Dr Kevin Buckett - Chair

Dr Kevin Buckett was Director of Public Health Services with the South Australian Department of Health from 2007 until August 2018. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in neurophysiology from the University of Sussex in the UK, and is Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University of South Australia.

Dr Buckett’s professional background is in regulatory toxicology and health risk assessment. Following post-doctoral research at the John Curtin School of Medicine at the Australian National University, he joined the Therapeutic Goods Administration as a principal toxicologist. He subsequently worked as a scientific advisor in the Health Department of Western Australia before taking up the post of Director of the Environmental Health unit with the Federal Department of Health in Canberra and pursuing a career in public health administration. His last role with SA Health involved responsibility for food safety and nutrition, advising the Minister for Health on food regulation, and serving as the South Australian representative on the Food Regulation Standing Committee. He was also responsible for managing public health services in South Australia, including executive oversight of health protection, scientific services, and public health partnerships.

Dr Anne Astin PSM, MAICD, MAIFST – Commonwealth representative

Anne is the former inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian government’s authority, Dairy Food Safety Victoria. She previously held a number of senior executive positions in the Victorian public sector for 30 years working in food policy and regulation, public health, agriculture, minerals and petroleum, natural resources and environment, land administration and forensic science. Prior to this, Anne was a Senior Tutor at Monash University where she conducted biomedical research and lectured to science and medical undergraduates.

Anne is currently President and Council Chair of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology and Chair of SafeFish. She currently is a member of the Federal Government’s Health Star Rating Advisory Committee and Chair of the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council’s Code of Practice Complaints Committee. In 2013, she was appointed to the Panel of the New Zealand Government’s Inquiry into the Whey Protein Contamination Incident, She is the immediate past Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Implementation SubCommittee for Food Regulation. She is also Chair of Wellsprings for Women Inc, a not-for-profit organisation that delivers integration and training programs to isolated women. She is a non-Executive Director of Australian Dairy Farmers Ltd and William Angliss Institute of TAFE and a member of EnergySafe Victoria’s Audit and Risk Committee. She has previously held Directorships at Dairy Australia, the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens and until April 2011, was Chair of the Victorian Minister’s Women in Primary Industries Advisory Panel.

In 2011, Anne was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Victorian Division of the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to the dairy industry, national food regulation and rural women. In 2010, she was inducted into the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll for her work in biochemistry and as an advocate of women’s leadership and also received the Australian Dairy Industry Council’s Outstanding Service Award in recognition of her leadership to the Australian dairy industry.

Anne has a B.Sc in Chemistry, a B.Sc (Hons) in Biochemistry and a Ph.D (Biochemistry). She has a Graduate Diploma in Public Sector Management and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Top of page

Dr Lisa Szabo B Sc (Hons), PhD, FAIFST – New South Wales Food Authority

Lisa Szabo is the Chief Scientist for the NSW Food Authority: a NSW Government statutory authority regulating and monitoring food safety across the food supply chain in New South Wales. A key part of Lisa’s role is to: provide expert scientific advice to allow food safety issues to be dealt with promptly and decisively; ensure the New South Wales position is effectively represented during the development of national food standards and initiatives; and to support broader public health goals that facilitate consumer choice.

Prior to joining the NSW Food Authority in 2006, Lisa worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for 11 years. There she led and managed long-term research projects for various food industry sectors.

Lisa gained her Honours degree at the University of Queensland in 1989 and completed her PhD studies at the same university in 1993. She had post-doctoral research experiences in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Professor Geoffrey Dobb BSc(Hons) MB BS FRCP FRCA FANZCA FCICM FAMA – Australian Medical Association

Prof Geoff Dobb is the Head of Intensive Care at Royal Perth Hospital and Chair of the Southern Country Local Health Network Governing Council (Western Australia). He is also a Board member of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. He is a past national Vice President of the AMA, AMA Western Australia State President, past President of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society and past President of the Asia Pacific Association for Critical Care Medicine. He has a long standing interest in nutrition and public health and was a member of the Front of Pack Labelling Project Committee. Top of page

Professor Simone Pettigrew – Choice (Consumer)

Simone is a Research Professor in the Curtin University School of Psychology in Western Australia. She is also the Director of the WA Cancer Prevention Research Unit. Her work focuses on modifying consumers’ lifestyle behaviours to improve individual- and societal-level health outcomes.

