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| AEF11 Session Keynotes, Chairs and Presenters
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AEF11 will bring together some of the most highly respected people leading Australia’s discussions on economic policy across key sectors.
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Arsenio Alegre, CEO, Workventures Ltd
AEF11 Presentation
Arsenio Alegre is the CEO of WorkVentures Ltd, a social enterprise in Australia that works with people at risk of social and economic exclusion who are seeking to improve their lives by improving their employability. Arsenio has extensive international experience in financial and business management having worked in several countries throughout Asia and Europe as a Senior Finance Executive for American Express. While in the UK, he volunteered his time to the Prince's Trust and came to WorkVentures through a desire to work for an organisation with a similar mission. He is also on the Board of Social Ventures Australia and Social Enterprises Sydney.
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Gary Banks AO, Chairman, Productivity Commission
Gary Banks has been Chairman of the Productivity Commission since its inception in 1998. In addition to overseeing the Commission’s activities, he has personally headed national inquiries on such reform topics as National Competition Policy, the National Reform Agenda and the Economic Implications of an Ageing Population, as well as other key policy issues in the areas of industry assistance, infrastructure, government services and regulation. Mr Banks also chaired the Australian Government’s Regulation Taskforce and was a member of its Review of Higher Education. Before joining the Commission, Mr Banks worked at the Centre for International Economics, Canberra, and has been a consultant to the OECD and World Bank. In earlier years, he was a Senior Economist with the GATT Secretariat in Geneva, and Visiting Fellow at the Trade Policy Research Centre, London.
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The Hon. Mike Baird MP, NSW Treasurer
Following the election of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government on 26 March 2011, Mike Baird was appointed Treasurer of NSW. Mike had served as Shadow Treasurer since December 2008 and previously as Shadow Minister for Energy, Finance and Youth Affairs. Mike was elected Member for Manly in 2007 after an 18-year banking career incorporating corporate banking, securitisation, debt capital markets and project finance in Australia, London and Hong Kong. Career highlights include managing corporate finance transactions across a range of industries for Deutsche Bank and Head of Originations, debt capital markets in London for the NAB. Prior to his election to Parliament, Mike was Head of Institutional Banking for HSBC in Australia and New Zealand.
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Dr Darryl Biggar, Consulting Economist, ACCC
AEF11 Presentation
Dr Biggar is an economist specialising in the economics of public utility regulation and the economics of electricity markets. Dr Biggar’s roles include providing policy advice and training courses in the economics of regulation and electricity markets. He has published several papers in the economics literature and the engineering literature. He has a particular interest in the economic foundations of public utility regulation and competition policy. Prior to working at the ACCC, Dr Biggar worked for the OECD in Paris, the New Zealand Government, and University College, London. He has a PhD in economics from Stanford University.
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Paul Bloxham, Chief Economist (Australia and New Zealand), HSBC Bank Australia
Paul joined HSBC in 2010 as Chief Economist for Australia and New Zealand. Prior to this, he spent almost 12 years working as an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia, where he held a range of different roles in the Economic Analysis Department. These included heading up the overseas economies and financial conditions sections, and working in the domestic forecasting and prices areas. Paul has published a number of papers, including on housing and household finances, as well as on asset prices and monetary policy. Paul holds a Masters degree in public financial policy from London School of Economics.
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Peter Burn, Director - Public Policy, Australian Industry Group
Peter Burn is the Director of Public Policy for Australian Industry Group, a position he has held since 2009. He is responsible for policy development and advocacy over a broad range of areas fundamental to Australia’s longer-term social and economic progress including; maintaining a stable climate for investment; improving the skills and adaptability of Australia’s workforce; encouraging workforce growth; an efficient and effective public sector; and competitive taxation and regulatory arrangements. Prior to 2009 Peter was Associate Director/National Senior Policy Adviser, Ai Group, Director Policy/Assistant Director at Business Council of Australia, Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Queensland, Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Newcastle, and Postgraduate Scholar, University of New South Wales (Ph.D.).
