Speakers

TOM ROGERS

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.

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.