Speakers

The Hon. Danny Pearson

Mr Pearson holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School.Before entering Parliament, Danny worked as a consultant, ministerial advisor and Opposition adviser.

Danny believes in the institution of the Parliament. This, and his passion for the labour movement, prompted to run for Parliament.

The priorities Danny has for his community are to build a better community in Essendon, supporting all residents equally.

Danny’s vision for Victoria’s future is that it is a place where everyone is treated fairly, and justice is paramount.

The area of public policy that he is most passionate about is economic policy.

In June 2020, Mr Pearson joined the Cabinet as Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Government Services and Minister for Regulatory Reform. He added the portfolio of Creative Industries to his responsibilities in October 2020 and held this role until June 2022.  Minister Pearson became the Minister for Housing in June 2022, in December 2022 he became Minister for Government Services and Consumer Affairs and in October 2023 was appointed to his current portfolios.

Lissa van Camp

Allison Stewart

Dr Allison Stewart is Infrastructure Victoria’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Allison is an experienced capital projects leader, strategist, academic and management consultant specialising in infrastructure and energy. She has worked as an industry practitioner, academic, consultant, and civil servant in jurisdictions around the world including Tanzania, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Infrastructure Victoria, Allison was an executive at the Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Victoria’s largest integrated land use and transport project. She also previously led Infrastructure Victoria’s research into the infrastructure required to enable automated and zero emissions vehicles. Allison holds Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Master of Science degrees from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sarah Browne

Sarah is responsible for the Corporate Relations function and joined in September 2022. Sarah brings to
PoM over 20 years of experience leading corporate and regulatory affairs for both public and private
sector organisations. Sarah specialises in public affairs for highly regulated and complex industries,
across infrastructure, financial services and energy, most recently as national Director Public Affairs at
the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. She has also held senior roles in Premier
and Ministerial offices and consulting firms such as FTI Consulting.

Ed Walker

Ed Walker is the General Manager Major Construction Projects Victoria & SA Projects at the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). He leads the delivery of ARTC’s projects across Victoria and South Australia, including the North East Rail Line Upgrade, Inland Rail and ARTC Airport Package of Melbourne Airport Rail projects.

Ed’s history with ARTC dates from 2014 to 2017 during which time he held the roles of Manager Infrastructure Strategy, GM Corporate Development and finally Director Customers, Service Offering & Terminals within the Inland Rail Leadership Team. His return to ARTC comes via John Holland, where he held the position of General Manager Strategy and Business Development.

Andrew Newman

Andrew Newman was appointed Director, Policy and Strategy, Freight Victoria in August 2021 and having previously filled the role of Director Ports, Freight and Intermodal. Andrew is well known in freight circles from his time previously as part of the Freight portfolio in the Department under its various guises. Andrew is passionate about freight and port policy and he is excited to be part of Freight Victoria and to work with the Freight Victoria team as it delivers its role in Department of Transport, and particularly the Victorian Freight Plan, Delivering the Goods. He has extensive policy and transport industry experience and has led engagement with the commercial ports sector on a number of complex and priority issues for Victoria including the recently completed review of the Victorian Ports Sector and progressing delivery of the Port Rail Shuttle Network. Before his current role, Andrew was the Director, Policy and Integrated Planning for two years where he led the policy function within the Office of Suburban Development. Before that he was a Transport and Public Policy Principal at consulting firm Jacobs for close to two years where he led urban planning and transportation planning functions. Andrew has also held senior executive roles in transport network planning and the previous freight logistics and marine in the Victorian Government. Andrew holds a Masters of Public Policy and Management from the University of Melbourne as well as Degrees in Arts and Commerce.

Dr Scott Taylor

Dr Scott Taylor leads the Engineering Team at Major Road Projects Victoria, as the Director Engineering & Innovation. His role oversees engineering and design aspects of road projects within the MRPV portfolio, with the aim of managing and mitigating technical risks, encouraging the use of emerging materials and technologies, as well as driving an innovative culture across MRPV projects. Scott has worked in both the government and private sectors with a focus on leading change through technical innovation. Scott also has a strong research background, having obtained a PhD in 2004 in the area of structural dynamics and computational methodologies.

Peter Wills

Peter is a passionate transport engineer with 20 years’ experience in transport infrastructure and planning. In his current role at Rail Projects Victoria, he is the Senior Precinct Manager for Parkville Station – one of the five new underground stations being delivered as part of Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel Project. A proud Tasmanian, Peter’s career has taken him to Europe, Asia and Oceania working in both public and private sector roles. His infrastructure experience spans land use development, precinct planning, level crossing removals, major road projects to metro rail
extensions. Peter is committed to connecting and growing safe and efficient movement across transport networks.

