Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia

Cr Les Tyrell OAM, Mayor of Townsville City Council

Les Tyrell has been Mayor of the City of Thuringowa since 1991. In 2008, he became the Mayor Elect of the largest city in regional Queensland, which was the result of the amalgamation of Townsville and Thuringowa cities.

His involvement with local government commenced when he was elected as Councillor to the then Thuringowa Shire in 1979. He spent two terms (six years) as Deputy Mayor, between 1982 and 1991.

Les has spent all but 18 months of his life in North Queensland, living in places such as Wangan, Tully, Ingham, Innisfail, Cairns and Townsville/Thuringowa.

Originally from an accounting background, he spent several years in management and sales positions in the timber and hardware industries. He was also self-employed for a period of 12 years, establishing his own financial services consultancy.

In 2003, Les was awarded the Centenary Medal for distinguished service to local government.

Awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia (January 2009) for his outstanding services to local government and to the community of Thuringowa.

He is an Executive Member of the Local Government Association of Queensland and a Director/Trustee of LG Super.

Besides sitting on numerous Council and community committees, Les is currently the Chair of the Breakwater Island Casino Community Benefit Fund and Chair of the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group.

He is Deputy Chair of Townsville Enterprise Limited.

Les is the patron of numerous sporting, charitable and community groups and a past School P & C President. He is a past member of the Queensland Council of School P & C's and President of Kennedy Area Scout Association.

Les has been given Life Member (Senator) of Jaycees and is a recipient of Lions International Community Award/Centenary Medal. He is an Honorary Member of City of Thuringowa Lions Club.

Les is married to Pat and has six children, comprising of five sons and one daughter.

Elaine Carbines, CEO, G21 Geelong Region Alliance

Elaine Carbines was born in England and migrated to Australia with her family in 1968.

Completing a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education at Monash University, she became a humanities teacher.

From 1999 - 2006 Elaine held the Victorian state seat of Geelong Province.

She held the positions of Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Environment.

She oversaw key government projects including:

• The Cutting Red Tape in Planning Report
• The Live Music Taskforce
• The Great Ocean Road Regional Strategy
• The Coastal Spaces Report

In 2007 she commenced work as Parks Victoria’s Manager of Strategic Relations.

In June 2010, Elaine commenced as CEO of the G21 Region Alliance.

She holds the following positions:

• Deputy Chair of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trust
• Bethany Community Support
• Barwon South West Regional Development Committee
• National Celtic Festival Committee

Jim Chisholm, Executive General Manager, Energy Sustainability and Market Development, Ergon Energy

As Executive General Manager of the Energy Sustainability and Market Development business unit within Ergon Energy, Jim Chisholm’s challenge is to find the most innovative and sustainable way to provide customers with a secure and reliable electricity supply.

Jim’s team is responsible for promoting greater energy efficiency and reducing demand on Ergon Energy’s electricity network, while at the same time minimising the environmental impact of our own operations.

With more than 40 years of experience in the electricity industry, Jim has a wealth of knowledge across all sectors of industry development, from generation and transmission to distribution.

He has worked for Ergon Energy for six years, achieving a wide range of project success including the groundbreaking Townsville: Queensland Solar City project that showcases solar power and energy efficiency measures in households and businesses; a cogeneration project at the Isis Sugar Mill; and the KR Castlemaine Darling Downs natural gas cogeneration project.

A key element of these and other successes has been the establishment of partnerships with all levels of government, and a strong customer focused program of engagement.

Jim is a Director of Ergon Energy Queensland, helped establish Ergon Energy’s Sustainability Strategy and was also instrumental in the $1.2 billion sale of Ergon Energy’s competitive retail operation, Powerdirect, to AGL Energy. He has also been involved in the development of a customer empowerment strategy, which encompasses a smart grid and a smart customer to leverage energy conservation.

Jim holds an honours degree in electrical engineering from the Queensland University of Technology, a Master of Business Administration MBA from the Brisbane Graduate School of Business at QUT, is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was a board member of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy prior to its amalgamation to form the Clean Energy Council.

 

Mark Cully, Chief Economist, Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Mark Cully commenced as Chief Economist with the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship in January 2009.

Mark has a first-class Honours degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide and began his working career as a graduate economist with the Australian Public Service. He won a Commonwealth Scholarship which enabled him to study at the University of Warwick and obtain a Master of Arts in Industrial Relations. He was appointed head of research on employment relations for the UK Government in the late 1990s, where he ran what was the world's largest survey of working life, the results of which were published as Britain at Work.

Mark returned to Australia in 1999 to join the National Institute of Labour Studies as Deputy Director, and was then General Manager at the National Centre for Vocational Education Research for six years, running its statistical then research operations.

He was a speaker at the inaugural Adelaide Festival of Ideas in 1999 and chaired the advisory committee which prepares the Festival program from 2003 to 2007. Mark is the author of two books, and numerous articles and papers.

Brian Dollery, Professor of Economic and Director of the Centre for Local Government, University of New England

Brian Dollery is Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Local Government at the University of New England. Brian has written extensively in local government, including Local Government Reform: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Anglo-American Countries (2008), The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform (2008), Reform and Leadership in the Public Sector (2007) and Australian Local Government Economics (2006). Professor Dollery has worked with many local authorities and regional bodies  involved in regional governance, local government service provision and shared service platforms in almost all Australian states over the past two decades.

