Speakers

Norman Moore was elected to the Legislative Council in 1977 and is currently Western Australia’s longest serving Member of Parliament. He was appointed Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Fisheries; and Electoral Affairs on the election of the Liberal-National Government in September 2008 and also fulfils the role of Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.

Since his appointment to the Mines and Petroleum portfolio, Minister Moore has overseen big improvements to the State Government approvals processes for resources exploration and development.

This has resulted in increased certainty for industry, attracted resource project investment and increased the economic benefits for all West Australians. The Minister has also initiated the single biggest overhaul of the mining industry’s occupational health and safety system, lifted the previous ban on uranium mining and helped the State move towards increased energy security and improved standards of living.

As the Minister for Fisheries, he has taken the tough decisions necessary to protect Western Australia’s important commercial and recreational fishing stocks.

Under Minister Moore, Australia’s single most valuable fishery, the commercial Western Rock Lobster industry has moved from an outdated “race to fish” input-control system to a quota system which enables the protection of stocks while allowing fishers to maximise profits by fishing to meet the demands of the market.

In accordance with the State Government’s strategy to improve the State’s electoral system, Minister Moore has also used his authority as Minister for Electoral Affairs to introduce legislation which will see WA move to fixed term elections every four years.

Minister Moore is married to Lee and has three grown-up children, Kathryn, Georgia and Daniel.

As the Western Australian Treasurer and Attorney General Christian Porter was born and raised in Perth.
He was elected the Member for Murdoch in a by-election on 23 February 2008. After being sworn in to Parliament he was immediately appointed to the front bench of the then State Opposition as Shadow Attorney General.

Following the 2008 State Election, Christian became the Member for the new seat of Bateman and was appointed Attorney General and Minister for Corrective Services. He was the youngest Attorney General in Western Australian history.

After two years as the Attorney General and Minister for Corrective Services, Christian was appointed as the WA Treasurer on 14 December 2010. He retained the portfolio of Attorney General.
Christian holds a Bachelor or Economics, a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Political Science and a Graduate Law Degree from the University of Western Australia.

He has also studied at the prestigious London School of Economics in a Masters of Political Theory from which he graduated at the top of his class with distinction.

As the State's first law officer, Christian has experience in both the public and private practice of law.
His legal career began as a commercial litigator at the national law firm Clayton Utz before working as a legal advisor to the Federal Justice Minister in 2001. In 2002 Christian joined the WA Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, where he was promoted to the position of Senior State Prosecutor.
Prior to his election Christian was also a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, teaching criminal law, evidence and forensic advocacy.

As the WA Treasurer and Attorney General, Christian aims to responsibly balance the State’s budget; develop sound public policy that will improve community safety and meet community expectations; and work towards securing the State’s social and economic future.

As Chief Executive of the State Government’s specialist land and property development agency, Ross leads a team of more than 200 dedicated and diverse professionals involved in projects as diverse as design, planning, property, advisory services, business administration and strategic marketing.
 
He constantly challenges his team to identify new ways to improve the business and provide leadership in the property industry to better meet WA’s land development needs.
 
Over 50 per cent of LandCorp’s projects are located in regional Western Australia, while metropolitan activity is focused on transit oriented and infill development.  LandCorp is also the major provider of industrial land in the State.
 
Under Ross's leadership, the agency has sought to extend design and development outcomes through partnering with Local and State Government and the private sector.
 
Prior to joining LandCorp in 1993, Ross gained invaluable experience in state finance and administration, holding a senior position in the State Treasury.

Eric Lumsden, Director General of the Department of Planning commenced on 5 November 2007 with the then Department of Planning and Infrastructure.

Eric has previously been involved in Local Government for 34 years.  During this time, he has been a Chief Executive Officer for 17 years, firstly at the City of Swan and then at the City of Melville.  Prior to that, as a qualified Town Planner, he was Director of Planning and Development at the then Shire of Swan and also at the Shire of Mundaring.

Eric has been involved in major planning studies at both the Local and Regional levels and has played a major role in planning strategies for the Eastern Region.  More recently, in a State Government context, Eric has been heavily involved in the planning processes associated with “Directions 2031”, Planning Approvals Reform and other key Government planning initiatives (for example, Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority).

Eric is committed to ensuring the Department plays a leading role in planning reform and initiatives for the State and has strong views of the need for all sectors of the agency to have a strong internal and external customer service delivery focus.  He also has a strong desire to develop and provide increased opportunities for career development where possible.

During this time in Local Government, Eric has been extensively involved in assisting Local Governments and staff in resolving various issues, including the mentoring of senior staff, participating in Local Government panels and was appointed a Commissioner of the City of South Perth between 28 November 2000 and April 2003.  He was Chair of the governing Council of Swan TAFE and Chair of the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Councils CEO Group.