Loulou Hammad

Loulou Hammad is an experienced senior Sales Executive with over 15 years of experience across the Rail Transport and Technology industries. In her current role as Customer Director of Rollingstock for Alstom Australia and New Zealand, Loulou oversees the customer portfolio and manages key industry stakeholder relationships and commercial strategy across the ANZ cluster. Loulou’s experience spans the Asia Pacific region, including her time in Singapore as Tender Leader & Business Development Manager for Singapore and Emerging Markets during her tenure with both Alstom and Bombardier Transportation. Her expertise includes strategic leadership, commercial strategy and new business development, stakeholder engagement and bid management. With in-depth knowledge across the rail portfolios of Rollingstock, Services and Signalling technology, coupled with a deep understanding of customer needs, Loulou is highly regarded for her ability to cultivate strong partnerships and achieve positive outcomes in complex commercial environments.

Vani Naidoo

With over two decades of experience in the infrastructure sector, Vani is recognised as an engagement and project management specialist. She has extensive experience in policy and governance, government relations, strategic advisory and media within government and in the private sector. She has worked on and managed project and policy development, consultation, engagement, and communication for diverse projects across infrastructure, social infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, community, and sport.

She is skilled at understanding the needs of clients, stakeholders, and communities, identifying potential issues, and integrating best-practice, innovation and tested methods that best suits project needs.

Recent projects & positions include Program Manager for Major Transport Infrastructure Authority’s ecologiQ Project, the Strategic Advisor for Major Projects Canberra, the Director Communications, Consultation and Engagement for Inland Rail and Change Management Advisor for the Project Management Framework and Project Management Tool for Major Roads Projects Victoria Project Controls.

Vani’s exceptional people and project management skills assists in meeting project objectives efficiently, within budget and on time. An inspiring team leader, she is well equipped to deal with the nuances of delivering major works in the public and private sector, can guide and coordinate various streams with competing priorities and is committed to providing practical, best-value solutions.

Stewart Smith

Currently Solution Architect at Bentley engaging with major clients on Digital Engineering Management, Connected Date Environments, ISO 19650 delivery strategy from design to construction for clients on major infrastructure projects. Stewart's leadership roles have encompassed a diverse range of responsibilities, from crafting comprehensive delivery strategy plans, models implementation and his influence also extends to Design and Construction (D&C) projects, where he has adeptly leveraged BIM and DE for seamless collaboration on 3D models, drawing production, and construction data.

Over few years he's played instrumental roles in high-profile projects across the Asia-Pacific region, including the several major projects in Queensland, the transformative North East Link Project (NELP), and the innovative Level Crossing Removal Program (LXRP) in Victoria. Where his leadership has been the driving force behind revolutionary BIM/DE innovations for consultants on these major infrastructure endeavors.

Bronwen Clark

Bronwen was appointed CEO of the National Growth Areas Alliance in 2018 and is recognised as a national expert on the issues facing the 5.3 million residents of outer urban growth areas across Australia. She has led a revitalisation of the organisation’s impact through a stronger focus on governance, research and policy development. Bronwen was appointed to the Urban Policy Forum by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, The Hon. Catherine King MP in May 2023 and was previously appointed to the Cities Reference Group under the Coalition government. Leading a small, focussed team and a highly engaged national membership, Bronwen brings a strategic skillset to the Alliance, particularly advocacy, policy and government relations. She has consulted extensively to local government, small business and not-for-profits, and has worked with the Federal Government on multilateral trade negotiations, including representing Australia at the World Trade Organisation. Bronwen holds a Master of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School, as well as Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations. She is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has held Ministerial-appointed Non-Executive Director roles with Victorian Government and currently volunteers as the Chair of the state peak body Volunteering Victoria

Michael Kilgariff

Tariro Makwasha

Tariro Makwasha is an executive with a proven track record of driving growth, innovation, and strategic partnerships in the transport infrastructure sector. As she heads Customer Strategy and Development at ICN Victoria, Tariro leverages her expertise as an economist and econometrician to deliver data-driven insights and customer-centric solutions that connect strategy to local business outcomes. With a passion for inclusion and a deep understanding of the intersection between transportation, sustainability, and economic development, Tariro has made significant contributions to major infrastructure projects in Victoria.

Tariro's expertise extends to collaborating with state and federal governments on economic development policies, infrastructure investment, and road safety infrastructure improvement strategies. Her work as a Road Safety Analyst at the National Transport Research Organisation (formerly the Australian Road Research Board) demonstrates her ability to provide strategic advisory and data-driven insights for multimillion-dollar infrastructure investments across Australia and New Zealand.

Tariro holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Master of Applied Econometrics from Monash University.

Crystal Legacy

Crystal Legacy is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia where she is also the Co-Director of the Informal Urbanism Research Hub. She resides on Wurundjeri Country where she writes, teaches and works with communities on issues related to the politics of infrastructure planning and the politics of public participation. She publishes in a range of academic journals, provides critical commentary for local and national media outlets, and works in solidarity with a range of community-based groups seeking climate just outcomes in urban planning.

