Speaker Profiles

Andrew Greaves
Assistant Auditor General, Audit Performance
Victorian Audit Office

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Andrew Greaves is the Assistant Auditor-General, Performance Audit with the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. As part of the senior management group at VAGO he is responsible for delivery of the performance audit program across 600 public sector agencies.

Andrew has over 20 years experience in public sector external and internal audit, at the Commonwealth, State and Local Government levels. He has also worked for the Commonwealth Auditor-General and prior to his move to Victoria in 2003, worked for Acumen Alliance in Canberra.

Andrew is a chartered accountant and has a degree in Economics.

Barbara Livesey,
Group Manager, Indigenous Strategies Group,
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

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Barbara joined Reconciliation Australia (RA) in November 2004 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief Executive in December 2005. Before joining RA, Barbara was a consultant providing training in public policy development; strategic planning, corporate social responsibility and issues management for government and non-government agencies. Barbara has held senior management positions across state and federal governments and has been a senior adviser to former Federal Ministers and the Treasurer. Barbara also brings corporate experience as a senior public affairs manager for the peak credit union industry body (CUSCAL) and through her work as a consultant within the banking industry. She has a strong interest in social justice, Indigenous affairs and community-government relations. In 2007, Barbara was awarded runner-up in the Equity Trustees Not-for-Profit CEO of the Year Awards (Innovation Category).

Colin Lyons
Deputy Secretary Infrastructure,
Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy

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Colin Lyons is Deputy Secretary, Infrastructure Group, in the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy. He joined the Communications Department in 1981 and currently has responsibility for implementation of the Government’s National Broadband Network initiative. He has previously held a range of senior positions in the Department relating to broadband, telecommunications and broadcasting policy.

Colin is a lawyer by training and has managed the Department’s legal area. He also spent two years as a Principal Solicitor with Attorney Generals Department.

In the 2004 Colin was awarded the Public Service Medal in recognition of his work on telecommunications competition and regulatory issues.

Darren Box
General Manager, Audit, Governance & Assurance,
Centrelink

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Darren Box is currently the General Manager, Centrelink Audit, Governance and Assurance. Darren has been working in the field of Public Sector Audit and Financial Management for 17 years since joining the NSW Auditor Generals Office in 1992. Darren has worked for the ACT Auditor General and spent four years in financial management with Australian Customs. Following that, Darren joined the ANAO Research and Development. Darren spent two years working in London for the United Kingdom National Audit Office with responsibility for the Home Affairs portfolio.

Darren joined Centrelink two and a half years ago and has shared his experiences and guided Centrelink Audit through a number of significant challenges and new and varied work being undertaken by the organisation with major new initiatives and a major player in Whole of Government responses to national emergencies.

Geoff Leeper,
Deputy Secretary, ACCRA Group,
Department of Climate Change

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Geoff Leeper joined the Department of Climate Change as Deputy Secretary of the ACCRA Group from June 29, 2009. On passage of the legislation creating ACCRA, Geoff will be the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of ACCRA.

Prior to that time, he was Deputy Secretary in the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous affairs (2007-2009), the Department of Human Services (2005–07) and Deputy Chief Executive Officer in Medicare Australia (2001–05).

Geoff has a long and distinguished career in social policy, including the Department of Social Security, Centrelink, FaCS, Health Insurance Commission and the Department of Human Services and has a great depth of experience in policy, program administration and corporate affairs.

Whilst at FaHCSIA, Mr Leeper assisted the Secretary in managing the Department, with special focus on the Housing Group, Legal and Compliance Group, Indigenous Remote Services Delivery Group and the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination. He was also the Chair of the Risk Assessment and Audit Committee, and was the Commonwealth Director on the Board of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Geoff has a degree in Economics but does not wish to be known as an economist. A career public servant, Geoff's other interests include his family, fitness and reading. The occasional round of golf is also therapeutic.

MR GLENN MAGUIRE
DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL DIVISION
DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, GOVERNMENT OF VICTORIA

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Glenn Maguire has held a number of senior positions in the Victorian Government over the past 20 years. His current position is Director, Commercial Division in the Department of Treasury & Finance where key responsibilities include:

• Leadership of the Partnerships Victoria Group;
• Provision of advice on other major commercial projects undertaken by the Government; and
• Improving the asset and investment decision-making framework within Government

Mr Maguire has extensive experience in public private partnerships, having both worked in and then led the Partnerships Victoria Group over a number of years. He also has undertaken occasional overseas assignments for national and international organisations in the PPP field. Mr Maguire has an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Melbourne and has undertaken selected post-graduate units in Economics at the Australian National University and in Corporate Finance through the Securities Institute of Australia. Mr Maguire was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003 for development of the Partnerships Victoria policy and guidelines.

