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Keynote Speakers
Andrew Forrest
Industry and philanthropic leader Andrew Forrest grew up on a remote Australian sheep and cattle station before attending university. He is the founder and Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group  and the Australian Children's Trust among other significant charities and companies.
After graduating in economics and politics, he built a career in investment banking, mining and farming. He has created some of the largest raw material exporters in the world, while pursuing major social issues on a domestic and international basis. He has been awarded the Australian Centenary Medal, the Australia Sports Medal, Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year, West Australia Citizen of the Year for his contribution to regional development and The Mining Journal's Mining Lifetime Achievement Award. Recognized widely as family orientated and a strong community and arts supporter and is very active in ventures to protect and help under privileged children locally and internationally.
Baroness Jill Pitkeathley OBE
Baroness Pitkeathley will reflect on ways of improving civil society from the three perspectives from which she has observed and participated in civil society over many years and under several governments in the United Kingdom. These are as a grant seeker at the head of a campaigning charity; as a distributor of money through the Lottery; and as a policy maker though her work in the House of Lords .
Jill Pitkeathley has been an active member of the House of Lords since 1997 and as Baroness Pitkeathley of Caversham, sits on the Labour benches, is a very active working peer and is a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.
Jill is currently Vice President of Carers UK , President of the Community Council for Berkshire , and a patron of Herefordshire Carers . Jill has been a social worker for local authorities and a Voluntary Services Coordinator in the National Health Service . In 1986 she became Chief Executive of what was then the National Council for Carers and led the carers movement for the next 12 years, creating Carers National Association (now Carers UK) and turning what had been a private, hidden trouble, the needs of Great Britain's six million carers, into a public issue, high on the political and social policy agenda. From 1998 to 2004 she was the first Chair of the New Opportunities Fund, responsible for allocating £2 billion of lottery money and also was the interim Chair of the General Social Care Council for its first six months. From 2003 to 2008 Jill was Chair of CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) which is a non-departmental public body that looks after the interests of children involved in family proceedings. It works with children and their families, and advises the courts on what it considers to be in the best interests of the child. From 2005 to 2008 she was Chair of the Government Advisory Panel on Futurebuilders and was Chair of the Advisory Body for the Office for Civil Society from 2008 - 2011. Jill was appointed as Chair of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) in January 2009. She became a trustee of the Big Society Trust for the Big Society Bank in 2011.
David Gonski AC
Born in in Cape Town, South Africa, David Gonski migrated to Australia with his family at the age of seven. He graduated from this University with a BCom and LLB and then practised as a solicitor with Freehills for 10 years, becoming their youngest ever partner at age 25. While at Freehills, David also taught Intellectual Property for the Faculty of Law here at the University of New South Wales, and now Law Theatre G02 is named the Gonski Levi Theatre in his honour. After a decade at Freehills, David left to co-found an investment bank. David was appointed to the Order of Australia as an Officer in 2002 for services to the community and received the Centenary Medal in 2003. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2007.
He is currently the chairman of four companies - the investment bank Investec, Coca-Cola Amatil, the Australian Securities Exchange and Ingeus. He is also currently on the board of Westfield and Singapore Airlines, Infrastructure NSW and is an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. David is also currently heading the federal government inquiry into the future of school funding. David is also a leading figure in the arts community, and has been Chair of both the Australia Council and the National Institute of Dramatic Art as well as President of the Board of Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Susan Pascoe AM
Susan Pascoe is the Interim Commissioner and Head of Implementation Taskforce for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC). Susan was previously a Commissioner at the State Services Authority in Victoria (2006-2011) focusing on regulatory reform, and served as one of three Commissioners on the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Ms Pascoe's earlier professional background was in education where she served as President of the Australian College of Educators, CEO of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. She chaired the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, was a Patron for the Melbourne Parliament for the World's Religions and served on the Board of Cabrini Health and the Senate of the Australian Catholic University.
The ACNC Taskforce, headed by Susan Pascoe, is establishing the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) in recognition of the substantial economic and social contribution the NFP sector makes to Australian society. Reforms to remove duplication and streamline reporting and other regulatory obligations will make it easier for NFPs to go about their core business. The reforms should allow donors and the general community greater access to information about charities, the type of work they do and the effect of their work.
Paul Clitheroe AM
Paul Clitheroe is on the Council of Philanthropy Australia, and is a director of ipac securities, a company he founded in 1983 with four partners. ipac manages more than $16 billion dollars for clients. Paul is a leading media commentator on financial issues and is renowned for his ability to explain complex money issues in plain English. His books have sold over 600,000 copies. Paul is also a regular radio commentator and writes weekly newspaper columns. He was host of the Channel 9 TV program money from 1994 to 2004 and has been Chairman and Chief Commentator of money magazine since 1999.
In February 2004, the Federal Government appointed Paul as Chairman of the Consumer and Financial Literacy Foundation. This Foundation has established a national strategy to improve the financial skills of all Australians and is now implementing this strategy in schools and the workplace. Most Australians would have seen the "Understanding Money" campaign run on TV, magazines and newspapers.
In 2002, Paul and his wife Vicki set up a PPF, The Clitheroe Foundation. The Foundation provides support for medical research and the arts. In recent years it has funded annual scholarships, fellowships or grants for Sydney Symphony, National Art School, Sculpture by the Sea, NSW Art Gallery, Ensemble Theatre and Taronga Zoo.
Dr Nicholas Gruen
CEO at Lateral Economics, Nicholas Gruen is an economist with three decades of achievement and experience in the public sector, business and academia.
Dr Gruen has worked in a diverse range of public policy and other roles since 1981: he was economic policy adviser to two Federal Government Ministers - Treasurer John Dawkins (1991-1994) and Industry Minister John Button (1981-1985); appointed to the Productivity Commission (1993-1997) where he was Presiding Commissioner of one inquiry and an industry study commissioned by the ACCC and Associate Commissioner on five inquiries; Director of the Business Council of Australia's New Directions economic reform project (1997-2000); in 2008 he was a member of the Cutler Review into the Australian Innovation System; in 2009 he was Chairman of the Federal Government's Government 2.0 Taskforce; from 2010 to 2011 he was founding Chairman of Kaggle; from 2000 he has been CEO of Lateral Economics and Peach Financial Group; he is also Chairman of Online Opinion and The Australian Centre for Social Innovation.
Dr Gruen holds a PhD and BA Hons (First Class) from the ANU and a LLB Hons from Melbourne University. He has published in national and international academic journals on a range of issues from tariff reform to competition policy, intellectual property, innovation in government and macro-economic policy. He has been a regular columnist for the Australian Financial Review and the Courier Mail, has been published in anthologies of Australia's Best Essays and Australia's Best Political Writing and is a substantial contributor to Australia's thriving policy blog scene at Club Troppo.
Bruce Bonyhady AM
Bruce Bonyhady is President of Philanthropy Australia, Chairman of Acadian Asset Management Australia Limited, a Director of Director of Dexus Wholesale Property Limited and a Director of the UniSuper. Mr Bonyhady is also Deputy Chair of the Advisory to the Select Council of COAG on Disability Reform. Community positions held by Mr Bonyhady are: Chairman of Yooralla and Chairman of the Advisory Panel to Solve! at the Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne. In June 2010 Mr Bonyhady was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to people with disabilities, their families and carers, particularly as Chairman of Yooralla, and to the community as a contributor to a range of charitable organisations.
Mr Bonyhady was formerly Chairman of ANZ Trustees Limited, a Member of the Felton Bequests' Committee, a Member of the Disability Investment Group and Chairman of the Independent Panel advising the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Disability Care and Support.
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