National Speakers
Prof. Robert John Adams AM
Director Design and Urban Environment
City of Melbourne
Director of Design & Urban Environment for the City of Melbourne and an award winning urban designer, Rob is committed to engaging the community and government and to cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary collaboration. With more than 36 years experience as a practising architect and urban designer, Rob is now producing design-research based urban projects and strategies, and has attracted over 100 state and national awards for excellence. A champion of both the arts and environmental sustainability he has worked to ensure that good urban design is established as a platform for city development into the 21st Century. On the development of Melbourne, Adams told The Age newspaper: “It’s been 20 years of conscious effort to develop the city. Everyone’s looking for the single one-off hit to change the city immediately, like Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, but that was a special case. Most cities change really slowly”. Adams is a passionate believer in the good design of cities and the important role to be played by all levels of Government.
Keith Brewis
Director
Grimshaw Architects Australia
VIC
The Hon Fred Chaney AO
Chair of Desert Knowledge Australia
The Hon Fred Chaney AO is Chair of Desert Knowledge Australia. Formerly a lawyer, Fred served as a Liberal Senator for WA (1974-90) and a Member of the House of Representatives (1990-93). He held various Ministerial appointments in the Fraser government, including Aboriginal Affairs. After leaving Parliament in 1993 he undertook research into Aboriginal Affairs policy and administration as a Research Fellow at the University of WA. He was Chancellor of Murdoch University for eight years until early 2003 and retired as a deputy president of the National Native Title Tribunal in April 2007.
Ted Egan AO
Northern Territory Icon
Edward (Ted) Joseph Egan AO was born in Melbourne in 1932, but has lived most of his life in the Northern Territory.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1993 Australia Day Honours List "for Services to the Aboriginal people and for the interpretation of Australian cultural heritage through song and verse".
Ted Egan was a member of the first National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
He has been writing and recording songs since 1969 and has produced 28 albums. He has appeared over many years at both folk and country music festivals, being one of few people who successfully bridge the gap.
Ted was the presenter of the highly acclaimed TV series This Land Australia and later, The Great Outdoors. He is co-author (with Peter Forrest) of The Territory Story, a six part historical series on audio cassette.
He won the 1989 Northern Territory History Award. He holds the degree of Master of Arts (MA) with Adelaide University. His earlier Bachelor of Arts Degree (ANU) was achieved the hard way – studying in the bush.
Ted Egan is an Inaugural Life Member of the Australian Stockmen?s Hall of Fame, the Country Music Association of Australia, the Workers? Heritage Centre at Barcaldine, the Waltzing Matilda Museum at Winton and Patron and Member of the Drover's Camp at Camooweal. He is National Patron of VISE – Volunteers for Isolated Students Education – and also National Patron of the Year of the Outback, celebrated every four years.
Ted is engaged in the long-term project of writing and producing a series of musical albums (with companion books) titled The Faces of Australia. To date five titles, The Overlanders, The Anzacs, The Shearers, The Aboriginals and The Convicts are completed.
He is the author of the books A Drop of Rough Ted, Would I Lie to You? The Paperboy?s War, Sitdown Up North, Justice All Their Own, The Land Downunder, Due Inheritance (2008) and is co-author of two books (with Robert Ingpen, Bob Marchant and Nerys Evans) each titled The Drover's Boy.
Ted Egan is featured in the Hands of Fame and the Roll of Renown at the Tamworth Australian Country Music Centre and was the inaugural recipient of the Australian Folk Trust Award for Major Contribution to the Australian Tradition.
In 2002 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (D Litt.) from the Charles Darwin University for outstanding community service and notable achievement in the fields of Aboriginal affairs, historical studies and the preservation and promotion of Australia?s cultural heritage, particularly via song, verse and folklore.
Ted was the 2003 Northern Territory recipient of the Australian of the Year Award.
His Excellency the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC, appointed Ted as the eighteenth Administrator of the Northern Territory with effect from 31 October 2003. He was sworn in by the Governor-General on 18 November 2003. On 25 February 2004, His Honour Mr Egan was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO). He served as Administrator until November 2007.
Ted has now resumed life at Alice Springs.
Richard Hancock
Chief Executive Officer
NT Department of Planning and Infrastructure
Northern Territory
Richard Hancock took up the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) in November 2007.
Richard has spent the majority of his career in the corporate and private sectors predominantly in senior financial management, marketing and account management roles.
For the past 10 years he worked in Local Government in NSW, QLD and Victoria and was a Chief Executive Officer for seven of those years. His time in Local Government includes the City of Sydney in the lead up to the 2000 Olympics and in south eastern Queensland - one of the fastest growing regions in Australia.
Prior to taking up his appointment with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure in Darwin, Richard was employed for a three year period as Chief Executive Officer with the Ballarat City Council in Victoria.
Richard has a Bachelor of Business from Monash University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Institute of Municipal Managers and the Australian Innovation Festival Advisory Committee (previous).
He has also studied regional development theory and practice in both the United States and the United Kingdom and has led business delegations to India, China, South Korea and Japan.
Dr Jeff Harmer
Secretary
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
NSW
Jeff is currently Secretary of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. He began his career in the Federal Public Service in early 1978 following 5 years as a doctoral scholar and tutor at the University of NSW.