Gary L Mahon
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL
STRATEGIC POLICY DIVISION
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SAFETY

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Gary joined the Department of Emergency Services in 2006 as the Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Executive Services. Gary’s career in the public sector spans well over 30 years which began in the Army and his military service included participating as an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition member. Gary has initiated and driven a number of the major policy and strategic reform initiatives in the transport and road safety arena at state and national levels.

Gary was awarded a Premiers Scholarship to complete his Executive Masters in Public Administration from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and is committed to ensuring Strategic Policy Division continues to provide a vital contribution to the Department of Community Safety through their specialist skills and knowledge in support of front line service delivery. Gary holds the Australian Defence Medal.

John Taylor
Deputy Ombudsman Victoria

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John Taylor is the Deputy Ombudsman for Victoria. He was appointed to the position in September 2004. Prior to that he was the Senior Assistant Commonwealth Ombudsman responsible for the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s State and Territory Offices and Corporate functions. He holds tertiary qualifications in agriculture and resource management.

Mr Taylor has had substantial experience in the Ombudsman jurisdiction and has been the author of numerous public reports relating to a wide range of Government agencies. Details of his publications may be found at www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au

A recent report of note is his “Investigation into a disclosure about WorkSafe’s and Victoria Police’s handling of a bullying and harassment complaint table in the Victorian Parliament in April 2007.

Professor Mark Evans
Director, Australia-New Zealand School of Government
Institute for Governance

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Professor Mark Evans has recently taken up the position of Director of the Australia-New Zealand School of Government's Institute for Governance at the University of Canberra. He was formerly Head of the Department of Politics at the University of York, Director of the World-wide Universities Public Policy Network and Chair of the Public Administration Committee.

Mark's published research focuses on four areas of concern: comparative public administration and public policy; policy analysis; evaluating the impact of processes of globalisation on domestic policy formation; and, post-war reconstruction and development. The research theme that binds all of these areas together is his interest in institution-building and processes of governance. His books include: Charter 88: A Successful Challenge to the British Political Tradition? (1996); Constitution-making and the Labour Party (2004); (with G. Wilson), Policy Analysis and Policy Processes (2004); Policy Transfer in Global Perspective (2005); (with S. Barakat) After the Conflict. Reconstruction after war (2006); Public Administration and Development (2008); (with S. Barakat) Post-war Reconstruction and Policy Transfer (2009); ed., New Directions in the Study of Policy Transfer (2009) and ed., Understanding Competition States (2009).

Mark has also played an international role in supporting good administrative practices in public administration in developed and developing contexts as well as the reconstruction of public administration in war-torn societies. This has been reflected in his research and training activities as well as practical engagement with various professional bodies. He has delivered training and managed evaluation projects on the behest of the World Bank, United Nations agencies, the European Union, the Consortium of Humanitarian Affairs in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the British Council and the West Asia and North Africa Forum, as well as government departments such as: the UK's Cabinet Office and departments for International Development, Work and Pensions, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; China's National School of Administration and Social and Economic Reform Commission; Vietnam's Department of Labour and War Invalids and Confederation of Labour; the Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan; the Ministry of Public Administration and Services in South Korea; and, Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.

Mark's considerable international experience in supporting and training senior civil servants and in evaluating public policy programmes will be deployed in his forthcoming work with the Australia-New Zealand School of Government. The emphasis of his work here will be fourfold: the provision of ANZSOG government partners with strategic training and research support; the delivery of an Executive MPA module in public management and delivery; the development of short courses in conflict transformation; and, in the medium-term the development of an international MPA programme. Mark will also be Director of the Executive Leadership Program for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government over the next five years.

Mark Mowbray-d'Arabela
BEc, LLb, LLM is the Assistant Secretary
Legislative Review Branch in Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance)

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This role encompasses updating key Commonwealth governance legislation, including the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and annual Appropriation Acts. Marc's area is also responsible for the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Previously, Marc has worked as a lawyer in the Australian Government Solicitor, the former Joint House Department of Parliament House and the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

This role encompasses updating key Commonwealth governance legislation, including the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and annual Appropriation Acts. Marc's area is also responsible for the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Previously, Marc has worked as a lawyer in the Australian Government Solicitor, the former Joint House Department of Parliament House and the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Martin Tolar
Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Compliance Institute

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Martin Tolar has been the CEO of the Australasian Compliance Institute (ACI) since October 2006. Under Martin's leadership, ACI has experienced significant growth in all aspects of its operations and now features over 2000 members throughout the Asia Pacific region. Martin has spoken at a number of domestic and international conferences on the importance of compliance, risk and governance and has published numerous articles on the subject. In addition Martin has also appeared before a number of parliamentary enquiries both in Australia and abroad in respect to the introduction of new legislation across a diversity of industry sectors.

To date Martin has had over 12 years experience in the Association sector with a focus upon financial services in a series of managerial and business development roles. He has also spent time as a Ministerial Adviser and a University Lecturer. Martin has a Bachelor in Business specialising in Economics and Finance, a Masters in Commerce with Honors and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

PROFESSOR MEREDITH EDWARDS AM
Emeritus Professor
University of Canberra

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Professor Edwards is an economist with a PhD from the Australian National University. Through her career, Professor Edwards has been a lecturer, researcher, policy analyst and administrator.