Simone has an extensive research track record relating to food and nutrition, with a specific focus on food and alcohol labelling. She has participated in several government committees dedicated to food labelling policy development and implementation. Other areas of behaviour change expertise relate to smoking, physical activity, healthy ageing, and mental health.

Professor Heather Yeatman – Public Health Association of Australia

Heather is a Professor of Public Health at the School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, and immediate Past President and Vice President (Development) of the Public Health Association of Australia. She has experience working in government, academia and with community organisations and was a member of the national Food Labelling Review (2010-11). She has worked in food and nutrition policy across the spectrum of local, state, national and international levels and has held leadership positions on government and non-government boards and committees including childhood obesity reduction, food standards, complementary medicines, among others. She researches in the areas of food policy, food and nutrition knowledge, local food issues, school based food programs, policy analysis, health professional competencies and program evaluation.

Ms Tanya Barden – Australian Food and Grocery Council

Tanya Barden was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the AFGC in July 2017. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Tanya was for five years the AFGC’s Director of Economics, Trade and Sustainability.

In her appointment as CEO, Tanya brings tremendous experience and proven success at senior executive levels in both the public and private sector, with a career spanning competition, energy and economics policy and regulation having worked in various roles at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Subsequent to this she worked for energy retailer ActewAGL and ran her own on-line food retail business.
Tanya holds Bachelor of Economics/ Bachelor of Arts degrees and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mrs Vanessa Clarkson – Independent Dietitian and Food Consultant

Vanessa Clarkson is a registered dietitian and independent food and nutrition consultant. Vanessa has more than a decade of experience in public health nutrition, working in a number of roles in the food industry in Australia and the UK as well as working in the National Health Service as a dietitian. She has extensive experience in retail nutrition and implementing policies to improve the nutritional profile of products and promote them in a responsible manner.
In recognition of her leadership, Vanessa has received special invitations from the Institute of Medicine in the US and the European Commission to speak on the role of public health improvement programs in the food industry.

Vanessa is a member of the Healthy Food Partnership Executive Committee and chairs the Healthy Food Partnership’s Reformulation Working Group. She holds a BSc (HONS) in dietetics and MSc (HONS) in food policy and has further expertise in infant and childhood nutrition, behavioural economics, behaviour change and marketing communications.

Mr Tim Piper – Australian Industry Group

Tim Piper is the Victorian Director of the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) which represents nearly 70,000 businesses in manufacturing, information technology, telecommunications, construction and utility companies across the country. He also represents the confectionery industry in Australia and is the Vice-President of the International Confectionery Association.

Prior to working with Ai Group, Tim was Executive Director of the Australian Retailers Association – Victoria for 5 years.

Tim has practised as a barrister and solicitor in Australia and the United Kingdom and worked as a journalist in television, radio and newspapers. He also has completed a Master of Business Administration.

Tim is Chair of the Industry Capability Network and the Manufacturing Skills and Training Taskforce. He sits on a number of senior Government Committees including the Victorian Manufacturing Council, the Minister’s Industry Skills Consultative Committee, the Victorian WorkCover Advisory Committee.

Tim is also a Director of GS1, the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board and sits on the Institute of Public Administration Australia Public Sector at the Future Committee.

He has also been an Australia Day Ambassador and was the recipient of the Centenary Medal for services to the business community. Top of page

Ms Phillippa Hawthorne – New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries

Phillippa is the Specialist Adviser (Labelling), Food Science Group, New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries. She has worked on front-of-pack labelling and its many iterations in the lead-up to the HSR implementation since the issue was first raised in the trans-Tasman setting. Phillippa has a background in food science, human nutrition and in social science. Phillippa coordinated the NZ HSR Advisory Group in the development of NZ principles for front of pack nutrition labelling and has led the implementation of the HSR in New Zealand.