Keynotes

All session times are Australian Central Standard Time (ACST).

Senator The Hon Michaelia Cash

Wednesday 8 July

Senator Cash is a Cabinet Minister in the Morrison Government. Senator Cash was elected to the Senate as a Liberal Senator for Western Australia in 2007. She commenced her term on 1 July 2008. She was re-elected as a Senator for Western Australia in 2013 and 2016.

On 29 May 2019 Senator Cash was appointed the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business in the Morrison Cabinet. Since entering public life Senator Cash has held a number of Ministerial appointments. Senator Cash was appointed to the Cabinet as the Minister for Employment; the Minister for Women and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minster for the Public Service on 21 September 2015. On 20 December 2017 Senator Cash was appointed the Minister for Jobs and Innovation.

On 28 August 2018 Senator Cash was appointed the Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education in the Morrison Cabinet. From 18 September 2013 to 21 September 2015 Senator Cash was the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women. In September 2012 she was appointed Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate. In September 2010 she was appointed to the dual roles of the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Status of Women.

Prior to entering Parliament, Senator Cash was a senior lawyer at law firm Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) practicing employment and industrial law. Senator Cash holds an Honours Degree in Law from the University of London and a Bachelor of Arts (Social Science) from Curtin University in Perth, graduating with a triple major in public relations, politics and journalism. In addition, she holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Western Australia.

Kate - keynote

Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie

Wednesday 8 July

The power of curiosity and playfulness: Mastering the most significant soft skill of 2020

We live in a curious world, and humans are fundamentally curious beings. Why? Because curiosity has an evolutionary purpose. People had to be curious about what was happening around them. Without curiosity, they wouldn’t survive in a changing world.

Today, that world is changing so fast it can feel overwhelming. We have to learn and adapt more quickly than ever before. So how do we inspire, educate and activate curiosity as a driving force within organisations seeking to thrive today and into the new, emerging future? How do we move forward into an uncertain future with clarity and confidence?

In this presentation, Dr. Kate takes the audience on an adventure to unlock the interconnected arts of curiosity and playfulness. What is the science behind the curious mind? What have researchers found about play that makes it so critical it is for innovation, creativity and being future ready? At the heart of this presentation is the unlocking of a curious, playful mindset as a strategy for life and business.

Audiences will walk away from this presentation with the tools and insights to bring more curiosity and playfulness into their work and in so doing, enhance the soft human skills that act as the foundation for innovation, creativity, collaboration and connection.

Adam Boyton

Mr Adam Boyton

Friday 10 July

The National Skills Commission – labour market analysis and skills needs over the recovery phase

Mr Adam Boyton was announced as the Interim National Skills Commissioner on 24 October 2019.

Adam will play a crucial role in establishing the Commission, as well as leading technical work including developing options for an efficient price for Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications, and strengthening skills demand forecasting.

Prior to this appointment, Adam was the Chief Economist at the Business Council of Australia and a managing director and the Australian Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank. He was a member of the NSW Skills Board from 2013 to 2019 and was closely involved in the development of pricing, funding and costing models as well as the continuous review and assessment of VET in NSW.

E/Prof Tracey Horton AO

Friday 10 July

Emeritus Professor Tracey Horton AO is the Chair of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC). Commencing as Chair in 2019, Tracey leads the AISC in working collaboratively with industry to provide advice to Commonwealth and State Industry and Skills Ministers on the implementation of national VET policies and the approval of nationally recognised training packages for implementation in the Australian VET system.

Tracey is an experienced company director, currently sitting on a number of listed company, government and not-for-profit boards. Her prior board experience includes chairing the publicly listed Navitas. Tracey’s executive experience includes eight years as Dean of the Business School at The University of Western Australia and more than ten years in management consulting at Bain and Company in San Francisco and an Australian boutique consulting firm.

Steve Davis

Featured Speakers Q&A Facilitator

Steve Davis, Principal, Creative Director, Talked About Marketing

Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 July

Steve Davis has spent 20 years as a marketing communication consultant and runs the consultancy, Talked About Marketing, based on Oscar Wilde's famous quote, there's only one thing worse than being talked about and that's not being talked about.

As a workshop presenter and speaker, he has delivered keynotes and conference sessions on social media marketing for tourism, food and wine, law, and building industry sectors.

His first career was radio and journalism and those 18 years included a two-year stint as a current affairs presenter (in English) for Hungary's national broadcaster. In 2013 he began a podcast,The Adelaide Show, which was a national finalist at the Australian Podcast Awards.

He also hosts the NCVER podcast,Vocational Voices, the Clinpath Pathology podcast, This Pathological Life, and a national comedy podcast, School Of Hard Knock Knocks. In his spare time, he is a theatre critic for the Smart Arts team on ABC Adelaide.