Speaker Profiles

Dr Annie Bolitho
University of Melbourne

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Dr Annie Bolitho is an experienced designer and facilitator of public participation processes. She has taught Public Participation at the University of Sydney, and worked on a range of citizens’ juries as a freelance consultant, with clients such as the Department of Primary Industries, The Brotherhood of St Laurence, Surf Coast Shire Council and the Victorian Government’s Smart Water Fund. She has worked in government at the Department for Sustainability and Environment, and currently works part-time at the University of Melbourne.

Brian Bell
General Manager (Chief Executive Officer)
Lake Macquarie City Council

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Brian came to Lake Macquarie City Council after working in local government across Australia and in New Zealand for over 30 years, bringing considerable experience in management. As General Manager responsible for over 1000 staff, Brian reports directly to the elected Council and is overall accountable for the day-to-day management of the administration. Brian says that providing a work environment where staff are able to develop, means that quality outcomes are achieved. Brian has qualifications in Executive Management, Applied Science, Environmental Impact Assessment and a Master of Science and is a Member of Local Government Managers Australia.

Chad Foulkes
Community Planning Co-ordinator
Surf Shire Council

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Chad has a Masters in International and Community Development and an interest in deliberative democracy. Chad has led the Community Planning Unit at Victoria’s Surf Coast Shire he has initiated two citizens’ juries, put in place a Community Engagement Policy and led the development of the Council’s community engagement framework. Chad is interested in genuine opportunities for citizens to influence decision-making; exploring the nexus between deliberative democracy and community development; and the effects of deliberation on civic participation.

Matthew Crozier,
Director & Founder,
Bang The Table

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Matthew and Crispin Butteriss are the founders of Bang the Table Pty Ltd, a company that hosts and moderates online community engagement for clients in both the public and private sector. In the 18 months since launching their platform they have hosted over 100 consultations in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Both come from a public sector background having worked in the NSW Department of Planning and the NSW Premier's Department. Prior to founding Bang the Table Matt and Crispin collaborated in Duo Consulting. Matt is also Chair of Compass Housing Services a major regional community housing provider. Crispin is the coordinator for the International Association of Public Participation in Victoria.

Dr Crispin Butteriss,
Director & Founder,
Bang The Table

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Matthew and Crispin Butteriss are the founders of Bang the Table Pty Ltd, a company that hosts and moderates online community engagement for clients in both the public and private sector. In the 18 months since launching their platform they have hosted over 100 consultations in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Both come from a public sector background having worked in the NSW Department of Planning and the NSW Premier's Department. Prior to founding Bang the Table Matt and Crispin collaborated in Duo Consulting. Matt is also Chair of Compass Housing Services a major regional community housing provider. Crispin is the coordinator for the International Association of Public Participation in Victoria.

Professor Geoff Gallop
Former Premier of Western Australia and Professor & Director, Graduate School of Government,
University of Sydney

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After attending school in Geraldton, Professor Geoff Gallop studied at University of WA, Oxford and Murdoch Universities. From 1986 to 2006 he was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. Professor Gallop was a Minister in the Lawrence Labor Government from 1990 to 1993, the Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001 and the Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. After retiring from politics he was appointed Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Government, The University of Sydney, a position he still holds. In 2008 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Lily D’Ambrosio MP,
Minister for Community Development

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Party: Australian Labor Party

House: Legislative Assembly

Portfolio/Position: Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development
Electorate: Member for Mill Park
Length of Service to date: 2530 days
Personal: Born 30 July 1964, Melbourne, Victoria. Married, 2 children.

Birthplace: Australia

Education and Qualifications: Fawkner North Primary School. Mercy College Coburg. St Aloysius College North Melbourne. BA 1986 (The University of Melbourne). Dip Pub Policy (The University of Melbourne).

Parliamentary Service: Elected MLA for Mill Park November 2002. Re-elected November 2006.

Party Positions: ALP member since 1983. State Organiser 1994-99.

Ministerial Appointments: Parliamentary Secretary, Victorian Communities since December 2006.

Previous Occupation: Organiser, Australian Services Union 1986-94. ALP State Organiser 1994-99. Electorate Officer, Alexander Andrianopoulos, Member for Mill Park 1999-2002.

Committee Service: Chair, Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Cttee 2003-06.

Memberships: Australian Services Union; Emily's List; Union of Australian Women; 3ZZZ; Friends of Farm Vigano' Inc.

Interests: Child protection, children's advocacy and rights, employee entitlements and job security, transport, the interrelationship between education, secure housing and thriving family units. Gardening, cooking, family, odd jobs around the house, reading crime fiction.