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Lixin Cai, Director, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
AEF11 Presentation
Lixin joined the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations in 2009, with a role involving research and policy development in social and labour market policies. From 2003 to 2009 he worked at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research of the University of Melbourne, undertaking research relating to the Australian labour market and income support policies. He worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2002 to 2003 and was one of the contributors to the construction of the 2001 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas. Lixin holds a PhD degree in economics from the Australian National University.
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John Colvin, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Australian Institute of Company Directors
AEF11 Presentation
John Colvin is chief executive officer and managing director of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and chairman of CanAssist. Prior to joining Company Directors, John was the Head of the Sydney office of Freehills and the founding partner of Freehills’ Sydney Employee Relations practice. A former non-executive director of Sydney Water and AWT, John took leave from Freehills in 1995 to become an Adjunct Professor at AGSM, and also taught part-time at Sydney University’s Law School on several occasions. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from Sydney University, a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Master of Arts (Law) from Oxford University.
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Professor Robert Cummins, Professor of Psychology, Deakin University
AEF11 Presentation
Professor Robert A. Cummins has held a Personal Chair in Psychology at Deakin University since 1997. He has published widely on the topic of Quality of Life and is regarded as an international authority in this area. He is a Fellow of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies and the Australian Psychological Society. He is on the editorial board of eight Journals and is an Editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies. His research concerns quality of life theory and how such understanding can be used to improve the life experience of people who are disadvantaged.
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Quentin Dempster AM, Presenter, ABC
Quentin Dempster AM is presenter of ABC TV’s Stateline NSW. He is chairman of the Walkley Board which administers Australia’s awards for excellence in journalism. He is a former (staff elected) director of the ABC. He is the author of three books: Honest Cops (1992); whistleblowers (1997) and Death Struggle – how political malice and boardroom powerplays are killing the ABC (2000).
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Saul Eslake, Director, Productity Growth Program, Grattan Institute
Saul Eslake worked as an economist in the Australian financial markets for 25 years, including as Chief Economist at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) from 1995 to 2009. Since leaving ANZ, Saul has had a part-time role as Director of the Productivity Growth Program at the Grattan Institute, a non-aligned policy ‘think tank’ affiliated with Melbourne University, and also since January 2010 as an Advisor in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ economics practice. He is on the Boards of the Australian Business Arts Foundation and Hydro Tasmania; chairs the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board; and is a member of the Australian Government’s National Housing Supply Council, the Australian Statistics Advisory Council, and the Tasmanian Premier’s Digital Futures Advisory Council. Saul writes a fortnightly column for the business pages of the Melbourne Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers.
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Ian Ewing, Deputy Australian Statistician, Australian Bureau of Statistics
AEF11 Presentation
Ian is the Deputy Australian Statistician responsible for macroeconomic statistics - which includes the national accounts, balance of payments, government finance and prices statistics, innovation statistics, economic analysis and reporting, and the integration of economic statistics. Ian was New South Wales Regional Director from June 2006 until October 2007. He joined Statistics New Zealand in 1980 as a research officer following eighteen months working in the New Zealand Treasury. Ian has worked principally in business, economic and agricultural statistics, where he has played a major role in shaping statistical strategies and work programmes. Prior to coming to the ABS he was Deputy Government Statistician responsible for Macro-Economic, Regional and Environment Statistics. Ian has an MA from the University of Auckland.
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Patricia Faulkner AO, Chair, Social Inclusion Board
Patricia Faulkner is Chair of the Prime Minister’s Social Inclusion Board and a member of the COAG Reform Council. She chairs the Boards of Jesuit Social Services and the Transport Ticketing Authority in Victoria. Ms Faulkner is also a Board member of St Vincent’s Health Australia.From April 2007 to December 2010, Ms Faulkner was a Partner at KPMG as well as its Global Leader for Healthcare.From August 2000 until March 2007 Ms Faulkner was the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Human Services. In 2008 Patricia was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for services in the field of Health and Social Policy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Melbourne University majoring in Economics and Psychology and a Diploma of Education and Master of Administration also from Melbourne University.
