Experienced advocate for action on climate change and human rights.

For the past decade I’ve led policy, advocacy, and standards-setting agendas as an executive at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. During this time, I focused on equipping superannuation and investment managers to be sound fiduciaries and to manage climate and human rights risks in Australians’ investment portfolios.

My interest in human rights was activated when I co-convened Amnesty International Australia’s Business Group and translated the Universal Declaration for Human Rights as a guide for Australian businesses.

With my brother Richard and the Banarra team at his Gordon-based consultancy we delivered sustainability assurance and advice to large Australian and international businesses. At Banarra (now part of KPMG), I led human rights impact assessment for a large Australian resources company, supply chain audit over a big four bank and shared-value strategy for a listed property company, among other assignments.

My passion and deep love is for climate action – having cut my teeth in this leading NSW’s residential energy efficiencies programs at the Sustainable Energy Development Authority. Later, at The Climate Institute think tank, I worked with graziers and the agricultural sector exploring on-farm carbon storage solutions. And at the Investor Group on climate change, establishing the world’s first low carbon investment registry.

I currently advise The Good Car Company to scale and bring affordable electric vehicles to the Australian marketplace and I’m a Member of the Climate Committee for New Zealand’s Climate Venture Capital Fund, investing in early-stage climate solutions for Aotearoa, Australia, and the region.

Over 25 years of delivering accountability.

I have deep experience delivering accountability and governance solutions for international and Australian businesses, governments and not for profits. Over the last two and a half decades, I’ve learned to put stakeholders at the centre of decision-making. Only when this is done is it possible to walk through the possible impacts of the decisions that are made on people, as customers, employees, suppliers, regulators or host communities.

Working in sustainability assurance, means looking at a company’s leadership (board and senior executive), culture (what’s rewarded, how and why) and systems (the checks and balances in place to hold leadership and others to account for behaviours). These are important skills that I would bring to the role of parliamentarian.

I’ve also provided sustainability advice and extra-financial audit services to a number of Australia’s largest listed companies, including helping set up policies, processes and systems for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

I love markets and sustainable business.

Business is where creativity and innovation flourishes. I strongly believe it can be even better when it’s effectively regulated and works in partnership with governments and the third-sector, to a common plan.

To this end, I bring policy acumen and real-world business experience from a career working in capital markets, clean energy and climate change policy. I also bring relevant experience from my current role, in finance, where I’m focused on connecting capital with the investments we need to achieve a healthy, sustainable and competitive economy.

Throughout my career, I’ve nurtured this kind of leadership and these kinds of partnerships. As a parliamentarian, it’s an approach I’d build as a way of doing politics differently.