After a range of policy analysis and advising positions in the Departments of Housing, Social Security and Finance, Jeff was promoted into the Senior Executive Service in early 1985. Since then Jeff has occupied a range of executive positions across a range of Commonwealth Departments. In 1994 Jeff was promoted to the Deputy Secretary position in the Department of Housing and Regional Development and in 1996 Jeff was recruited to the position of Deputy Secretary of the Department of Social Security. Jeff was appointed Managing Director of the Health Insurance Commission in April 1998. In March 2003 Jeff was appointed Secretary of the Department of Education, Science and Training. He was appointed Secretary of the then Department of Family and Community Services in October 2004. Jeff led the Department through the changes arising from the addition of the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination to it in 2006 and the post 2007 election changes resulting in the Department being renamed as Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
In the 2008 Budget Jeff was appointed as a member of the panel, to be chaired by Dr Ken Henry, to review Australia’s Future Tax System. The panel will report to Government at the end of 2009.
Jeff has a keen interest in social policy, management, leadership and organisational change and development.
Paul Howorth
Associate Director
SGS Economics and Planning
Paul is a planner and a barrister who has a lot of experience working in the area of Indigenous policy. His aim is to help to work out what are the most appropriate and practical things to do towards achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aspirations and wellbeing. His is an Associate Director at SGS Economics and Planning.
Sean Kildare
General Manager External Affairs, Inpex Browdse, WA
Sean Kildare has been working for INPEX on the Ichthys development Project since 2002 and is responsible for the delivery of all of the project approvals, indigenous affairs, community engagement, government liaison, public relations and media management.
Sean graduated from the University of Adelaide with a degree in environmental management and has been operating in the resources industry for over 15 years since.
As well as extensive experience in regulatory approval processes for major mining, oil and gas projects throughout Australia (WA, SA, Northern Territory and Queensland), Sean has worked on projects in the USA, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands and China.
The Hon Delia Lawrie
Minister for Planning and Lands
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
NT
Prof. Peter Newman
Professor of Sustainability
Curtin University of Technology
Perth, WA
Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University. He has just been appointed to the Board of Infrastructure Australia.
In 2001-3 Peter directed the production of WA?s Sustainability Strategy in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. It was the first state sustainability strategy in the world. In 2004–5 he was a Sustainability Commissioner in Sydney advising the government on planning issues. In 2006/7 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville where he completed two new books Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change and "Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems". In Perth, Peter is best known for his work in saving, reviving and extending the city's rail system. Peter invented the term "automobile dependence" to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For 30 years since he attended Stanford University during the first oil crisis he has been warning cities about preparing for peak oil. Peter's book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' was launched in the White House in 1999. He was a Councillor in the City of Fremantle from 1976-80 where he still lives.
Prof. Jean Palutikof
Director
National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility
QLD
Prof. Jean Palutikof is Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University. She took up the role in October 2008, having previously managed the production of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report for Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability), while based at the UK Met Office.
Prior to joining the Met Office, she was a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, and Director of the Climatic Research Unit, at the University of East Anglia, UK, where she worked from 1979 to 2004, and a Lecturer at the Department of Geography, University of Nairobi, Kenya, from 1974 to 1979.
Her research interests focus on climate change impacts, and the application of climatic data to economic and planning issues. She specialises in the study of changes in extreme events and their impacts, especially windstorm. She was a Lead Author for Working Group II of the IPCC Second and Third Assessment Reports. She has authored more than 200 papers, articles and reports on the topic of climate change and climate variability. Her proudest moment to date was attending the ceremony in 2007 at which the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
His Honour Mr Tom Pauling AO QC
Administrator of the Northern Territory
Right Worshipful Graeme Sawyer
Lord Mayor
Darwin, Northern Territory
I have been well known for my efforts in combating the advance of cane toads into the Northern Territory. However, my real expertise lies in Multimedia and Education.
1996-2001 I worked at QANTM multimedia Centre as a part of the Federal Creative Nation Strategy designed to "help Australia move into the Information Age" and since then as the Managing Director of the eNTITy1 Pty Ltd business working in the internet, e-business, e-learning and multimedia areas. This work involved research and development of new internet technologies and capabilities and development work with companies ranging from small business to large companies.
My particular expertise is in educational multimedia, professional development, management, and the ability to integrate new technologies into development cycles and projects.
I have worked on a number of cultural projects in Education and while working with QANTM Multimedia centre. I have also done consultancy work for the Sharing the true Stories project with CRC Aboriginal Health, www.sharingtruestories.com
I have been involved educational research and in innovation in relation to information technology and its application in education, e-learning and business. I have business management experience and a project management background.
I have also been involved in adaptive management research relating to cane toad control and am the inventor of the trap gate mechanism used in cane toad traps.
I have worked on many education related projects with indigenous communities across the NT including Closing the Digital Divide pre2005.flexiblelearning.net.au I have also worked as Toolbox Champion for the NT.
I was a co-founder of Frogwatch in the NT and have worked as Joint Co-ordinator of the programme and developed their ToadBuster strategy www.frogwatch.org.au. I have also worked on several National projects in relation to frogs including being a member of the WWF Rio Tinto Frogs Programme Education Panel and the FrogZone national project panel and NT Co-ordinator.
I was a teacher for 15 years, from 1981 to 1996, working across a range of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary positions. I worked as a classroom teacher and then as an adviser to the NT Department of Education in relation to the use of Computer Technology in teaching and learning environments. During this time I developed innovative programs such as the NT Animals System, a multimedia information system about wildlife and habitats, which was officially recognized by the NT Board of Studies in relation to its innovative Information Technology and environmental education capabilities. I also developed a biodiversity display which ran in Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra, for six years.