Gary L Mahon
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL
STRATEGIC POLICY DIVISION
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SAFETY

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Gary joined the Department of Emergency Services in 2006 as the Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Executive Services. Gary’s career in the public sector spans well over 30 years which began in the Army and his military service included participating as an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition member. Gary has initiated and driven a number of the major policy and strategic reform initiatives in the transport and road safety arena at state and national levels.

Gary was awarded a Premiers Scholarship to complete his Executive Masters in Public Administration from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and is committed to ensuring Strategic Policy Division continues to provide a vital contribution to the Department of Community Safety through their specialist skills and knowledge in support of front line service delivery. Gary holds the Australian Defence Medal.

John Hennessy
Sector Development Manager
Municipal Association of Victoria

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John's background includes Strategic Planning Manager with Toyota Australia (1988-96) and Corporate Planning Manager, Australian Football League (1979-85),

Dr. Kathy Alexander
CEO
City of Melbourne

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Kathy joined the City of Melbourne as Chief Executive Officer in April 2008 bringing with her over 20 years experience in leading service organisations. As CEO, Kathy heads up an organisation responsible for the workings of a dynamic and cosmopolitan 24-hour city that consistently rates top or near top of international surveys on liveability and well-being. Since taking up the position, Kathy has focused on improving the City of Melbourne’s operational efficiencies through initiating Toyota’s famous “lean” approach to process design and customer satisfaction, and a comprehensive community engagement approach to policy development. Kathy has also launched COM Green, a program of staff-lead sustainability initiatives, and the Future Melbourne Community Plan which saw 15,000 individuals contribute to the vision for Melbourne as a bold, inspirational and sustainable city by 2020.

Prior to Kathy’s appointment at Council, she ran her own management consultancy company and was well known as the former CEO of Women’s & Children’s Health which governed two of the world’s leading teaching hospitals – the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital. There Kathy lead the development of a successful capital bid to build the new $250m women’s hospital (which opened last year) and initiated planning for the long-awaited redevelopment of the children’s hospital.

Lynda Pollock
Director in Stakeholder Engagement
Murray-Darling Basin Authority

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Lynda is a Director in Stakeholder Engagement for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority in Canberra where she leads a small team responsible for the design and implementation of stakeholder engagement activities for industry, environmental and community stakeholder groups. Lynda’s major task is stakehodler engagement in the development of the Murray Darling Basin Plan which is due in mid 2010.

Lynda's previous work has been mainly at the interface between community and government policy and prior to joining the Authority Lynda managed the joint Commonwealth and Queensland State Government's investment in research and capacity building around the social and economic dimensions of natural resource management. She was involved in the implementation of Queensland's voluntary regional arrangements under the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and Natural Heritage Trusts and held the position of Executive Officer of the Central Highlands Regional Resource Use Planning Co-operative before joining the Department of Natural Resources and Water. During Queensland’s 1990s drought Lynda established and managed the Central Highlands Rural Support Service that provided face-to-face social and financial support for farmers and their families in Central Queensland.

Lynda has a Degree in Science (Marine Biology and Botany) from James Cook University and a Masters of Regional Development.

Lynnette Pugh
Director, Community Connect Strategic Policy and Intervention Division,
Department for Families and Communities, SA

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Lynette has worked in the public health & community services sector since 1978. Starting her career in nursing and then later moving to social work and post graduate studies in public sector management. Lynette has particular experience in multicultural and women’s health, public sector policy and non government community grants. Her current position is as Director, Community Connect, Department for Families and Communities. Community Connect is responsible for fostering development of the Non Government service sector, administering State funded grants programs, promoting quality systems across the Non Government sector and ensuring that the grants processes of the Department are ‘state of the art’, with recognition of the importance of accountability, value for money and value for community.

Marnie Kikken
Team Leader
Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC)

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Having worked at the NCC since 2005, her role is responsible for the development and delivery of programs around community engagement and education on environmental issues, particularly climate change. Marnie recently coordinated a community engagement program which utilised the innovative approach of deliberative democracy to enable everyday citizens in NSW to contribute to policy development on climate change at a both a local and State level. She has a background in tourism and spent five years between 1999 – 2004 travelling and working overseas.

