Panel Discussion: Political and Stakeholder Panel – How to Navigate Uncharted Waters

Ms Rebecca Brown commenced as Director General of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI) in September 2018. In this role, she is also Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Western Australia. Ms Brown led significant change across JTSI to modernise the agency to become critical in advancing State Government’s key policy agendas. Through her leadership, JTSI has played an increasingly key role in growing local jobs and diversifying the State’s industry base and export potential. The department plays an important role in supporting government strategy in leveraging the broader research, science and innovation community to advance outcomes for Western Australia. Ms Brown was appointed Acting Director General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet from March 2020 to May 2021 to support the State Government’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms Brown was awarded a Public Sector Medal for her for outstanding leadership in relation to Western Australia’s management and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She returned to her role as Director General of JTSI in June 2021. Ms Brown has worked for both Federal and State government agencies in a range of senior roles across revenue and economic policy, social policy, resourcing and performance. She has an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Western Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ian has led Senex as CEO since 2010, navigating the business through significant growth and transformation. Under Ian’s leadership, Senex has transformed into a leading east coast natural gas supplier, committed to securing Australia’s energy future. Ian was formerly Chair of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) and served as a Director on the Board for five years. Before joining Senex, Ian was influential in the growth of the CSG-to-LNG industry in Queensland as Chief Financial Officer of Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC). Ian led the negotiation of the LNG joint venture transaction with BG Group and the takeover offer for QGC by BG Group – the largest on-market takeover in Australian corporate history at that time. He also served as General Manager Business Development and General Manager Ports and Infrastructure, under BG Group ownership. Ian spent the early part of his career in corporate tax advisory within mining and energy with PwC in Brisbane and as an investment banker with Barclays Capital in London.

Susan grew up on her family’s cattle property, 70km south of Cloncurry. She was educated by Correspondence School and Mt Isa School of the Air before boarding school in Brisbane. Her first job was cooking for a stock camp and working at Expo ’88 in Brisbane before going to the University of Queensland to study accounting. Susan spent 6 years running her family-owned chain of butcher shops in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, before she moved back north to Townsville and was elected in 2019 to represent Queensland in the Australian Senate. Susan is the former Special Envoy for Northern Australia, and in June 2022, was named Shadow Minister for Resources and Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, roles in which she will continue to advocate for the growth of our country’s most important regions and industries.

Scott Stewart is the Queensland Minister for Resources and Member for Townsville. Before entering Parliament as the Member for Townsville in 2015, Mr Stewart worked in education for 28 years; serving as a principal and teacher in several high schools. Upon his election in October 2015, he served as the Chair of the Education, Tourism, Innovation and Small Business Committee and as deputy speaker. Having started his career in Springsure in regional Central Queensland and now being the Member for Townsville, Mr Stewart understands regional Queensland and the benefits of living there. Mr Stewart is a strong and active leader within the community and understands and appreciates the value of education and sees it as the key to success. Mr Stewart is also passionate about the resource sector, with his great grandfather Walter John Davidson being one of the original Mount Isa mine workers in the 1920s. Since becoming the Minister for Resources, Mr Stewart has released the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan for consultation which will give direction to the sector for the next 30 years. Having spent a significant part of his professional life in regional Queensland, Mr Stewart understands how important the resources industry is for creating jobs and opportunities in the regions. He holds a Bachelor of Education and a master's degree from the Queensland University of Technology.

Tony has been Director of the Energy Program since 2011 after 14 years working at Origin Energy in senior executive roles. From 2009 to 2014 he was also Program Director of Clean Energy Projects at the Clinton Foundation, advising governments in the Asia-Pacific region on effective deployment of large-scale, low-emission energy technologies. In 2008, he was seconded to provide an industry perspective to the first Garnaut climate change review. In January 2018, Tony was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant service to conservation and the environment, particularly in the areas of energy policy, climate change and sustainability. In October 2019, Tony was elected as a Fellow to the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Jacob Greber writes about politics, energy, climate, economics and business from The Australian Financial Review’s Canberra Press Gallery Bureau. He won the Citi Journalism Award for general business reporting in 2015, and spent several years in the US (2018-2021) as the Financial Review's Washington correspondent. Prior to that spent 15 years as an economics correspondent both at the Financial Review and Bloomberg News. He began his career in 1996 after winning a cadetship at The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, where he covered state politics.