Movers & Shakers: Kramer appears in Wages Tribunal

Senior executive service

Team 1

Jake Gumley AND Anna Whip have been promoted to the first team in the Department of Defense. Matthew Berrisford also joined senior management in the Department of Defense as Deputy Secretary in the Office of the Inspector General of the Australian Defense Force

The Department of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers made this Joanna Abhayaratna Deputy Secretary of the Office of Impact Analysis, Faculty of Economics i Tiffany the Dreamer Deputy Secretary of the Economic Policy Department, Economic Department.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water has two new division heads Anita Agetta AND Susan Heaton.

Danielle Pentony is the new Chief Information Security Officer at the Australian Digital Health Agency.

The Australian Government’s legal adviser has been promoted Luke Akele, Grace Ng AND Samuel Witton to senior lawyers.

Team 3

Charlotte Tressler was appointed director of operations at the Department of the Interior.

The Sports Committee is reviewing Jenkins for chairman

Former Commissioner for Gender Discrimination Kate Jenkins was appointed chairman of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) for a five-year term.

In her new position, Jenkins will lead the primary agency that funds and promotes sports across the country. Her appointment to the role comes at a pivotal time for Australian sport, as codes across the country recognize a long history of contributing to gender inequality in Australia.

Jenkins has been associated with sports for a long time, including: she chairs Play by the Rules, is a board member of Carlton Football Club, is an ambassador for the 2020 T20 Women’s Cricket World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and leads the Independent Gymnastics Review for the Human Rights Commission in 2021.

In her new position, Jenkins will lead the primary agency that funds and promotes sports across the country. Her appointment to the role comes at a pivotal time for Australian sport, as codes across the country recognize a long history of contributing to gender inequality in Australia.

Jenkins has been associated with sports for a long time, including: she chairs Play by the Rules, is a board member of Carlton Football Club, is an ambassador for the 2020 T20 Women’s Cricket World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and leads the Independent Gymnastics Review for the Human Rights Commission in 2021.

Jenkins is one of Australia’s most recognizable discrimination and human rights lawyers, having worked in the field for over 30 years. She gained national prominence when she was appointed sex discrimination commissioner in 2016 by former Attorney General George Brandis.

She delivered a groundbreaking study, ‘Set a standard review of parliamentary culture’, which shed light on how power imbalances were used to facilitate sexual harassment and assault in the halls of parliament.

She previously served as Chair of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission from 2013 to 2016. During this time, she worked for the Independent Review on gender discrimination and sexual harassment, including predatory behavior, at Victoria Police and founded the Victoria-based Male Champions of Change program.

Her other work prior to becoming the Sex Discrimination Commissioner included chairing the Disability Reference Group to address issues of discrimination against people with disabilities, overseeing the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Victorian Rights Commission’s Beyond Doubt report Human Rights, working with the Aboriginal Justice Forum and developing guidelines for transgender people in sport.

Jenkins was awarded the Order of Australia for her contributions to human rights management, advancing gender equality, promoting inclusivity and legislating.

Jenkins will be joined on the ASC board by Olympic and Paralympic medalists Nicholas GreenAND Bride Kean for three-year terms.

Green is a double Olympic gold medalist and senior executive with experience working in large global corporations, the public sector and not-for-profit organizations. His sporting roles include CEO of Cycling Australia, Director of the Australian Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games in Australia, President of the Victorian Olympic Council and Chief of Mission of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team.

He won gold medals in rowing at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996.

Kean is a double Paralympic medalist and lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She served as the Paralympic Athlete Representative during the Brisbane 2032 bidding process and was recently appointed Sous Chef for the 2024 Australian Paralympic Team.

Kean won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and a silver medal at the 2012 London Games in wheelchair basketball. She obtained a PhD in Paralympic sports management.

Kramer enters the Wages Tribunal

Holly Kramer will be the next President of the Remuneration Tribunal for a period of five years commencing on 1 June 2024.

The Remuneration Tribunal determines and reports on the remuneration of key public positions, including members of parliament, judicial and non-judicial offices of federal courts and tribunals, departmental secretaries, holders of various full-time and part-time public offices and directors of executive offices.

