Contrib John Barilaro Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Regional NSW, Small Business and Skills NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro lives in Queanbeyan with wife Deanna and their three daughters, and shares his time between the Monaro, Regional NSW and Sydney. John is the proud Member for the Monaro and was elected leader of the NSW Nationals and Deputy Premier of NSW in November 2016. He is the Minister for Regional NSW, Skills and Small Business, bringing a unique understanding and passion to his portfolios. In our changing economy and with innovation forging the path for start-ups and SMEs to thrive, John has embraced the case for change and ensured that Government priorities are focused on creating a fertile ground for entrepreneurs and start-ups to cultivate new ways of thinking and new ways of doing business in NSW.
Bernard Salt, AM Partner, KPMG Bernard Salt is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading social commentators by business, the media and the broader community. Bernard heads the Business Demographics at KPMG group which provides specialist demographic, consumer and social trends advice to business. Bernard writes two weekly columns for The Australian, he is an adjunct professor at Curtin University Business School, and he holds a Master of Arts degree from Monash University. He is perhaps best known to the wider community for his penchant for identifying and tagging new tribes and social behaviours such as the “Seachange Shift”, the “Man Drought”, “PUMCINS” and the “Goats Cheese Curtain”. He was also responsible for popularising smashed avocados! Bernard has popularised demographics through his books, columns and media appearances, and he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Australia Day honours.
Chris Johnson Chief Executive Officer, Urban Taskforce Australia Chris Johnson is the CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia, an organisation that represents the property industry. In this role Chris has produced research papers on the structure of local government in NSW and publications on the future of our cities. He worked closely with local government as Executive Director in the NSW Department of Planning in developing the Housing Code, plans for regional cities and urban renewal generally. Before this he was NSW Government Architect for 10 years, a member of the Central Sydney Planning Committee, the Heritage Council of NSW and many government committees. Chris has written or edited over a dozen books on urban planning, architecture and cities. He has been adjunct professor at three Sydney universities and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012.
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