 

 

 

 

Dorte Ekelund, General Manager, Major Cities Unit, Infrastructure Australia

Dorte Ekelund is an urban planner and head of the Major Cities Unit, the Australian Government’s think-tank on urban policy issues. 

She formerly held the roles of Deputy Director General, WA Department for Planning and Infrastructure, and Deputy Chief Planning Executive, ACT Planning and Land Authority.

Dorte is experienced in urban development coordination, infrastructure planning, statutory planning, planning system reform and governance reform. 

Dorte has a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Class 1 Honours) and an MBA. 

 

Ian Fletcher, Director General, Depeartment of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Qld Government

Ian Fletcher is the Director-General of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. He commenced this role in November 2009 after serving in a number of high-level public sector roles during his 27-year career.

Ian joined the United Kingdom civil service in 1989 after an earlier career in the New Zealand diplomatic service, his most recent position being Chief Executive and Comptroller-General of the Intellectual Property Office.

Before that he worked in the UK's trade and investment (UKTI) promotion organisation, in arranging the UK's overseas commercial network.

His career comprises extensive experience in trade and investment including:

• UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission
• UK Trade Policy at the end of the GATT Uruguay Round
• European Commission, negotiating in the World Trade Organisation on Free Trade Agreements
• United Nations Administration in Kosovo as Head of the Customs Service and Department of Trade and Industry
• UK Department of Trade and Industry's Directorate responsible for electricity and gas policy
• Principal Private Secretary to the UK Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service
• Managing Director-International in UKTI, managing the UK's foreign commercial service.

Lieutenant Colonel John Hathaway, Australian Defence Force

Lieutenant Colonel John Hathaway joined the Army and entered the Royal Military College in January 1982. He holds a BA (UNSW) and a Grad Dip in Transport and Distribution Management (RMIT). He is also a graduate from the Canadian Forces College, Toronto.

He has held a wide variety of appointments, in the area of military transport and logistics. He has commanded at Troop, Squadron and Battalion levels. His last command, 10th Force Support Battalion is the largest field logistic unit in the Army.

His operational service includes a posting as an Observer for the United Nations (Sinai & Lebanon) and he deployed at short notice as part of Australian disaster relief operations in Banda Aceh.

He has represented Australia at the Logistic Staff Talks on the ‘Provision of Logistic Support to Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operations’ in Tokyo.

Currently he is working on the M$700 of major facilities work for Lavarack Barracks and NQLD Training Areas.

 

 

 

Assoc Prof Marcus Haward, School of Government and Antarctice Climate and Ecosystems CRC, University of Tasmania

Marcus Haward is an Associate Professor in the School of Government at the University of Tasmania, and is a member of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility’s Adaptation Research Network for Marine Biodiversity and Resources He has held a number of appointments at the University of Tasmania including Head of School and Deputy Dean. Marcus has held visiting appointments at the Australian National University, Australian Maritime College and at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Marcus has over 140 publications on oceans and coastal management, Antarctic governance, marine resource management and Australian politics. His current research focuses on aspects of oceans governance related to ecosystems aspects of fisheries management, governance and climate change, and knowledge systems in coastal management.

Marcus has been a consultant and advisor to a number of Commonwealth and state government agencies. These include the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Resource Assessment Commission, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the National Oceans Office. He has also worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Marcus has presented evidence to a number of Parliamentary Committee and inquiries, most notably to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties reference on Australia and the World Trade Organization.  He is a member the editorial board of the international journal The Polar Journal andon the board of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Law and Policy Occasional Papers. Marcus has just concluded a term on the editorial board of Ocean and Coastal Management. Marcus has been a member of Australian delegations to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and to APEC Fisheries and Marine Resources Conservation Working Group meetings. His most recent publications include Oceans Governance in the Twenty-first Century: Managing the Blue Planet (Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham – with Joanna Vince) Frozen Assets: Securing Australia's Antarctic Future (ASPI Canberra – with Anthony Bergin).

 

Dr Peter Stone, Deputy Chief, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences

Peter Stone is Deputy Chief of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences. His work history includes farm management, food industry consulting, grain trading and agricultural research. For much of the last 10 years he has undertaken projects that tackle land use issues, drawing on a range of scientific, community and industry perspectives. He recently managed the Northern Australia Land and Water Science Review for the Prime Minister’s Taskforce.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Graham Turner, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems

Dr Graham Turner is a senior research scientist at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra ACT, Australia.  His work involves whole-of-system analysis on the long-term physical sustainability of the environment and economy.  Dr Turner develops and applies the Australian Stocks and Flows Framework to create ‘what if’ scenarios quantifying sustainability challenges and exploring potential solutions.  Past topics have included Australian agriculture, fisheries, transport, climate change impacts, water–energy systems, water accounting, distributed energy, and employment in a green economy.  Current interests involve food security, environmental implications of immigration, and coupling physical and economic models of the national economy.  Prior to joining CSIRO in 2000, Dr Turner was a policy analyst (Australian Defence Force Headquarters), researched ultra-insulating windows (University of Sydney), and undertook experimental and simulation research on industrial plasma physics (IBM’s T.J. Watson laboratory in NY, USA; and University of Sydney).