Speakers

TOM ROGERS

Former Australian Electoral Commissioner

Tom was appointed Australian Electoral Commissioner in 2014 and has since overseen the 2016, 2019, and 2022 federal elections, numerous by-elections, and boundary redistributions across all Australian states and territories. Recently, he led the AEC through the first referendum in nearly 25 years. Before joining the AEC, Tom was the Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Police Management, which delivers executive development programs for Australasian police and public safety leaders.

Earlier in his career, Tom graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1983 and held various leadership roles in the Australian Army, including Senior Instructor in Leadership and Commander of a United Nations observer mission. After leaving the Army in 2000, he worked for Raytheon Australia, where he led the team responsible for the Sydney Olympics’ major preparedness and readiness activity. Tom’s extensive experience spans public administration, military leadership, and complex project management.

JOHN RYAN

Controller and Auditor - General

John Ryan began his term as Controller and Auditor-General on 2 July 2018.

John graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration. He studied strategic leadership at Oxford University and is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.

He has held senior executive positions in a range of public sector organisations and in the private sector. His experience spans corporate, regulatory and operational management, and assurance.

During his career of more than 40 years, John has led some of the largest programmes of capital works in the public sector, large-scale change management, and significant regulatory reform.

John has also contributed widely to his community. Before his appointment, he was a board member of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the New Zealand Festival, and the Wellington Jazz Festival.

PROFESSOR LIAM SMITH

Director, BehaviourWorks Australia

Professor Liam Smith is the Director of BehaviourWorks Australia (BWA) which he established in 2010. Since then, he has overseen significant growth and the research team now consists of 35 staff who have collectively delivered over 700 projects with government and industry partners across a broad range of social, financial, health and environmental issues. He has published close to 100 research papers, over 250 reports and is the lead editor on BWA’s new book “Inspiring Change".  

He held several other board and committee positions and is currently on the Board of Inclusive Australia, a Lead Councillor for The Biodiversity Council, a member South East Water’s Customer Engagement Council.

SHARYN O’NEILL PSM

Public Sector Commissioner, Chair of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Board (ANZSOG)

Sharyn O’Neill was appointed Public Sector Commissioner in July 2018 following 12 years as Director General of the Department of Education. She is the first woman to undertake the role.

Ms O’Neill began her career as a teacher and deputy principal in country schools, before moving to policy, governance and system leadership positions. She has a Master of Education (Education Administration and Policy) and was the youngest Director General appointed to lead the Department of Education. 

She has been awarded the Institute of Public Administration Australia (WA) Patron’s Award;  made a Fellow of the Institute and received the Australian College of Educators (WA) Medal in recognition of her outstanding achievements in education.

Ms O’Neill was the State Recovery Controller from April 2020 to October 2022 with responsibility for developing, coordinating and overseeing WA’s recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023 she was awarded the Public Service Medal for leading this vital work.

In June 2023, Ms O’Neill became the first Western Australian to be appointed Chair of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Board. 

KHALID HAMID

International Director, The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Khalid Hamid has over 30 years’ experience in public audit, having held leadership positions in the UK, South Africa and the UAE.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in an array of projects, including standard setting and capacity development, across the supreme audit institution community. Khalid has also been a member of several influential committees, including chairing the Financial Audit and Accounting Subcommittee of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). He is currently a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Professional Accountancy Organization Development & Advisory Group (PAODAG). 

Over the past four years, he has served as the International Director at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), growing the institute’s global footprint, with a particular focus on integrating CIPFA’s offering for financial managers, accountants, auditors and other public finance professionals.

BEN HARVEY

Ben Harvey has worked as a journalist since 1998. His early career at The West Australian included stretches of crime reporting and political journalism. 

He worked in London for regional and national titles before returning to Australia in 2006. Since then he has held the positions of The West Australian's Chief of Staff, State Political Editor and Business Editor. His current role as Chief Reporter sees him write across a range of issues. 

Since 2020 his nightly online news bulletin “Up Late With Ben Harvey” takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the issues of the day.

DR VIVI NIEMENMAA

Dr Vivi Niemenmaa is the Secretary General of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) at the National Audit Office of Finland. She has led the WGEA since 2020, working towards the vision of innovative environmental auditing.
 
Vivi is a recognized expert in environmental governance and sustainable development, with extensive experience auditing environmental and climate policies in both Finland and the EU. In addition to her auditing expertise, Vivi is an acknowledged trainer who has spearheaded innovative collaborations between the University of Helsinki and the WGEA. She has pioneered approaches to policy coherence within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has emphasized the importance of long-term orientation in auditing practices.
 
Vivi holds a PhD in Geography and an Executive Master’s in International Relations.

JERRY V. DeMARCO

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Jerry V. DeMarco has served as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development since 2021. A lifelong interest in nature and more than 30 years working in the environmental field have positioned Mr. DeMarco as a leading Canadian expert in environmental policy and law.

Before joining the OAG, Mr. DeMarco served as Commissioner of the Environment and Assistant Auditor General at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree from the University of Windsor, Mr. DeMarco has a law degree from the University of Toronto and master’s degrees in environmental studies (York University), management (McGill University), and science (University of Toronto). He also holds a diploma in French studies from the Université de Savoie and certificates in adjudication and alternative dispute resolution. He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and a Registered Professional Planner and member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

SHARON CLARK

Sharon Clark is Vice-President of Professional and Business Development at the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening public sector audit, oversight, and accountability in Canada and around the world. Sharon is responsible for the Foundation’s virtual and in-person training, with a focus on performance auditing. Clients include legislative auditors and public sector internal auditors across Canada and around the world.

Sharon was a Principal at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada from 2006 to 2019, where she led performance audits of various federal government departments, with a focus on auditing human resource management and ethics issues. She also led the Office’s performance audit methodology practice from 2010 to 2013. During this time, she was responsible for revising the performance audit manual and procedures, and for contributing to the development of the INTOSAI performance audit standards. 

Prior to joining the Office of the Auditor General, Sharon spent 10 years at PwC as a management consultant, specializing in human resource management consulting. She has an MBA from McGill University in Montreal and a BA in political science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She speaks English, French, Spanish, and Hebrew.

KAREN CHAPPEL

Shire President - Shire of Morawa

Elected Deputy President of WALGA in March 2020 and President on 2 March 2022, after acting in the role since 1 December 2021.

Karen Chappel has been a Councillor at the Shire of Morawa since 2005 and a President since 2009.

A WALGA Life Member and a graduate of the Local Government Diploma, Cr Chappel is also a member of the Local Government Advisory Board and was appointed twice by the Minister for Local Government to a mentoring team for Elected Members.