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Lisa Fowkes, Policy Consultant
AEF11 Presentation
Lisa Fowkes is a former Chief Executive of Job Futures, a non-profit provider of Government funded employment services including Job Services Australia, Disability Employment Services and the former Job Network. Job Futures is one of the largest providers with members and labour market assistance contracts across urban, regional and remote Australia. Lisa worked for the organisation in a variety of roles from 2001, and became Chief Executive in 2007. In 2010 Lisa left Job Futures to work as a private consultant. She was commissioned by the Whitlam Institute to write a paper exploring the current state of employment services in Australia – “Rethinking Employment Services”. The paper has been shortlisted for the John Button Prize for public policy writing. Lisa is a current member of the Board of Governors of the Australian Council of Social Services.
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Professor John Freebairn, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
AEF11 Presentation
John Freebairn holds the Ritchie Chair in Economics at the University of Melbourne. Most of his career has been as an academic, with short stints with the NSW Department of Agriculture and the Business Council of Australia. He is an applied microeconomist and economic policy analyst. His current research interests include taxation reform and environmental economics.
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Philip Gall, General Manager Corporate & Regulatory Affairs, Transgrid
AEF11 Presentation
Philip is currently the General Manager/Corporate and Regulatory Strategy for TransGrid, the NSW based transmission service provider in the National Electricity Market. He has around 40 years experience in the electricity industry including power station development, transmission system management, market development and, in the latter part of his career, economic regulation, transmission pricing, generator connections, and corporate planning.Regarding economic regulation, Philip has led five yearly revenue reset applications on behalf of TransGrid and overseen a merits review appeal to the Australian Competition Tribunal. In association with Grid Australia, he has actively contributed to the development of the National Electricity Rules via the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Rule change process. This includes the Commission’s review of the revenue setting Rules for transmission in 2006, and the development of new national transmission planning arrangements, which have recently come into effect.Philip has a degree in Science, an Honours Degree in Electrical Engineering, and a Master of Business Administration degree.
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Ross Gittins AM, Economics Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
Ross Gittins has been Economics Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald since 1978. He is also an economic columnist for The Age, Melbourne. His journalistic experience includes editorial writing and stints in the parliamentary press galleries in Sydney and Canberra. Before joining the Herald he worked as an auditor with the national chartered accounting firm Touche Ross & Co. He has a bachelor of commerce from the University of Newcastle and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He has been a Nuffield press fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and a journalist-in-residence at the department of economics of the University of Melbourne.
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Professor Adam Graycar, Director of the Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University
AEF11 Presentation
Adam Graycar is Professor of Public Policy at the Australian National University where he is Dean of the Australian National Institute of Public Policy, and Director, Research School of Social Sciences. He has acquired extensive policy experience over 22 years in the senior level posts he has held in government, both Commonwealth and State. He has also represented Australia in various international fora (OECD, UN etc). He spent 9 years as Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, a Commonwealth Government agency whose task is to provide quality information and conduct policy oriented research, so as to inform government decisions on crime and justice, locally, nationally and internationally. Before that he worked in government policy positions in ageing, employment and skill development, and higher education. He has two doctorates from the University of NSW, is the author of some 200 scholarly publications, and is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
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Professor Bob Gregory AO, Professor of Economics, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University
Professor Gregory is Professor of Economics at the Research School of Social Sciences in the Australian National University, Canberra. Professor Gregory was a member of the Board of Management at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Through 1990 to 1993 he was principal consultant in a series of Aged Care Reviews for the Department of Community Services and Health. In 1998, he was a member of the committee that recommended the introduction of student income contingent loans, collected by the Tax Office. He was a member of the Committee on Employment Opportunities which prepared a Discussion Paper that acted as a precursor to the Government's 1994 Working Nation. He was also a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1985 - 1995. From 1986 - 1991 he was a member of the Australian Sciences and Technology Council. Professor Gregory is an elected fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (1979). In 1996 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal. He has been President of the Economic Society of Australia and has been awarded the Economic Society Medal.