He is a strong advocate of pragmatic Strategic Community Planning and Development and more effective Governance processes and has been passionate in promoting close working relationships within the private and public sector bodies.

Eric holds Masters Degrees in Town Planning and Business Administration and other Postgraduate qualifications in Local Government and Social Sciences.  He is a Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, Fellow and past President of WA Division of the Local Government Managers Association.  Eric’s name was listed on the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours List when he was awarded the Public Service Medal for his contribution to Local Government especially in the area of economic development.  In 2010, he was awarded the LGMA Gold Medal for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the profession of local government management and was recently awarded the National Fellow Award by the Institute of Public Administration.

Ronnie has worked in the sport and recreation industry for over 25 years both in Australia and the United Kingdom at all levels of government.

Ronnie is currently the Project Director, New Perth Major Stadium at the Department of Sport and Recreation. He has worked for the State Government since 2003. Some of the significant projects he has worked on include;

• The Western Australian Government’s support of the Football Federation of Australia’s bid for the 2018/22 FIFA World Cup bid;

• The current government investment of $100 million for the redevelopment of nib Stadium; and

• The successful bid to secure the licence for the Western Force in the Super 14 Rugby competition.

Prior to joining the Department, Ronnie worked in Local Government with the City of Melville where he was responsible for the development of an extensive range of community facilities.

A Board member of Venues West since 2003, Ronnie has experience in the development, tendering and management of an extensive range of sporting and entertainment facilities.

Ronnie’s professional skills in sport and recreation complement an extremely strong participation background in sport and recreation.
He represented Scotland in springboard and highboard diving for 5 years and participated at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

More recently he has become involved in martial arts and is a black belt in karate.

Gary Prattley has over 44 years experience in planning, urban management and governance at local, metropolitan, regional, state and national government levels.
 
Mr Prattley also has private sector planning experience as a senior planning consultant working across Australia and headed government planning systems in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. He was also responsible for Metropolitan Sydney in The New South Wales Department of Infrastructure and Planning.
 
For four years, from 1997 to 2001, Mr Prattley was the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry for Planning in WA, predecessor of the Department of Planning.
 
Mr Prattley has a Masters in Town Planning; is a Certified Practicing Planner;  Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Australian Property Institute; and a member of the Urban Development Institute of Australia.

He was appointed as Chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission in April 2009.

Vince has worked in the construction industry for over 30 years in Australia, the Middle East and the UK managing large scale construction projects, a number of them in the health sector. 
Vince currently leads the John Holland team on the $1.2 billion New Children’s Hospital Project in Perth. Immediately prior to this Vince worked in the Middle East on other major building projects as well as leading large construction teams on a range of landmark health, residential and commercial projects in Australia. 

Some of the significant projects Vince has worked on include: Sidra Medical and Research Centre in Qatar, the Walsh Bay Redevelopment in Sydney and the Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney.

Sue graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Western Australia in 1979.  After winning a Clough Scholarship as an undergraduate, she joined Clough Engineering in 1980 commencing what would be a 25 year career in that organisation.  Twelve years in the field as a site engineer and project manager led to corporate roles with a focus on human resources, safety and engineering design management and her appointment in 1998 as the first woman on the board of the Clough Engineering Ltd.

In 2004, Sue joined the Water Corporation of Western Australia with responsibilities for delivery of capital projects and long and short term planning.

On 6 November 2008, Sue was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Water Corporation.

Sue is a Board Member of the University of WA Business School and  Chairman of the Water   Services Association of Australia (WSAA).  She is also Chairman of the WSAA Safety and Wellbeing Committee.   

In 2009, 2010 & 2001, Sue was listed in the top 100 most influential engineers in Australia by Engineers Australia.

Sue was elected to join the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) in November 2009.

Sue has three daughters – one in secondary school and two undertaking degrees at University – a busy husband and two small dogs.

As founder and director, John Martin has been involved in the ongoing development of Grazer since he established the company in 1997.

Prior to that he operated his own successful drafting company where he assisted organisations optimise their asset performance through established software platforms including Maximo and SAP.
Indeed, John’s inspiration for setting up Grazer came while working as a draughtsman, and in particular while he was compiling hundreds of cumbersome four-ring folders to form exhaustive operation and maintenance manuals for the 15,000 runway lights at Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong.

Compelled to find a faster and easier way to manage O&M manuals for built assets, he set up Grazer to create a graphics-based knowledge management software system, which has effectively eliminated the need for unwieldy paper-based manuals.

Sue McCarrey was appointed to the new position of Deputy Director General – Policy Planning and Investment on 31 May 2010.  Since joining the Department of Transport she has instigated a review of the policy activities and overseen the establishment of the Western Australian Transport Policy Advisory Group.  Sue is also the current President of the Western Australia Institute of Public Administration Council.

