Speakers
Master of Ceremonies
Wendy Harmer
Wendy Harmer is one of Australia’s best-known humorists with a hugely successful career taking in areas as diverse as journalism, stand-up comedy, top-rating breakfast radio, television, theatre and bestselling books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Keynote Speakers
The Hon Jenny Macklin MP - Minister for Disability Reform
Jenny Macklin is the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and the Minister for Disability Reform in the Gillard Government.
Jenny became the Member for Jagajaga in 1996. She was Deputy Leader of the Opposition between 2001-2006 and was appointed as a Minister in 2007.
As a Minister in Government Jenny has delivered Australia’s first paid parental leave scheme, the biggest increase to the pension in its history, and was instrumental in delivering the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.
In August last year, Jenny joined Prime Minister Julia Gillard in announcing the first steps in building a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Jenny and the Government are now working with the states and territories to build a system that provides the kind of care and support Australians expect for people with disability.
Away from politics, Jenny enjoys spending time with her family, bush walking and reading Australian literature. She is also an avid supporter of the Geelong Football Club.
Kate Nash OBE - Director, Kate Nash Associates (UK)
From 2001 - 2006 Kate Nash was chief executive of RADAR [Royal Association of Disability and Rehabilitation UK], the leading human rights organisation of people with disability. From 1997 - 2001 she was deputy chief executive of Arthritis Care. Prior to that she founded The Leadership Consortium, a small group of major organisations, including the Cabinet Office, who provided leadership development and management training bursaries to talented people with disability.
Kate is currently setting up an independent hub of best practice in the establishment of Employee Networks and published the first Guide in 2008. In addition she is:
- Consultant gold member relationship manager for Employers' Forum on Disability;
- Non-executive director of the Disability and Carers Service at the Department of Work and Pensions;
- Non-executive director at Remploy;
- Political advisor to Direct Enquiries Limited;
- Political advisor to Royal Mail;
- Governor of Motability;
- Chair of Disability Alliance;
- Associate on the Dining with a Difference Team.
Stephen Sedgwick - Australian Public Service Commissioner
Mr Stephen Sedgwick was appointed as Public Service Commissioner under section 45 of the Public Service Act 1999. His five year term began on 14 December 2009.
Mr Sedgwick has had a long and distinguished career in the public sector, having served in a number of departments. He was Secretary to the Commonwealth Departments of Finance, Employment and Education between 1992 and 2002, and was a member of the Board of the Asian Development Bank for five years until 2007. He became Australian Public Service Commissioner in December 2009 after a period as Professor and Director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.
Mr Sedgwick graduated with Honours in Economics from the University of Sydney and holds a Master’s Degree from the University of London (LSE).
He is currently a member of the Board of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation, the Advisory Council of the ANU Crawford School of Economics and Government, the Advisory Board for the Australian National Institute for Public Policy, and the ACT Government’s Learning Capital Council.
Paul Cutrone - Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Paul Cutrone is a Partner at Sparke Helmore Lawyers. Paul has over 18 years experience in occupational health and safety law.
Paul currently heads the national Workplace Team at Sparke Helmore Lawyers.
Paul advises and represents clients at a local, national and international level in relation to compliance, risk management investigations, enforcement action and legal proceedings. Paul's clients include both public and private sector organisations.
Suzanne Colbert AM - Australian Network on Disability
Suzanne has been at the leading edge of building employment opportunities for people with disability for almost 20 years.
In 1993 she was the founding manager of Shore Personnel, a disability employment service in Sydney, which was recognised as a top performing service. She also founded, and was the inaugural Chair, of the ACE National Network, the peak body representing the interests of open employment services for people with disability to Federal Government.
In 2000, Suzanne, along with Steve and John Bennett from Benbro Electronics, recognised the need to develop an employer led organisation, and set up Employers Making a Difference, now known as the Australian Network on Disability. The organisation now has close to 100 members, including some of Australia's most successful and well known companies that, combined, employ approximately 9% of the Australian workforce.
For the last 10 years Suzanne has been committed to increasing the 'disability confidence' of Australian businesses, and on Australia Day 2010 was rewarded for her efforts by being honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia.
Lucy Macali - Manager of the National Disability Recruitment Coordinator
Lucy Macali is the Manager of the National Disability Recruitment Coordinator (NDRC) which is administered by the WorkFocus Group on behalf of the Australian Government. Lucy has worked in the disability sector for over 20 years, heading the national peak body for Disability Employment Services, ACE National Network Inc. (now known as Disability Employment Australia) for 8 years. Lucy is considered an authority on the employment of people with disability and was heavily involved in the development of the Federal Government’s National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy. As of March 2012, the NDRC has signed Memoranda of Understanding with 29 employers, including Woolworths, McDonalds and Australia Post.
