) in 2003.
In 2011 Stiglitz was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Known for his pioneering work on asymmetric information, Stiglitz’s work focuses on income distribution, risk, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics and globalization.
He is the author of numerous books, and several bestsellers. His most recent titles are Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited, The Euro, Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy and The Great Divide.
Photo credit: Sasha Maslov
To propose a speaker please contact ceo@npc.org.au with a brief bio and photo of the speaker, speech title and brief outline of the speech, along with a proposed date. Your speaker proposal will be presented to the board at the next board meeting for their decision. Please allow up to 8 weeks for notification.