The Health of the Planet: Panel Three, AIIA National Conference 2019 - New Agendas for a New Era
Channel: Australian Institute of International Affairs
Date: 05/07/2020

The third panel will tackle environmental challenges and their impact on international affairs. Many of these challenges threaten Australia’s security, prosperity and its position in the international community. How can nation states cooperate effectively to address the tragedy of the commons? Is Australia innovating in green and adaptive technologies and what does this mean for its position in the global economy? How can Australia better protect ocean health and biodiversity? Meanwhile, new diseases, often emerging in temperate climates, present a problem in Australia’s near abroad and are now viewed explicitly as a security problem by the Australian government. How can Australia work to increase resistance to pandemics in the region, so they don’t become an issue at home? 

Dr Tony Press Adjunct Professor in the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership at the University of Tasmania. 

Tony Press was the CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre from 2009 to 2014, and prior to that, the Director of the Australian Antarctic Division from 1998 to 2008. He chaired the Antarctic Treaty’s Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) from 2002 to 2006. He was Australia’s representative to the CEP and Representative to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings from 1999 to 2008, and Australia’s Commissioner to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources from 1998 to 2008. 

Hon Penny Wensley AC FAIIA Chair of the Council of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) 

Penny Wensley was Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. As a diplomat, she represented Australia in a wide range of bilateral and multilateral postings overseas and senior policy positions in Canberra. After early postings to France, Mexico and New Zealand, she served successively as Consul-General, Hong Kong; Ambassador to the UN, Geneva; Ambassador for the Environment, Ambassador to the UN, New York; High Commissioner to India; and Ambassador to France. In Canberra, she headed the East Asia Branch, International Organisations and Legal Division, North Asia Division, and Europe Division. Penny is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (FAIIA) and an Honorary Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (HFEANZ). 

Nigel Warren Executive Director for Growth, CSIRO 

From 2009 to 2015 Nigel Warren was Australia’s Consul-General and Senior Trade Commissioner based in San Francisco California, and he also had attached agency responsibility for AUSFilm, Australia’s Film Promotion agency and was a committee member of G’Day USA, Australia’s most comprehensive public diplomacy program in the United States of America. He has private sector experience across Asia and the United States of America as the Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Equilibrium Inc., a U.S. enterprise software technology company based in San Francisco. Mr Warren is Chairman of the CSIRO Chile Board and a Board member of the Council on Australia Latin American Relations (COALAR). 

Dr Sara E. Davies Associate Professor School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University 

Sara E. Davies is an International Relations scholar with a specific focus on Global Health Governance and the Woman, Peace and Security agenda. Dr Davies has been an Australian Research Council Discovery Australian Postgraduate Award Scholar (2008-2012) and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2014-2018). She has published three sole authored books on global and regional health issues and one co-authored book on women peace and security. 

Moderator: Kim Boyer President, Australian Institute of International Affairs Tasmania 

Kim Boyer has held a range of senior positions within Government, the bureaucracy (Tasmanian and National), the University of Tasmania, the non-Government sector, journalism, and the community ranging from health and education to tertiary governance, from research to horseracing. Kim’s role with AIIA Tasmania, supported by a strong committee, is focused on building partnerships with other organisations to improve access to debate and dialogue on international relations policy and practice in Tasmania.