Mirella Di Genua
Stakeholder Engagement Professional and Facilitator

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Mirella has extensive experience in federal, state and local government sectors, plus the private and non-government sectors. She is passionate about promoting the value and benefits that effective stakeholder engagement can have in policy development, customer service, project scoping and delivery, product research and development and program evaluation. She has worked across a number of industries including, utilities, infrastructure development, workers compensation, manufacturing, health, children’s services and disabilities sectors.

Nicholas Gruen
Chair, Government 2.0 Taskforce
Australian Government Information Management Office, Department of Finance & Deregulation

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Nicholas Gruen is trained in History, Statistics, Law and Economics and has published internationally on a range of economic policy issues including intellectual property, fiscal policy architecture, industry policy, economic liberalisation and innovation in government.

He served as advisor to Industry Minister Senator John Button and Treasurer John Dawkins. He was appointed to the Productivity Commission in 1994 and again in 1995 before he joined the Business Council of Australia in 1997 and ran their New Directions program. In 2000, he founded and remains CEO of Lateral Economics and Peaches, a discount finance broker. He is chairman of www.onlineopinion.com.au, a popular Brisbane based internet site of political and cultural opinion and is a board member of the Government Authority Sustainability Victoria. He has been a regular columnist for the Australian Financial Review and is a substantial contributor to Australia’s thriving policy blog scene at www.clubtroppo.com.au. Dr Gruen was a member of the Panel reviewing Australia’s Innovation System chaired by Terry Cutler. Lateral Economics has been involved with the Commonwealth, Victorian, South Australian, NSW and Queensland governments in the areas of innovation in government and continuous improvement in regulation. He was recently part of a steering committee guiding innovation in the Victoria Public Service.

Dr Gruen has recently been appointed to chair the Federal Government’s Government 2.0 Taskforce and is also involved in the Federal Government’s Management Advisory Committee inquiry into public sector innovation.

Penny Croser
Head of Policy & Business Services
Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority

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Penny is the Head of Policy and Business Services at the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority. Penny was a foundation member of the Bushfire Authority and has overseen the establishment of the Authority and the development of the Statewide Plan for Recovery and Reconstruction. Prior to that, Penny was Assistant Director in the Department of Premier and Cabinet where she led COAG negotiations on the National Reform Agenda and the new Federal Financial Framework. Penny has a Masters in Public Policy from the London School of Economics. Penny was a consultant in the Government Services Practice for PA Consulting Group in the UK. Penny started her career as a graduate in the Australian Public Service, working at both Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Peter Brooks
General Manager
Griffith City Council

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A man with a passionate interest in genuine community consultation to benefit the rural area, Peter Brooks also has a sound financial background. Peter has been General Manager of the Griffith City Council for the past 6 years.

Peter says he firmly believes Local Government has to be the leader in the community “Communities are individual towns in each Council area – and the needs and aspirations are different” And this is where he sees his future – “We need a long term strategy – a 10+ year plan that ensures we are funding not only the assets and infrastructure we have but also providing new infrastructure to develop. Social and community infrastructure is often forgotten but is an important element in any strategic plan for communities.”

And he has considerable experience behind him to substantiate this view. Born in England, and taken to Africa at the age of 3 years by parents who answered the call for teachers to “the colonies”, Peter grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He said he couldn’t imagine what his parents had to cope with, taking their three sons 3, 2 and one year old, by ship to Cape Town – “And they then had a five day train journey to Rhodesia” he added.

The children were schooled in Rhodesia and after college Peter joined the Rhodesian Government Central Statistical Office, during a period when trade sanctions were introduced, and he worked calculating and producing statistics of imports and exports from all the countries that had publicly imposed those sanctions.

In 1975 he left Rhodesia; “With everything I owned on my back, I hitchhiked to South Africa and joined Barclays Bank in Johannesburg for eight months, as Assistant Management Accountant, before buying a one way ticket to Luxembourg.” He hitch hiked around Europe before going to England to be met by his extended family – there were 12 aunts and uncles in his mother’s family and 8 in his father’s family. With all the cousins, that made for a warm homecoming. From then on he consolidated his financial knowledge, eventually moving to Australia in 1982 as Administration Manager of Grace Removals and Storage (part of the Brambles Group). He had risen to State Manager, Tasmania by the time he resigned and took over as Company Secretary/Office Manager of Tasco Transport until 1989.

His move into Local Government began in 1989 when he became Secretary /Facilitator Small Business Development with the Huon Municipal Association, followed by a two year stint with the Municipal Association of Tasmania before he became Director Financial Services with Burnie City Council in 1992. Then began his prestigious list of Local Government achievements where his ability to encourage the personal and professional development of staff, while also promoting corporate management principles, was acknowledged.

