NGA 2021 Speakers

Peter van Onselen

Peter van Onselen is Network Ten’s political editor and a contributing editor for The Australian, where he writes a weekly column. He is also a professor of political science and Foundation Chair of Journalism at the University of Western Australia, as well as a professor of politics and public policy at Griffith University.

Peter is a host on The Project and appears as a panelist on ABC Insiders. He has won Walkley and Logie awards for his broadcast journalism on Sky News where he worked for nearly ten years as a host, and a News Award for his feature and opinion writing in the Australia.

He is the author or editor of six books, including a biography of former Prime Minister John Howard, rated by the Wall Street Journal as the best biography of 2007. He has a PhD in political science and a masters of policy studies and a masters of commerce.

Professor Mary-Louise McLaws

Epidemiologist, Hospital Infection and Infectious Diseases Control, UNSW

Mary-Louise is a Professor of Epidemiology. Her COVID-19 related activities include: member of the World Health Organization Health Emergencies Program Advisory Panel for Infection Prevention and Control Preparedness, Readiness and Response to COVID-19 and is the Focal Point for the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. Previously Mary-Louise a member of several other World Health Organization patient safety programs and a World Health Organization Advisor to China and Malaysia during the development of national infection surveillance. There were many lessons to be learnt from the response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and she reviewed the healthcare worker safety for the Hong Kong SARS designated hospital and with Beijing reviewed their response. She reviewed the Pandemic Influenza Infection Control Guidelines for healthcare workers on behalf of the then Federal Chief Medical Officer.

She enjoys capacity building infection control in low and middle income countries and research with her PhD students in Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Mali, Indonesia, Iran, Viet Nam, Taiwan and Turkey.

Craig Foster

Human Rights and Refugee Ambassador Craig Foster is a decorated former Captain of the Socceroos and broadcaster who is leading the way in sport and social justice as an Adjunct Professor with Torrens University.

Craig is a member of the Australian Multicultural Council and was recognized for his leadership of the #SaveHakeem campaign to free a young Bahraini from a Thai prison, his advocacy of inclusion and multiculturalism and anti-racism with an Order of Australia Medal in the 2021 Australia Day honors.

Danielle Wood

Danielle is the CEO of the Grattan Institute. She believes in the power of public policy to make Australia a better place. Danielle has published extensively on economic reform priorities, budget policy, tax reform, generational inequality and reforming political institutions. She is a sought-after media commentator and speaker on policy issues.

Danielle previously worked at the ACCC, NERA Economic Consulting and the Productivity Commission. She holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide and Masters degrees in Economics and Competition Law, from the University of Melbourne.

Danielle is the National President of the Economic Society of Australia and co-founder and former Chair of the Women in Economics Network.

Professor Sanjaya Senanayake

Sanjaya is an Infectious Diseases Specialist dealing with patients in a hospital setting. Medicine has also given him the opportunity to diversify into media, writing and education as he loves to communicate and educate. This was the driving force behind two medical textbooks he wrote as well as writing a novel, “Chilli, Chicks and Heart Attacks:The Misadventures of an Intern” - a tale of medicine, migrants and mayhem. His enthusiasm and engaging manner have inadvertently resulted in a number of media interviews as a medical expert.Some of these included The Project, Ten’s Breakfast show, the PM radio show about Ebola and Sunrise on the topic of “superbugs”.

He has written a chapter on Infectious Diseases for the biennial publication from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: “Australia’s Health”. This is the official snapshot of the health of the nation, tabled at Parliament by the Federal Health Minister.

Sanjaya has a strong interest in the Public Health response to Communicable Diseases, as evidenced in his book, “Clinical Cases in Infectious Diseases:A Public Health Approach” (McGraw-Hill 2007) and his Masters of Applied Epidemiology from the ANU (2003-4).

Professor Gigi Forster

Gigi Foster is a Professor with the School of Economics at the University of New South Wales Business School, having received her BA from Yale, majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, and her PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland. Upon receiving her PhD she joined the University of South Australia’s School of Commerce, and moved to Sydney in 2009 as a Senior Lecturer in UNSW’s Australian School of Business. She has held several ARC Discovery Grants and authored more than 25 scholarly works, including the book (joint with Paul Frijters) An Economic Theory of Greed, Love, Groups, and Networks, published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press. Gigi is active in the Australian media, particularly in regard to matters of education policy and economic thought and has served the profession in a variety of roles such as ARC Expert Assessor and National Economics Learning Standards Working Party member.

Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM

In the terrifying 2019/20 bushfire season, Australians were reassured by the exemplary leadership and empathetic presence of then NSW Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

Shane began as a volunteer with NSW RFS in 1985, in the footsteps of his father George – a full-time firefighter who was tragically killed in an out-of-control hazard reduction burn in 2000.

In 1994, Shane joined the NSW RFS fulltime, working in a range of leadership positions before being endorsed as the organisation’s commissioner in 2007 – a role he held for 12 years.

In 2019/20, Shane guided a state-wide response including a 74,000-strong crew of mostly volunteers through one of Australia’s worst fire seasons. Working long hours, he informed and calmed the public in daily press conferences, liaised with government leaders and provided comfort to colleagues and family members of firefighters who lost their lives in service to others. In April 2020, Shane was appointed leader of the new disaster management and recovery agency, Resilience NSW.

Hon Scott Morrison MP

Scott Morrison was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia on 24 August 2018.Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Scott Morrison was Federal Treasurer. His achievements as Treasurer include:

Record jobs growth
Delivering tax relief for families and small businesses
Reducing the deficit
Getting debt under control
Ensuring multinationals pay their fair share of tax
The Prime Minister says the achievement he is most proud of is the more than 100,000 jobs that were created for young people during 2017-18. This is the best result on record.

As Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison successfully stopped the boats. This stopped the deaths at sea that had been occurring over the previous six years under Labor. Stopping the boats meant that, the Government could close 19 detention centres and remove all children from detention and from Nauru.

As Social Services Minister, Scott reduced abuse of the welfare system and put Australia’s social safety net on a more sustainable footing.

Throughout his career in government and in the private sector, Scott Morrison has established a reputation as someone who listens to people and solves difficult policy problems.

Scott Morrison is from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney’s south. He has represented his local community in Parliament for over 11 years.

CONFERENCE CO-ORDINATORS

P: 02 6292 9000
E: nga@confco.com.au

ALGA

P: 02 6122 9400
E: alga@alga.asn.au