Kramer has chaired remuneration committees at ANZ Group, Fonterra Group, Woolworths Group, Australia Post, Abacus Property Group and Nine Entertainment Corporation.

Her previous positions also include Vice-Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Chair of the Lendi Group, Vice-President of Australia Post, Board Member of the Goodes-O’Loughlin (GO) Foundation and Non-Executive Director of Endeavor Group, Abacus Property Group and Nine Entertainment Corporation.

Kramer replaces John Conde, whose term ends in December 2023.

The director-general of the Council on Australia-China Relations has been appointed

Gary Cowan is the new CEO of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Cowan is a senior official at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and served as Australia’s representative in Taipei from 2018 to 2021. He previously held positions in Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo.

He has been in this role since March, replacing Peter Caiwho has served in this capacity since 2021, and at the stage of its creation as a member of the advisory board.

Cowan served as First Deputy Secretary in the North and South Asia Division (later the South and Central Asia Division) from 2021 to 2024, managing Australia’s relationships with Japan, the Republic of Korea, India and the countries of South and Central Asia.

In his previous roles, he led the Australian international climate policy and negotiations team at DFAT and the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

The Advisory Board helps guide the Foundation’s work, supporting governments, businesses and communities in building connections and strengthening constructive engagement with China.

Alice Pung he was also appointed to the Foundation’s Program Council.

Pung is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and lawyer, and an adjunct professor at RMIT’s School of Media and Communication.

Her first book, A gem in the rough, is an Australian bestseller, winner of the Australian Book Industry Newcomer of the Year award and was shortlisted for the Victorian and NSW Premiers Literary Awards. Her subsequent works were nominated and won many times.

Pung is a qualified lawyer and continues to work as a legal researcher in the field of minimum wages and equal pay. In 2022, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to literature.

QLD appoints a youth justice peak body co-ordinator

The Queensland government has named Queensland and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal Child Protection Summit (QATSICPP). inaugural chairmanship of the state’s peak body for child protection.

The new safeguarding body will work with criminal justice officials and state government to develop policies to improve community safety.

As of 2012, there has been no designated youth justice peak body in Queensland. The reinstatement of the summit was a key recommendation in the Queensland Family and Children Commission’s Children’s Rights 2023 report.

QATSICPP is the apex body representing 35 community-controlled organizations working to protect Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Queensland.

They run the operations Garth Morgan as CEO. He chairs the Management Board Elżbieta Adamus.

TAFE Committee renews leadership of Advisory Board

NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Higher Education Steve Whan welcomed five new faces to the TAFE Commission Advisory Board at the inaugural Parliamentary Friends of TAFE event.

Megan Callinanis is Vice-Chancellor (Western Region NSW) at Charles Sturt University and CEO of Marathon Health.

Kurt Fearnley is a professional wheelchair user, teacher and ambassador with experience in improving equal opportunities for people with disabilities.

Eva Hanlyis is the president of Asia Pacific Fortescue

Mary Ann O’Loughlin is a senior political strategist at the University of Technology Sydney

Joseph La Postais is the CEO of Multicultural NSW

The five new members join the nine current board members, led by chairman Danny O’Connor. Current members are:

• Stuart McKinder
• Alison Miria
• Catherine Troughton
• Isaiah Dawe
• Adam Liaw
• Geoff Newcombe
• Secretary of the New South Wales Department of Education Murat Dizdar
• TAFE NSW Managing Director Stephen Brady

The Guardian Advisory Board welcomes new members

The Queensland Carers Advisory Council has announced three new members.

Frita Radyk is the new CEO of Carers Queensland and takes up the role of chairman. He is an experienced company director, CEO and manager.

Her previous roles include director of the Mater Private Hospital in Springfield and CEO of Mercy Community.

Louis Faulkner is the national service delivery manager for Wellways Carer Gateway (Queensland and New South Wales). She previously worked at Richmond Fellowship in Queensland (RFQ).

Melissa Burke works for the Department of Education as the Executive Director of Student Diversity, Disability and Inclusion. She began her career as a teacher, rising through the ranks in the department over 25 years.

The 12-member Queensland Carers Advisory Council was established in 2009 under the Carers (Recognition) Act 2008 to advise the Minister for Disability Services and ensure that carers’ voices are heard. The current term of office of the Council ends on January 31, 2026.