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Dr Nicholas Gruen, CEO, Lateral Economics
AEF11 Presentation
Nicholas Gruen is CEO of Lateral Economics and chairman of Peach Financial, Kaggle, Online Opinion and the Australian Centre for Social Innovation and Patron of the Australian Digital Alliance. He was a member of the Cutler Review into Australian Innovation in 2008 and Thinker in Residence in the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in 2010. His company Lateral Economics is actively consulting to several state governments on innovation in government and also to the World Bank on new approaches to regulation. Dr Gruen chaired the Federal Government’s landmark Government 2.0 Taskforce. He is a strong public advocate for economic reform, innovation and open government.
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Tim Harcourt, Chief Economist, Australian Trade Commission
Tim Harcourt is the chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). As chief economist Tim analyses the global economy to help Australian exporters and helps Austrade devise its own international business strategies. A prolific author and globetrotter, Tim has visited over 50 countries in the past 5 years alone. Tim is an active commentator in the Australian and international media on economic and trade issues. Tim appears regularly on TV and Radio shows and writes for a number of major publications, websites and blogs. Before joining Austrade, Tim was an economist and industrial advocate with the ACTU, and Tim has also worked for the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and has overseas experience in the corporate sector in the UK the USA and Israel. Tim was educated at the University of Adelaide, the University of Minnesota and Harvard University. Tim’s latest book THE AIRPORT ECONOMIST is a Top Ten business books best seller.
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Hugh Harley, Financial Services Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia
Hugh Harley commenced his career as an economist, first teaching at the University of Sydney and then working as a markets economist at Commonwealth Bank. During this time he was Joint Editor of Economic Papers (1991-1994). Hugh worked across most areas of Commonwealth Bank's domestic operations, being appointed to the Bank's Executive Committee as Group Executive, Retail Banking in 2002 and then Group Executive, Strategy in 2006. Hugh joined PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia as a consultant in financial services in 2007, and was appointed Financial Services Leader in 2009. He was Chairman of the Audit Committee of ING Bank Australia from 2007 to 2010. Hugh has honours degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney and a M.Phil in Economics (with distinction) from the University of Cambridge.
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Adrian Hart, Senior Economist, BIS Shrapnel
AEF11 Presentation
Adrian Hart is a Senior Economist with BIS Shrapnel, and was appointed the Senior Manager of the company’s Infrastructure and Mining Unit in 2007. The Unit produces detailed reports each year on the current state of play and outlook for civil construction, mining and maintenance industry sectors. Adrian is also widely involved with privately commissioned research studies, including the analysis of construction costs and development of escalation forecasts, workforce capability analysis and forecasts for roads sector activity in Australia and New Zealand, and demand forecasting models for companies with links to the construction and mining industries.
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Peter Jonson, Founder & Editor, HenryThornton.com
Peter Jonson is an author and company director. He is a former CEO in the private finance sector in Australia and before that Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Peter is the founder and editor of www.henrythornton.com and author of Great Crises of Capitalism. He has written a monthly column on monetary policy for The Australian since June 2002.
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Adrian Kemp, Associate Director, NERA Economic Consulting
Mr. Kemp has over 11 years' experience as an economist providing advice on the regulation of the transport, energy, and water industries and competition matters relating to access to bottleneck facilities. Since joining NERA, he has advised numerous regulatory agencies, including the Australian Energy Market Commission, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, and the Essential Services Commission. In addition, he has worked closely with all levels of government providing policy advice on regulation, market design, and major economic reforms, including for the Ministerial Council on Energy, the Australian Transport Council, the COAG Road Reform Taskforce, the National Transport Commission, the Roads and Traffic Authority, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, and the Department of Energy, Water Heritage and the Arts. Mr. Kemp has also worked closely with industry, including in the water sector, the energy sector, and the transport sector.
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Dr Philip Lowe, Assistant Govenor (Economic), Reserve Bank of Australia
AEF11 Presentation
Philip Lowe is the Assistant Governor (Economic) at the Reserve Bank of Australia, a position he has held since April 2009. In that role, he is responsible for the RBA's Economic Analysis and Economic Research Departments and is the chief economic advisor to the Governor and the Board. Prior to holding this role, Philip was Assistant Governor (Financial System) and was responsible for overseeing the RBA's work on issues related to financial stability and payments system policy. He also spent two years with the Bank for International Settlements working on financial stability issues. Philip holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.Comm (Honours) in Economics/Econometrics from the University of New South Wales. He has authored numerous papers including on the linkages between monetary policy and financial stability.