This led to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer/General Manager in 1995 where “We set up a Tourism and Information Centre – in fact took over the State Government’s facility – and formed a business unit and budgeted to return a surplus to fund the Tourist Information Centre” he said with pride. It was also in Burnie that he and his team expanded the role of regional local government and delivered a number of Federal Government programs, not traditionally the role of Tasmanian Local Government - “This included youth programs, Home and Community Care Programs, Supplementary Child Care Programs and Aged Care Facilities and Parent/Adolescence Counselling” he added. He really got into his stride when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Northern Grampians Shire Council, Victoria – where his belief in being a people person was put into place. He rebuilt relationships and communication between Councillors, Staff and the Communities – and it is where we again see his emphasis on working with communities. .

His listing of “other interests and activities” shows that he is not only interested in Local Government but in the whole gamut of public life. He has previously taken a major role in sports clubs, service clubs, Aged Care, Children’s Homes, Boy Scouts, Health Services, Community IT Training, Road Transport Associations, and was a Church Warden at St. Raphael’s Anglican Church, Ferm Tree, Tasmania. “Local Government has come a long way and is still evolving. It started with Shire or Town Clerks or Engineers as Managers – then we saw people with either a Financial or Planning Background become Mangers. I believe that we are now seeing more Managers with Human Resources Management skills being sought “ “People skills are vital and I would rather have someone who is keen, dedicated and with good people skills than someone with five degrees”. Peter is married to Liz, who he married in England in 1976, they have 4 sons, the youngest being 21 and they have 1 granddaughter.

Ross O’Shea
Regional Coordinator
New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Western Region of New South Wales

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Ross is the Regional Coordinator for the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Western Region of New South Wales. The Department maintains offices in Wagga Wagga and Dubbo. In this role Ross works closely with agencies from the three tiers of government, non-government organisations, business and the community to facilitate partnership solutions to issues which arise in the Region.

In recent years he has had a focus on developing and growing strong and resilient communities in western New South Wales. He is a strong advocate for participative decision making supported and informed by thorough consultative processes. He has advocated and supported outcomes based on local solutions to local issues.

Ross commenced his career working in agriculture and arid land ecology. He developed a keen interest in the relationships and impacts between people and the places in which they live.

Sam Jeffries
Chairperson, Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly and Deputy Chairperson
Indigenous Land Corporation

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Sam Jeffries is a proud Moorawarri man, born and raised in Brewarrina as the youngest of seven children. He has been involved in Aboriginal Affairs since leaving school. Sam spent twenty years in Lightning Ridge in far north western NSW establishing the CDEP project and purchased other commercial businesses there to give the community an economic platform.

He has held a range of senior positions including: Walgett Shire Councillor from 1999 to 2003, ATSIC Councillor from 1990 to 2005, Chairperson of the Murdi Paaki Regional Council from 1996 to 2005, Board member of the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office from 1998 to 2005, and Chairperson of the NSW ATSIC State Council from 2002 to 2005.

Current appointments include: Chairperson of the Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly, Deputy Chairperson Indigenous Land Corporation ILC, Board Member of the Western Catchment Management Authority WCMA, Panel Member of the NSW Aboriginal Trust Fund Repayment Scheme ATFRS, Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy NASCA and Adjunct Professor Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning University of Technology Sydney

Sam has established Sam Jeffries Consulting Pty Ltd of which he is Managing Director, and recently has become majority partner as Chairperson / CEO with Indigenous Environmental Services IES.

Sam was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Murdi Paaki Region.

In 2008, Sam was selected and attended the 2020 Summit.

His interests lie in building the capacity and resilience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with a priority on governance, leadership and empowerment.

Senator Kate Lundy
Senator for the Australian Capital Territory

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Senator Kate Lundy has represented the Australian Capital Territory in the Australian Federal Parliament since 1996. In that time she had many portfolios in opposition including IT, Manufacturing, Consumer Affairs, Sport and Health Promotion. Senator Lundy is currently Chair of the Joint Standing Committee for the National Capital and External Territories. She is a long-standing member of the Senate Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee.

Senator Lundy has participated in every Senate Inquiry relating to telecommunications and Information Technology of the last thirteen years, and she has spearheaded Gov 2.0 initiatives such as her Public Sphere events which facilitate online public collaboration on policy development. Senator Lundy continues to be a strong advocate for the use of digital technology and ICT innovation to strengthen and transform the economy for future growth, to improve public engagement in government processes and to enhance social inclusion within society.