Brett Casson

Brett Casson is an experienced leader driving strategic initiatives in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sectors across the Asia Pacific region. Specialising in public sector collaboration, digital transformation, and platform services, he is dedicated to advancing innovation in the AEC industry.

James Rennie

James Rennie founded Australian UAV in early 2013 after a 17-year career in technical roles in consulting engineering companies. A keen aero modeler as a child, James developed a lifelong passion for aviation that collided with his professional data and analytic skills. As one of the first drone businesses in Australia James has had the opportunity to push technological boundaries, the work has taken him around Australia and as far afield as Antarctica and Armenia. James is recognised as one of the leaders in the drone industry in Australia and has presented internationally. AUAV has been listed in the top 20 drone companies globally for the past six years by Drone Industry Insights and is now also operating offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Houston.

Matt Noonan

Matt Noonan has over 25 years of experience undertaking sustainable pavement design and environmental assessment being a Senior Pavements, Geotechnical and Environmental Engineer. He is currently employed by Ventia and managing and reviewing assets for its major projects providing technical expertise. Matt has a Bachelor in Geological Engineering, Masters in Pavement Technology, Masters of Geotechnical Engineering and currently working on his Doctorate in Pavement Engineering. His previous experience with transport includes projects throughout Metropolitan and Regional Victoria; South Australia; Queensland; Western Australia; Tasmania, New Zealand; Papua New Guinea and Antarctica.

Ross de Rango

Ross is a robotics engineer by background and has spent the last seven years getting involved wherever the standards, codes and regulations relating to the electrical infrastructure supporting EVs in Australia are being considered.  He has been closely involved in the development of minimum requirements for buildings in Australia in relation to EV readiness and in work preparing the energy system for the wide scale adoption of EVs.  Ross and his wife own a Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in hybrid and a pure electric Polestar, and live in Melbourne.

Michael Nieuwesteeg

Michael Nieuwesteeg joined Austroads in 2021 to lead the Road Safety and Design Program, where he manages a growing portfolio of guidance, research and implementation projects. He has a background in statistics and has worked in crime and injury prevention in several government agencies. Michael has worked in road safety since 2008 where he has managed a $1.7 billion investment in road safety upgrades, developed road safety research and evaluation programs, and overseen a broad program of investments in local government and community road safety programs.

Professor Graham Currie FTSE

Prof Currie is a renowned international Public Transport research leader and policy advisor with over 30 years experience. He has published more research papers in leading international peer research journals in this field than any other researcher in the world. He is founder and Director of the Public Transport Research Group at Monash University which was identified as the 3rd top academic research group in the world in an European independent review of the field in 2015. In 2016 Professor Currie won both the best paper in the 14th World Conference on Transport Research in Shanghai and the best paper in the 95th Annual Meeting of the Transport Research Board in Washington DC, the largest transport conference in the world. Professor also won the TRB paper award in 2012 and is the only person to ever win it twice. Professor Currie is founder of the ‘World Transit Research’ clearinghouse which has consolidated all research in this field into a single accessible source and is now used by over 8,000 towns and cities in over 170 countries worldwide. Professor Currie has worked for some of the world’s leading Public Transport Operators including London Transport, and he has managed numerous Public Transport research and development projects internationally. Prof Curries experience spans Project Management, Demand Forecasting, Planning Methods in Public Transport, Regulatory Reviews, Efficiency and Performance Benchmarking, Training, Market Research, Investment Appraisal and Financial and Economic Analysis. Graham is also a specialist advisor to international agencies on planning transport special events and has worked on all the summer Olympic Games since 1996 and the Hajj pilgrimage in Mekka. Graham is also employed by international consultants Strategy& PwC as a specialist in public transport but is also employed at Monash University as one of the world’s first Professors in Public Transport. In this role he aims to develop knowledge and training for the public transport profession on a national and international basis.

Will Fooks

Will is a qualified transportation and city planner with nearly 20 years of international experience across both the public and private sectors. He has in-depth understanding of international best practice, city design, transport systems, and how to make change happen. Passionate about new ideas, Will also has strong academic links. He has guest lectured at several universities and always works to reduce barriers between research and the real world. In 2012, he was the catalyst for a partnership with Kings College London which led to him designing and securing funding for the world’s first low emission construction hub. Will’s current leadership interests include future transport systems, inner urban renewal, national guidance for urban road planning, and creating stimulus-ready programs that are fit for 2021. Will hails from a regional town in Australia but was educated in Melbourne and Canada, then trained in London, United Kingdom. Now his passion for enabling people-oriented cities through better transport gives him drive and an ongoing commitment to making change happen.