Sue was a member of the Public Transport Authority Executive for eight years, most recently in the position of Executive Director Safety and Strategic Development.  Sue has played a leading role in a number of major rail projects for the State, including Oakajee and Karara railway projects.
Sue has also worked in a number of government administration roles within the Department of Education and Training including policy development and review, strategic planning, and Commonwealth-State relations.
 
A law degree and post-graduate qualifications in policy and administration provide Sue with expertise in government policy and administration, including legal frameworks and the mechanics of government.

Stewart Kestel is the Executive Director of Complex Projects with the WA Department of Housing. He is responsible for the strategic project management of the Department’s complex housing, infrastructure and land development projects.

Stewart is also responsible for negotiations and liaison with the Department’s major stakeholders in relation to land dealings, business case analyses and risk feasibilities.

Stewart has a wealth of experience in the property and land development industry. Prior to joining the Department of Housing he was Managing Director and equity partner in Hegney Property Group before accepting the role of Acquisitions Manager for Satterley Property Group.

With major experience in both the private and the government sectors, Stewart is highly respected in the property industry, with an unparalleled understanding of acquisition, development, finance, construction and management.

A former Head Boy at Trinity College, captain of Swan Districts Football Club and Assistant Coach and Selector of WA’s State 18s football team, Stewart combines outstanding leadership ability with highly-developed communication skills.

John is responsible for Santos’ activities in Western Australia and Northern Territory, including commercial and finance, business development, exploration, development and operated assets. John joined Santos in 1996 as Corporate Counsel for the former Queensland Northern Territory Business Unit after 10 years as a solicitor with Freehills.

He has held a range of roles at Santos including Manager Legal and Business Services, Group Executive Business Development, Vice President Strategic Projects and most recently Vice President Commercial.

As AECOM’s Senior Vice President and Project Director for the new West Pilbara Iron Ore Project, John Rinard has more than 27 years of experience in program delivery across five continents.

As owner, operator, contractor, and engineer, Mr Rinard’s career has included several major programs encompassing more than $100 billion in assets and matching revenue plans.

Mr Rinard’s career began in the US heavy haul railroad sector, and progressed to large civil port, highway and mines for iron ore, bauxite, coal and aggregates.

Prior to relocating to WA in 2010, Mr Rinard was managing a US$37 billion infrastructure project in Libya. Some of the significant projects Mr Rinard has worked on include:

• Libya Infrastructure and Housing Program (US$37 billion)
• Jamaica Mine Expansion – phase 1 (US$500 million)
• Alameda Freight Corridor Program (US$2.5 billion)
• Southern California Rail Program (US$2.4 billion)
• South Korea High Speed Rail (US$13 billion)
• Philippines MCX BOT (US$1.0 billion)
• Tren Urbano, San Juan Puerto Rico (US$2 billion)

Chris Adams is the General Manager of the Pilbara Cities Office, a division of the Department of Regional Development and Lands. Born and raised in the Pilbara region of WA, Chris has a diverse background gained from a wide range of senior executive and CEO roles, including CEO of the Town of Port Hedland. In 2010, Chris accepted the exciting challenge of becoming the inaugural GM of the Pilbara Cities Office.

He is tasked with leading the WA State Government’s planned transformation of the Pilbara region from major mining powerhouse to a sustainable, attractive, diverse – yet still economically strong – region. Chris has management responsibility for the $1billion Pilbara Cities project and is integrally involved with all Pilbara-related planning and development issues. Having spent more than half his life in the Pilbara, Chris is highly motivated to work in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure that Pilbara communities grow, diversify and benefit from the exponential resource and industrial growth currently taking place.

Mike Bradford was appointed Chief Executive of Landgate in June 2009. In this role he has led the transformation of the business including the foundation of the new commercial sales team and the development of a Location Information Strategy for Western Australia.

Mike has international experience managing land information products and services including topographic map production, satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems. He is experienced in strategic planning and the management of complex information technology projects.  He has also been instrumental in several cross-government initiatives. Mike has worked on overseas assignments advising the governments of Solomon Islands on land information systems and East Timor on defence cooperation.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Surveying Degree and a Masters in Management Studies (Project Management).  Mike is also the Surveyor General of Western Australia.

Wade is a Regional Sales Manager at Aconex, the world’s largest provider of online collaboration solutions to the construction and engineering industries.  More than $260 billion of projects in 70 countries use Aconex to reduce the time, cost and risk of managing project information. Founded in 2000, the company services some of the world’s largest developments including the $3.2 billion Panama Canal Expansion and Abu Dhabi’s $40 billion Yas Island.

Over the past seven years, Wade has played a leading role in growing the Australian industry’s adoption of online collaboration. This includes clients in WA such as:  WA Health, Public Transport Authority WA, Santos, Newcrest Mining and Perth Airport.  Prior to Aconex, Wade worked with a property development consultancy, providing services in the area of building certification, tax, cost control and technical due diligence.