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Vince Mamone, Industry Practice Leader - Public Sector, AON Risk Services Australia Ltd
AEF11 Presentation
Vince has over twenty five years in the industry, as an underwriter assessing risk, as a broker placing local and global risks and working with and assisting Captives and self insurers with a strong background of involvement with the public sector. He has provided valuable risk management assistance to the public sector particularly at the Commonwealth and State level. Vince has had involvement with: the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority, the West Australian Government in the design of RiskCover and the Tasmanian Treasury in the design of their self-insurance arrangements. Vince has had a long involvement with Comcover, the Commonwealth Government’s self insurance arrangement and continues to be one of several advisors to the Queensland Government (QGIF) Arrangement. Prior to joining Aon, Vince had a key involvement with the New South Wales Treasury Managed Fund (TMF). The TMF is the largest and arguably the most complex scheme of its type in Australia and one of the largest worldwide. His role at Aon provides engagement with all levels of government with particular emphasis on strategic advice relative to potential major adverse events.
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George Mathew, Senior Principal Consultant & Practice Leader, Infosys Australia
George Eby Mathew is the author of “India’s Innovation Blueprint: How the largest democracy is becoming an innovation superpower” (Woodhead-Chandos (UK) – 2010). He looks at economic and social development through the lens of innovation. An electrical and electronics engineer by training, George is a former journalist with Indian Express who reported on India’s new economy in the 1990s. Since then he has written extensively on technology, globalisation and innovation as a journalist, analyst and researcher. George is currently a Sr. Principal Business Consultant with Infosys Australia & New Zealand based in Sydney. Prior, he was Head of IT management Research at Infosys’ Labs and an analyst for Gartner.
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Ruth Medd, Chair, Women on Boards
Ruth has been pursuing a career as a non-executive director since 2000. She is Chair of Australian Ethical Superannuation Ltd, Executive Chair of WOB Pty Ltd (Women on Boards) and a director of the National Foundation for Australian Women. She is a former director of The Infants Home Ashfield and the NSW Casino Control Authority. Her NED experiences to date have enabled her to contribute her finance and business management expertise as well as her in depth understanding of the public policy, regulatory and business interface. Prior executive roles include the Executive Director of the Australian Association of National Advertisers and senior positions with Telstra, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and the Federal government.
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Professor Flavio Menezes, Head of School, Department of Economics, University of Queensland
AEF11 Presentation
Flavio Menezes is a Professor of Economics and currently the Head of the School of Economics at the University of Queensland. He joined the University of Queensland in June 2006 after more than a decade at the Australian National University, where he was, amongst other responsibilities, the Foundation Director of the Australian Centre of Regulatory Economics. Flavio was also a part-time Vice President with the Regulatory Economics and Public Policy Practice at CRA International in Canberra until May 2006 and a Senior Consultant until May 2007. Flavio Menezes has published widely in the economics of auctions and applied microeconomics. He is regarded as Australasia’s leading auction theory expert.
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Alan Mitchell, Economics Editor, The Australian Financial Review
Alan Mitchell is Economics Editor for The Australian Financial Review. Before becoming the AFR’s Economics Editor Alan was editorial page editor and main author of the AFR’s daily editorials. He also developed the AFR’s modern opinion page by encouraging academic economists, most of whom had rarely engaged in the popular economic debate, to become regular contributors to the paper. The aim was to give readers more direct access to expert opinion and analysis. Alan has contributed to a number of books, the most recent of which is The Hawke Government, edited by Susan Ryan and Troy Bramston. His work has been republished by the Cato Institute in Washington.
