Professor Greg Clark CBE

Global Cities Expert

Prof. Clark is a global advisor, author, chairman, and non-executive director on cities and urban development. He is chairman of the Business of Cities Ltd, an advisory team providing intelligence and benchmarking services on cities to a global client base. These include inter-governmental organisations and major professional associations in sectors such as Technology, Real Estate & Construction, Retail, MICE, Manufacturing, Law, Higher Education, and Financial Services.

Prof. Clark’s expertise covers city economies, globalisation and trade, planning and transport, city and metropolitan development, technology and smart cities, urban investment, national and regional strategies.

The Hon. Alan Tudge MP

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population

Alan Tudge is the Federal Member for Aston and Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population.

This new portfolio brings together population policy with infrastructure and cities in order to better for our growth in our big urban centres. He has previously served as Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Human Services (where he introduced the cashless welfare card) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Alan was first elected in 2010 and before entering parliament he spent most of his career in business including with the Boston Consulting Group in Australia and the United States, and worked as a senior adviser to the Foreign Minister and Education Minister. He holds a Law degree and Arts degree from Melbourne University and an MBA from Harvard University.

The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Cities, Tourism and Regional Development

Anthony is the Federal Member for Grayndler and the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and the Shadow Minister for Tourism. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1996 and believes strongly in the need for Government to invest in local communities. This includes Federal Government investment in public transport to address the issue of urban congestion.

Following the election of the Federal Labor Government in November 2007, Anthony became the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, and Leader of the House of Representatives. In June 2013, he became Deputy Prime Minister, and also took on additional responsibility as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

Anthony is committed to growing our communities in regional and metropolitan areas and believes infrastructure and transport have a crucial role to play in achieving this.

Peter Colacino

Executive Director, Policy and Research, Infrastructure Australia

Peter has held executive positions in transport and infrastructure across the public and private sectors. His experience includes public policy, public affairs, strategy and community.

Nicki Hutley

Partner, Deloitte Access Economics

Nicki Hutley is a highly experienced economist, with broad-based expertise gained over nearly three decades of practice. She has worked for both public and private sectors, and in financial markets, investment management, and economic consulting.

In addition to macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, Nicki is particularly skilled in the application of economic modelling and analysis in addressing policy issues relating to urban renewal, social and economic infrastructure investment, affordable housing, climate mitigation and adaptation, and social impact investing. Nicki takes a true triple bottom line approach, to ensure social and environmental considerations are captured alongside economic and financial returns.

Nicki has led strategic policy research and government reviews on issues as diverse as positive credit reporting, emissions trading schemes, the NSW Waste Levy, Social Housing renewal, youth justice initiatives and palliative care. Nicki appears regularly on Sky Business and ABC’s The Drum, as well as other media.

George Megalogenis

Journalist and Social Commentator

George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with three decades’ experience in the media. His work examines the political, economic and social history of Australia and his books include Australia’s Second Chance: What Our History Tells Us About Our Future, and The Australian Moment, which won the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis for his ABC documentary series Making Australia Great. He is also the author of Faultlines, The Longest Decade, and two Quarterly Essays: QE40: Trivial Pursuit – Leadership and the End of the Reform Era and QE61: Balancing Act – Australia Between Recession and Renewal.

George speaks on big-picture global economic and political trends. He has been a regular guest on the ABC’s political analysis program Insiders, and in 2015 wrote and presented the documentary tribute to former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, Life Wasn’t Meant To Be Easy.?

Adam Beck

Executive Director, Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand

Adam is Founding Executive Director of Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand, an organisation dedicated to accelerate sustainability outcomes in cities and towns through the adoption of technology, data and intelligent design.

Adam is also an Ambassador with Portland-based thinktank EcoDistricts, where he was previously Director of Innovation. Prior to this Adam was Executive Director at the Green Building Council of Australia, and lecturer and studio lead in social impact assessment and community engagement at the University of Queensland. Before entering the mission-driven sector, Adam spent 15 years with global consulting firms, including almost a decade at Arup.

Laura Schmahmann

Associate, SGS Economics and Planning

Laura is a planner with Australia-wide experience advising clients on innovation precincts and economic development policy, strategic housing and employment studies and integrated transport and land use policy.

Laura’s postgraduate research investigated knowledge is transfer between workers and firms within industry clusters in Sydney, and the role of the urban context in influencing or impacting on this. Laura has been involved in the preparation of innovation precinct strategies and advice relating to these precincts for a range of clients across Australia. Recent projects include Tonsley in Adelaide, White Bay Power Station in Sydney and the National Employment and Innovation Clusters in Melbourne.

Laura worked closely with the Greater Sydney Commission in developing the economic narrative for Greater Sydney as well as the vision for the Greater Parramatta and the Olympic Peninsula (GPOP) corridor. She also prepared the award-winning Integrated Transport and Land Use Planning guidelines for the new Australian Transport Assessment and Planning framework.