ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA CEO Bronwyn Evans has received the 2022 Women in Industry Excellence in Engineering Award, presented at a ceremony in Melbourne on Thursday night, April 7.

Dr Evans was acknowledged as “an outstanding engineer and trailblazer in her field” – she was the first woman to graduate from electrical engineering at Wollongong University and her career has taken her from industry and academia to the boardroom.   

The first woman to occupy the role of CEO at Engineers Australia, Dr Evans was previously the first female CEO of Standards Australia, where she was instrumental in improving the standards development process and was elected to a global role on the ISO’s governing President’s Committee.

Dr Evans has held many non-executive positions, many on a volunteer basis, in areas including Industry4.0, STEM, industry-academia connections, construction and innovation.

Dr Evans is a chartered engineer and honorary fellow of Engineers Australia.

In 2021, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Swinburne University and appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for significant service to engineering, to standards and to medical technology.

In accepting the award, Dr Evans said there was still much work to do to increase the number of women in industry.

“Nights like tonight are important so we can celebrate our successes,” she said. “However, we still need to have difficult conversations about education, bias, assumptions and missed opportunities for women in industry.

“We know we will have succeeded when women are represented 50 percent top to bottom.  I urge all of us here tonight to use our profiles and our influence to be role models and to be champions for the amazing women who are joining our industries and professions.”

Category sponsor BAE Systems said the organisation was particularly proud to sponsor the Engineering Excellence category in 2021.

“We have female engineers to thank for many of the world’s greatest innovations, yet they make up only 12 percent of engineers employed in Australia,” the citation read. “Awards such as these are important to not only celebrate achievement but to also provide inspiration to others to break down barriers and excel in the engineering industry.”

The Women in Industry Awards recognise outstanding women from the industrials sector – those who work in mining, road transport, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, bulk handling, waste management, rail and infrastructure.

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THE Federal Government's Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has issued a statement regarding the passing of Australian intelligence services past leader, David Irvine AO, yesterday. Mr Irvine was 75.

"On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Irvine family and to all who loved him and had the privilege to know him.

"David Irvine’s passing is a tremendous loss to Australia, and to everyone in the National Intelligence Community who has benefited from his guidance, wisdom and expertise.  

"There is no question that Australia is a safer, stronger and more secure nation because of David’s enduring contribution to our defence forces, intelligence community and our national security.

"A great defender of our freedom and democracy, David’s intellect, insight and judgement will be sorely missed."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also expressed his sympathies to the Irvine family and outlined in more detail Mr Irvine's contribution to Australia security and to Australian society.

"A gifted diplomat, security chief, and chair of the Foreign Investment Review Board, David Irvine was a wise counsel to successive governments," Mr Morrison said.

"This is a very sad day because David’s curiosity, wisdom and judgment strengthened our democracy and security over many decades.

"He served Australia for over 50 years and held senior diplomatic and leadership roles for the past quarter of a century. Those roles included High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador to China, Director-General of ASIO, Director-General of ASIS, and Chair of the Foreign Investment Review Board.

"More recently, he also devoted himself in various ways to training the next generation of defence, security and intelligence professionals," Mr Morrison said.

"David had a deep understanding of Australia and the region and the interconnection of diplomacy, security and economics. He also had a deep love of Indonesian culture, expressed through the publication of two books.

"He understood the work in democracies of maximising freedom and security. As he said in a 2014 speech, 'I believe the threat of terrorism will be with us into the future, but that it should not be allowed to panic us or dominate our lives'.

"In his role as chair of the Foreign Investment Review Board, which I appointed him to as Treasurer, he played a seminal role in bringing new perspectives to bear in the face of changing geostrategic dynamics in our region. 

"To the Irvine family and all who loved him, I extend the condolences of the nation. David Irvine AO will be missed."

www.aph.gov.au

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ME BANK executive Paul Kearney will join the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) as its new executive general manager for people and culture.

Mr Kearney has been ME Bank’s general manager of people experience and business partnering since June 2017. He will join AFCA on July 5.

“Paul is an energetic and progressive HR executive who has a great deal of experience in leading complex organisational change programs,” AFCA chief operating officer Justin Untersteiner said in announcing the appointment.   

“He’s passionate about improving the employee experience and has deep experience across people partnering, learning, leadership, workplace relations and talent management and acquisition.”

Prior to ME Bank, Mr Kearney worked internationally as a human capital management consultant with Deloitte, including as chief of staff HR transformation for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

He has also worked in HR and employee relations roles for media groups the BBC and Fairfax, along with Swedish-American company Autoliv.

“Paul will be an asset to AFCA as we continue to implement our vision to be a world-class ombudsman, with a world-class experience for our people,” Mr Untersteiner said.

AFCA is a non-government ombudsman service established to provice 'free, fair and independent help with financial disputes'. It assists consumers and small businesses who have disputes with their financial firms, in areas such as banking, credit, insurance, advice, investments and superannuation. Where an agreement cannot be reached between parties, AFCA can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms.

AFCA has searchable public data on financial complaints available at www.data.afca.org.au

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THE Financial Services Council (FSC) and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) have jointly appointed Jan McClelland as chair of the Life Code Compliance Committee (LCCC).

Ms McClelland is currently the deputy chancellor of the University of New England, chair of the Gateway Network Governance Body, and a member of the Advisory Board of the NSW Circular Economy Innovation Network. Ms McClelland has extensive experience in industry codes of practice, and has served on audit and risk committees in legal, health and local government sectors.  

Ms McClelland is also chair of HeartKids Limited, a director of Stewart House and managing director of a management consultancy practice providing advisory services across public, private and not for profit sector organisations in the areas of strategic planning, organisation reviews, complaints handling, and industry codes of practice.

The LCCC, established in 2017, is the independent body responsible for overseeing compliance with the FSC Life Insurance Code of Practice, the industry’s first consumer facing code designed to promote high standards of service, provide a benchmark of consistency within the industry and establish a framework for professional behaviour and responsibilities.

AFCA provides the secretariat services for the LCCC, which is made up of a representative from industry, a consumer representative and an independent chair. Ms McClelland takes over the LCCC chair responsibilities from the previous chair, Anne Brown, who completed her three-year appointment earlier this year.

AFCA CEO David Locke said, "The LCCC has an important role in monitoring the effectiveness of the Life Code and therefore supporting good industry practice. Ms McClelland will bring deep and diverse experience to leadership of the committee.”

FSC CEO Sally Loane said, “I am pleased to welcome Ms McClelland to the LCCC and look forward to working closely with her in ensuring the Life Insurance Code of Practice delivers for Australian consumers. I would also like to thank Anne Brown for her contribution to the committee during her time as chair.”

www.fsc.org.au

www.afca.org.au

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