Keynote Speakers
Dr Bob Brown
Bob Brown Foundation
Dr Bob Brown was elected to the Senate in 1996 after 10 years as an MHA in Tasmania's state parliament. Brown practised medicine for a time at the Royal Canberra Hospital, and worked as a resident at Darwin and Alice Springs hospitals.
In his first speech in the Senate, Brown raised the threat posed by climate change.
Government and opposition members laughed at his warning of sea level rises and it took ten years for them to finally begin to acknowledge the causes and effects of climate change.
Brown stepped down as Leader of the Australian Greens, and then retired from the Senate in June 2012. After leaving parliament he founded the Bob Brown Foundation to support environmental campaigns and activists around Australia and our region.
Tim Kelsey
Chief Executive Officer, Australian Digital Health Agency
Tim Kelsey is Chief Executive of the Australian Digital Health Agency. The ADHA is responsible for all national digital health services and systems, with a focus on engagement, innovation and clinical quality and safety.
Tim is a leading advocate of a popular knowledge revolution in healthcare and, in 2000, was co-founder of Dr Foster, a company which pioneered publication of patient outcomes in healthcare.
He is also an internationally regarded expert in digital transformation of the customer experience in healthcare. In 2007, he launched NHS Choices, the national online health information service (www.nhs.uk) which now reports around 40 million users per month.
Dr David Hughes
Dr David Hughes is a Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician with over 20 years of involvement working in community and high performance sport. Dr Hughes has provided medical services to a range of teams including the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby, Australian Wallabies, Canberra Raiders Rugby League, Manchester City FC, Fulham FC and the Australian Opals Women's Basketball team.
Dr Hughes has served on the Board of the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) for over eight years, including two years as President. Dr Hughes is currently the Chief Medical Officer at the Australian Institute of Sport. He was Medical Director of the Australian Olympic Team for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Dr Hughes is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Collaborative Research Network for Advancing Exercise & Sports Science (CRN-AESS) at Bond University.
Hon. Catherine King MP
Catherine King is a member of Federal Parliament in the electorate of Ballarat. She is Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare in the Shadow Cabinet led by Hon. Bill Shorten.
Mc King holds a Degree in Social Work and a Masters in Public Policy from the Australian National University and is currently completing a law degree from Deakin University.
Prior to entering Parliament, Ms King worked in the social welfare sector in Ballarat and later in the public sector in Canberra, as a director for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. She was also a senior manager at KPMG's Health Consulting Practice.
Hon. Dr David Gillespie MP
Minister Gillespie has been the Nationals Member for Lyne since 2013, when he stood successfully to win the seat with nearly 65% of the vote. Minister Gillespie is the Assistant Minister for Health.
Minister Gillespie graduated MB BS from University of Sydney in 1981 and became a Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1991. Minister Gillespie spent 33 years in medical practice, including 21 years as a specialist Gastroenterologist and Consultant Specialist Physician, before entering Federal Parliament. Minister Gillespie also lectured and tutored at UNSW Rural Medical School after its inception in 2000.
Minister Gillespie uses his first-hand experience in public and privately managed health delivery and small business to ensure Australia's health system delivers high quality cost-effective care in an affordable and fiscally sustainable manner.
Ms Kerryn Harvey
Kerryn Harvey is a personal trainer, Founding Director of START Foundation, elite para-triathlete and a presenter. She is also an upper limb amputee.
Kerryn's life changed in January 2013 when she contracted a life threatening bacteria called necrotizing fasciitis. In a matter of hours Kerryn was fighting for her life in a catastrophic medical emergency. The rare bacteria resulted in her body going into multiple organ failure. Amputation of her entire arm and shoulder was the only option in order to save her life.
After being given a 5% chance of survival, Kerryn fought back from the brink. She spent over 3 months in hospital and endured 11 operations. After a long rehabilitation, she regained her health and fitness and has rebuilt a meaningful life as an athlete and business person.
Professor Roger Strasser
Professor Strasser is a leader in the global reform of health professional education. He has gained an international reputation for developing novel strategies to train health professionals in and for rural communities. Prof Strasser has become one of the world's foremost authorities in rural, socially accountable medical education.
Prior to moving to Northern Ontario in 2002 with his family, Strasser was Professor of Rural Health and Head of the Monash University School of Rural Health in Australia and had a role with the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) as Chair of the Working Party on Rural Practice from 1992-2004.
Dr Louis Peachey
Dr Louis Peachey is a Girrimay man from the Djirribaligan language group (Rainforest People) of North Queensland. He is a Senior Medical Officer at the Atherton District Hospital where he works as a Rural Generalist Anaesthetist, and runs a regular clinic at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre.
Dr Peachey was the founding President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA), and is a former Board member of ACRRM. He has been an advocate for Rural and Indigenous Health for more than 25 years.
He served in Mount Isa as a Senior Lecturer and Medical Educator for MICRRA. Through the Mount Isa Simman Partnership, his team delivered training to remote areas surrounding Mount Isa. Louis was also one of the founding crew of the ACRRM ALS Course.
Dr Peachey served on the National Board of Headspace - National Youth Mental Health Foundation. His time on the board saw a national increase of 80% in the numbers of Indigenous Youth accessing Headspace.
Dr Sam Patten
Born and raised in Melbourne, Dr Sam Patten studied Medicine at Monash University and gained his Royal Australian College of Surgeons Fellowship in 2002. He is a three time Olympian with the Australian men's eight, and was part of the first 'Oarsome Foursome', winning gold for Australia at the 1990 World Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington in Tasmania.
Dr Patten worked as a Senior Joint Replacement Fellow at the prestigious Nuffield Orthopaedic centre in Oxford, England, and Consultant Trauma Surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and Oxford University.
As one of Australia's leading orthopaedic surgeons, Dr Patten has extensive experience in international trauma centres and specialises in conditions of the hip and knee, with a particular interest in revision hip and knee surgery. Through both his profession and high demanding sporting background, Dr Patten has a unique insight and understanding on complex medical cases, while still managing his own orthopaedic practice.
Dr Norman Swan
Dr Norman Swan is an award winning journalist, host of The Health Report on ABC's Radio National, and host of Tonic on ABC Television. He is also the co-founder of Tonic Health Media, an integrated health television channel and production company. Dr Swan trained in medicine in Scotland then specialised in paediatrics in London and Sydney, before joining the ABC.
As host of The Health Report, Dr Swan has won multiple awards for his work including Australia's top prize for journalism, the Gold Walkley. Dr Swan worked as the medical host on Channel Ten's The Biggest Loser, and in September 2015 he made an impact in the health industry through his work with Four Corners on waste in the healthcare system.
Dr Swan will be appearing at the RDAA President's Breakfast on Friday 20 October.