Professor Edwards worked in the Commonwealth Public Service from 1983 until 1997 in many departments advising on some major social policy, education and labour market issues. She became Deputy Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1993 and held that position until 1997. Professor Edwards served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra from August 1997, when she also became Professor, until August 2002. She set up the National Institute for Governance in 1999 and was appointed its Director in that year, stepping down from this position in December 2004. In 2005 she became Emeritus Professor at the University of Canberra.

In 2001 she published a book "Social Policy, Public Policy: From Problem to Practice" based on case studies she was involved in during her career in the Commonwealth Public Service. Her current major research interests are: a major ARC project on issues relating to the governance of the public sector; the research-policy relationship and community engagement issues. Her recent and major publications can be found at www.canberra.edu.au/corpgov-aps.

Professor Edwards was a member of the Wran Committee on Higher Education Funding (1988-1989). She was also a member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (1988-90 and 1994-2001). She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), and was President of the Economic Society of Australia and New Zealand (ACT Branch) from 1994-1996. Professor Edwards chaired a review of the research program of ANZSOG in 2007.

Professor Edwards was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 1992 for services to education and welfare.

Penny Bird
Executive Director Public Sector Practice
Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner

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Penny Bird is the Executive Director Public Sector Practice within the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, a position she has held since January 2008. In this role, Penny leads the primary responsibilities of the Office in relation to setting public sector standards and codes of ethics, assisting public authorities to comply with the standards and codes, monitoring compliance with them and reporting to Parliament on the state of the service in respect of ethics and integrity. It is in this capacity that she led the development of the Good Governance Guide: helping you comply with the standards.

Prior to working at the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, Penny was Director of Service Purchasing and Development at the Disability Services Commission from 1999. This followed a career as a therapist and manager in disability services in the non-government sector and the WA children/s hospital.

Tom McDonald
Director
Legal and Insurance Policy
ACT Treasury

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Tom occupies the position of Director, Legal and Insurance Policy within the ACT Department of Treasury. These responsibilities extend across whole of government and include enterprise or integrated risk management. Tom was responsible for designing the policy template for the ACT Government's restructure of its procurement operations. He was a principal architect of the ACT Government's tort reform strategy and its response to the insurance crisis, particularly in the area of enhancing risk management outcomes for community organisations and small business. These strategies have also led to a reduction in premiums. Most recently, Tom restructured the ACT Compulsory Third Party Insurance scheme and is presently managing the transition to a new competitive model.

Mark Kwiatkowski
Assistant Secretary
Project Management & Governance Branch, Water Group
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts

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he Project Management and Governance Branch is responsible for:

• Project management and overall governance of water programs including assisting with due diligence, business systems support, project financial and cost benefit analysis
• Risk assessment, monitoring, reporting and evaluation
• Budget and financial strategy and management for the Water Group
• Management and development of the Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS)

Prior to joining DEWHA in March 2008 Mark had lengthy experience in private sector planning and development consultancies, and State and Territory Governments. Most recently he held appointments as an SES officer within a range of portfolios in the ACT Government Service, including serving several years as head of the ACT Cabinet Office in the Chief Minister's Department. Other significant appointments included branch head positions within Chief Minister's Strategic Projects Group and the ACT Treasury's Finance and Budget Division, with project management and governance responsibilities covering several major Territory Departments and Government Business Enterprise and Public utilities. Mark has extensive experience and tertiary qualifications in Urban and Regional Planning, Public Law and Applied Science.

MR ANDREW METCALFE
Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)

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He was initially appointed in July 2005, and reappointed in July 2009. Mr Metcalfe is a member of the Administrative Review Council, a Board Member of the National Australia Day Council and a member of the Public Service Medal Committee. He is also the Chair of the Commonwealth-State Standing Committee on Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Between August 2002 and July 2005, Mr Metcalfe was a Deputy Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet where he was responsible for coordination of policy advice to the Prime Minister on national security, foreign affairs and machinery of government issues. Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Mr Metcalfe was educated at the Toowoomba Grammar School and the University of Queensland. Canberra September 2009

Mr Philip Mussared
Deputy Secretary
NSW Treasury

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Philip has been a member of the Executive of NSW Treasury since 2006. From 1994 to 2006, he held Deputy Secretary positions in the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury and Finance in Tasmania.

Philip began his career in the Australian Foreign Service and then served in a number of Australian Public Service agencies including the Commonwealth Treasury, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. He served two terms totalling five years with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Philip holds an honours degree in Economics from Sydney University and a Bachelor of Arts and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, CPA Australia, the Australian Risk Policy Institute and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Councillor of the NSW Branch of the Economic Society of Australia.