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Bryan Palmer, Group Manager, Indigenous Community and Economic Development Group, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)
AEF11 Presentation
Bryan is currently responsible for FaHCSIA’s Indigenous Community and Economic Development Group. The Group’s responsibilities include: the Remote Service Delivery (RSD) National Partnership Agreement with four states and the Northern Territory in respect of 29 remote communities; the Community Development and Employment Program (CDEP) which is focused on skills, jobs and community development for Indigenous Australians living in remote communities; strategies to promote economic development for Indigenous Australians. He has a long history in social policy, most recently in the Department’s Strategic Policy Branch, and prior to that in the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination. Bryan has also worked in the then Departments of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs; the Prime Minister and Cabinet; and Health and Community Services. Bryan has a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in political science and a Graduate Diploma in Economics.
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Dean Parham, Visiting Researcher, Productivity Commission
AEF11 Masterclass
Currently a Visiting Researcher at the Productivity Commission, Dean previously led the Commission’s program of research on Australia’s productivity performance (until mid-2008). He is well known for his many contributions to the productivity research literature through Productivity Commission reports and papers, economic journals and invited conference papers. This work has been drawn on extensively in policy formulation and public debate.
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Janine Perrett, Journalist & Presenter, Sky Busness News
Janine Perrett began her journalism career at The Australian newspaper in 1979 and during the 1980’s worked in London and New York as a foreign correspondent for that paper. In 1990 she joined the Nine Network’s Business Sunday program and also reported for the Sunday program. In 1994 she founded The Small Business Show and was the presenter on that program for its nine year run. Since leaving Nine she has worked as a guest presenter on ABC radio and a columnist for News Ltd and the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2007 she was awarded a Knight fellowship to study journalism at Stanford University in California for a year. More recently she has been seen on Sky News’ weekly news program, 180 and commentating on the Sky Business Channel as well as the Sydney Morning Herald Business Day site. Janine now hosts the Perrett Report on Sky TV business channel Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm.
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John Pierce, Chairman, Australian Energy Market Commission
Commissioner Pierce was appointed AEMC Chairman in June 2010. His commitment to industry and regulatory reform has underpinned his contribution to national energy reform through a number of senior roles including his tenure as Secretary of the Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism which followed 12 years of service as Secretary of the New South Wales (NSW) Treasury. He was a key adviser to Government and Chairman of the NSW Treasury Corporation. Prior to his time at NSW Treasury he was Pacific Power Chief Economist. John holds a BEc, Hon. (UNSW). He was a Visiting Scholar at Boston University during 2004-2005 working with Professor L. Kotlikoff on the economic and fiscal implications of an ageing population and with R. D. Behr from the Kennedy School of Government on public sector performance management.
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Daryl Quinlivan, Deputy Secretary, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
AEF11 Presentation
Daryl Quinlivan is Deputy Secretary responsible for the Infrastructure Group in the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. He joined the Department in April 2009. He was previously Deputy Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry where he was responsible for the Corporate Policy, Corporate Services and Finance Divisions, and the Climate Change and Sustainable Resource Management Divisions.
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Andrew Reeves, Chairman, Australian Energy Regulator
AEF11 Presentation
Andrew Reeves is the Chairman of the Australian Energy Regulator. The AER regulates the wholesale electricity market in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and is responsible for the economic regulation of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in the NEM. The AER is also responsible for the economic regulation of gas transmission and distribution networks and enforcing the national gas law and national gas rules in all jurisdictions except Western Australia.
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Flavio Romano’s role with Infrastructure Australia – the Australian Government’s infrastructure advisory agency – is to lead the development of policy to help address the major infrastructure challenges facing our nation. These include financing infrastructure; designing efficient regulation of infrastructure assets; and the infrastructure demands of urban population growth, Australia’s changing economic structure, and a carbon constrained economy. Flavio has published widely on contemporary economic policy issues.
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Vasilis' background is in the areas of economics and econometrics. He received his BA in Economics with Computing and Quantitative Methods at the University of Sussex, his MPhil in Economics and Econometrics and his PhD in Econometrics at the University of Cambridge. Vasilis' main area of research lies in panel data analysis with current focus on models with cross-sectional dependence and parameter heterogeneity. His research has been published in leading scientific journals in econometrics. He has been a regular speaker at international conferences such as the World Congress of the Econometric Society and the International Conference on Panel Data.