Case Studies
Catherine Flynn - Woolworths
As of March 2012 Cath will be the Acting Director of HR for Woolworths.
Previously the Head of Engagement, Retention and Employee Relations at Woolworths Limited Catherine was responsible for ensuring that her team develops and delivers strategies and policies for all divisions, whilst at the same time supporting all teams to maximise employee engagement across the business. There are over 191 000 employees across the Woolworths Limited Brands in both Australia and New Zealand.
Catherine has over 20 years experience with the Woolworths group and has had the opportunity to work both in Australia and New Zealand. Her previous roles including, General Manager Human Resources Progressive Enterprises New Zealand and National Human Resources Manager Woolworths Logistics Division. Catherine's key areas of experience include: Organisational Change Management, Employee Relations and Engagement and Human Resources.
In her current role Catherine recognises the importance of building awareness of the value of diversity.
Kate Dawson - Australian Taxation Office
Kate has a strong background in human resources working in the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Public Service and the Department of Defence. Her experience in disability employment commenced when she worked on the project team for the Australian Public Service wide Management Advisory Committee Report “Employing People with Disability in the APS”.
During her time in the ATO Kate has led a small team responsible for developing and implementing strategies to embed diversity and disability into the ATO. Current initiatives include building disability confidence in recruitment processes, overcoming myths and misconceptions around people with disability, developing support networks for people with disability, continuing to provide centralised reasonable adjustments, the Stepping into Program and traineeships.
Personal Career Stories
Cain Beckett - Perpetual
Cain was born three months premature with Cerebal Palsy, in 1974. Given medical technology at the time it's fortunate that he is alive today.
In high school, his biggest fear was that he would end up working in the financial services industry. Quite ironic given his current role at Perpetual, where he manages the securitisation operations team responsible for over $200 billion within Perpetual Corporate Trust.
Prior to Perpetual, Cain was a management and techology consultant, specialising in business architecture, process design and technology integration on assignments across the globe.
Since 2003, Cain as been a Director of Cerebral Palsy Alliance, one of Australia's largest disability service providers. In 2011, Cain was appointed by the NSW Government as Chair of the NSW Disability Council. Reporting to the Minister for Disability Services, the Disability Council of NSW is the official advisory body to the NSW Government on disability matters.
Cain holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Masters in International Studies both from Sydney University, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Beyond his professional career Cain squeezes in competitive archery and for nearly a decade was ranked in the top 50 Paralympic archers. He is currently taking a break from competition to spend more time as a Dad with his wife Sara and 20 month old daughter Eleanor.
Carolyn Campbell McLean - Department of Attorney General and Justice
Carolyn is a social worker with a background in disability advocacy, research and education. Carolyn worked for 7 years as a community educator for the NSW Ombudsman and is currently the Manager of the Information and Support Unit at the Public Guardian. As an employee of the Department of Attorney General and Justice, Carolyn is on the Executive of the Staff with Disability Network and an active member of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of NSW.
Carolyn has taught disability and welfare at TAFE and UWS and worked with the Social Policy Research Centre on the Evaluation of Direct Funding Pilot for Attendant Care in 2007. Carolyn owns a training consultancy, where she trains employees in disability awareness and shares her lifelong personal experience of living with disability. Finalist for the Personal Achievement Award at the Inaugural National Disability Awards in Canberra in 2007, Carolyn is a proud Aunty with a passion for paper crafts.
David Stuart - First Assistant Secretary, South and West Asia and Middle East Division. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Mr Stuart has been First Assistant Secretary, South and West Asia and Middle East Division since January 2011. Prior to this he served from July 2007 as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Australian Embassy in Washington. Mr Stuart has also served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; Western Bureau representative and Vice-Chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development; and as the Political Counsellor in the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. He served in Australia’s Mission to the United Nations in New York as delegate on the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social and humanitarian affairs), and as a member of the Australian delegation to the Commission on Human Rights. He also served in the Australian Embassy in Madrid. Previously in Canberra, Mr Stuart was the First Assistant Secretary, International Security Division from January 2004 to January 2007.
Mr Stuart speaks Spanish and Indonesian. He holds degrees in Arts Economics from Macquarie University and the Australian National University, and is a graduate of the Joint Australian Services Staff College (1995).