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Rod Sims, Chairman, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
AEF11 Presentation
Rod Sims was appointed Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in August 2011 for a five year term. Mr Sims has extensive business and public sector experience. Prior to his appointment to the ACCC, among other roles he was the Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales, a Commissioner with the National Competition Council, on the boards of a number of companies, and an advisor to the Boards and CEOs of some of Australia’s leading companies on corporate strategy.
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Tim Smeallie, Head of Commercial Strategy, NBN Co
Tim Smeallie has responsibility for the commercial strategy of NBN Co including corporate acquisitions, implementation of the Telstra Definitive Agreements, Optus HFC Agreement and negotiating the supply of Utility infrastructure to support the network deployment. Mr Smeallie has been responsible for the development of the NBN Co pricing model and revenue plan together with successfully completing commercial negotiations with Telstra, Optus and Austar Ltd. Mr Smeallie has over 20 years experience in telecommunications both locally and internationally, having split his career between the telecommunications industry and the financial markets, where he was rated the nation’s leading telecoms investment analyst for four years.
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Robert Smith, Manager - Demand Management Policy & Strategy, Ausgrid
Robert Smith is industry economist with a background in energy, energy efficency, banking and finance and management consulting. He has been a member of the economics society for over 20 years and a member of the NSW Economic Society Council since 2008.
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Leo Soames, Research Economist, Productivity Commission
AEF11 Masterclass
Leo Soames has been a research economist in the Productivity Analysis Branch of the Productivity Commission since 2008. His work includes an analysis of the productivity trends in the mining industry and detailed modelling to identify the relationship between competition, innovation and productivity at the firm level in Australia.
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Dr Don Stammer, Columnist, The Australian
AEF11 Presentation
Don Stammer is enjoying his fourth career. The first was teaching economics and finance at the University of New England and the Australian National University. Then came a decade in senior positions in the Reserve Bank of Australia and 20 years as chief economist/director of investment strategy for Deutsche Bank Australia and its predecessor, Bain & Company. These days, Don is a company director and comments on the economy and investment markets in a weekly column in the Wealth supplement of The Australian.
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Michael Stutchbury, Economics Editor, The Australian
Michael Stutchbury has been Economics Editor of The Australian since mid-2008. Previous to that he was Editor of The Australian between 2001 and 2006 and Deputy Editor (Business). He previously had been Economics Editor for The Australian Financial Review during the Hawke-Keating years and then Washington correspondent for the first Clinton term. Michael has a first class degree in economics from the University of Adelaide and, upon graduating, worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the early 1980s.
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Robert Tanton, Research Director, Social Inclusion and Small Area Modelling, National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, University of Canberra
AEF11 Presentation
Robert’s main interest is social exclusion, disadvantage and community resilience. Recent work he has been involved in includes indexes of disadvantage for regions in Australia; poverty and housing stress for communities in Australia; and modelling the effect of Government policy change for small areas. Robert’s current research interests include working with experts on regional and remote Australia to estimate community resilience; and modelling the sustainability of regions in Australia. Robert has presented results of his work to a number of national and international conferences, and presented results from his research on housing stress to the Senate Select Committee on Housing Affordability.
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Dr Richard Tooth, Director, Sapere Research Group (formerly LECG)
Richard Tooth has expertise in economic policy and regulation as well as business management issues including strategy, procurement, and risk management. Dr Tooth has consulted and written extensively on economic policy issues. His range of expertise includes regulatory and competition policy, network economics, consumer behaviour and applied econometrics. While he has experience across a range of industries, he has particular expertise with regards to water, natural resources, insurance, and other financial services. He has consulted to a range of private and public organisations. These have recently included Commonwealth departments, state departments (including departments in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia) and other organisations including private industry, industry associations and government corporations. Prior to joining the Sapere Research Group, Dr Tooth worked on economic regulation and policy issues with the economic consultancies, Allen Consulting Group, and the Centre for Law and Economics Ltd. He also worked with the strategy consulting firm, Booz Allen and Hamilton and has worked directly in private and government organisations.
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John Trowbridge, Chair, Natural Disaster Insurance Review
AEF11 Presentation
John completed in 2010 a four year term as one of three Government-appointed executive members of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Australia's national prudential regulator for banking, insurance and superannuation. During this time he was also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and a member of Australia's Financial Reporting Council. Before joining APRA, John had spent the larger part of his career as a consultant, having founded Trowbridge Consulting in 1981. It merged with Deloitte in 2000. He had previously worked with Commonwealth Treasury in the Government Actuary's Office and had also held senior executive positions with QBE Insurance. After completing his consulting career in 2002, he led Suncorp's insurance business for a period and was subsequently a local director of Munich Reinsurance. He was President of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia in 1998, served as a member of the Australian Treasurer's Financial Sector Advisory Council from 1998 to 2004, was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 and was named Actuary of the Year in 2006.
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Dr Robert Waldersee, Executive Director Corruption Prevention, Independent Commission Against Corruption
AEF11 Presentation
Dr Robert Waldersee was appointed to the position of Executive Director of Corruption Prevention in June 2008. Dr Waldersee's previous positions include Professor of Management at Queensland University of Technology, visiting Professor at Southern Cross University, Director of the Australian Centre in Strategic Management and Research Fellow at the Australian Graduate School of Management. His research and consultancy work in the US and Australia has focussed on strategy, knowledge management, service management and organisational change. Dr Waldersee has a PhD in Management from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney.
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Roger Wilkins AO, Secretary, Attorney-General's Department
Mr Roger Wilkins AO is Secretary of the Australian Attorney-Gerenal's Department, a position he has held since September 2008. Prior to his appointment, he was Citi’s Head of Government and Public Sector Group Australia and New Zealand from 2006 to 2008. Mr Wilkins was the Director-General of the New South Wales Cabinet Office from 1992 to 2006, and Director-General of the Ministry of Arts from 2001 to 2006. He has chaired a number of national taskforces and committees and was responsible for the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in New South Wales and design of a national emissions trading scheme for Australia. In 2008 he led the strategic review of climate change programs for the Commonwealth Government. Mr Wilkins is a member of the Board of the Forum of Federations and advises international federal systems, particularly on fiscal issues. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007 for service to public administration in New South Wales.
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Ed Willett, Commissioner, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Edward Willett was re-appointed in June 2008 for a five-year term. Before his appointment to the ACCC, he was the inaugural executive director of the National Competition Council for seven years. Before that he worked as an assistant commissioner with the Industry Commission and helped develop the federal Department of Industry, Science and Technology’s role in business law and regulation, spent three years as deputy head of the Commonwealth Office of Regulation Review and was involved in other Industry Commission inquiry work and research. He also spent three years with the New Zealand Ministry of External Relations and Trade as an adviser on international economics and trade and eight years as an economist with the Department of Defence. Mr Willett has degrees in law and economics and a postgraduate diploma in international law.
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Professor Ed Wilson, President, Economic Society of Australia (NSW Branch)
Ed is President of the Economics Society of Australia, NSW Branch, and has been the Chief Examiner of the HSC Economics Examination Committee, NSW Board of Studies. He has been Head of the Economics Discipline at the University of Wollongong where he received the Vice Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning and the Excellence in Educational Publishing from the Australian Publishers Association. Ed’s research analyses policies to promote economic growth and alleviate poverty. He has worked with national and international agencies and has presented invited and keynote addresses to the United Nations World Food Programme, the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists and the Indian Council for Social Science Research.
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Professor Mike Young, Executive Director, University of Adelaide, Environment Institute
AEF11 Presentation
Mike Young is the Founding Executive Director of the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute, holds a Research Chair in Water Economics and Management at the University of Adelaide, is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. A Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, in 2006, Mike Young was awarded Australia’s premiere water research prize – the Land and Water Australia Eureka Award for Water Research. Mike is best known for his contribution to the development of water policy and the development of options for the management of water scarcity in urban and rural settings. He has just completed leading preparation of a chapter on global water management for a UNEP report on Green Economies. Prior to joining the University of Adelaide, Mike spent 30 years with CSIRO where amongst other things he established their Policy and Economic Research Unit. In 2003, Mike was awarded a Centenary Medal “for outstanding service through environmental economics” and in 2009, he was named South Australian of the Year in the Environment Category.
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