CANBERRA & ONLINE | WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2026
Speakers
Marie Boland
Chief Executive Officer
Safe Work Australia
Marie’s WHS experience spans many roles, including completing the 2018 National Review of the model WHS laws (Boland Review).
Marie is a Member of Safe Work Australia and its subsidiary committees and a Commissioner of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. She is a member of the Respect@Work Council and the G20 Occupational Safety and Health Expert Network and an observer on the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities and the Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities.
Before joining Safe Work Australia, Marie offered independent WHS and workplace relations consultancy services. Marie was the 2021 Inaugural Thinker in Residence at the University of South Australia’s Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory. Marie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and Master of Arts from University College, Dublin, and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Adelaide.
Mark Brooke MBA GAICD FAIM
Chief Executive Officer
Lung Foundation Australia
Mark Brooke has over 25 years’ experience leading a diverse range of medical research, consumer health and family support organisations, and is currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lung Foundation Australia. LFA is Australia’s leading health charity supporting people with lung disease or lung cancer and those at risk of lung disease.
In 2022 Lung Foundation Australia was appointed by the Australian Government as a Health Peak Advisory Body advising the government on lung health and related issues.
In the last decade, he has led the design and development of five Australian Government National Health Strategies for a wide range of health areas including asthma, congenital heart disease, lung conditions and, most recently, the National Silicosis Prevention Strategy.
Mark is passionate about the role profit for purpose organisations play in the health sector, especially empowering and activating patients and aligning research with consumer led priorities. Mark and his team led the campaign to introduce the Lung Cancer Screening Program and he serves as a member of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program Expert Steering Committee.
As CEO of Lung Foundation Australia, he led the translation of patients lived experience and insights research into policies, programs and services to support people impacted by lung disease and lung cancer.
Professor Brendan Crabb AC
Director & Chief Executive Officer
Burnet Institute
Professor Brendan Crabb AC PhD FAA FAHMS FASM is a leading Australian scientist specialising in infectious disease research, with a focus on malaria. As Director and CEO of Burnet Institute since 2008, he has guided the organisation’s focus on improving equity as a critical pathway to better health for all. He played a key role in research efforts aimed at understanding the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its impact, and leading initiatives on vaccine development, diagnostics, and public health. A leading scientist and public health advocate, Professor Crabb has been a leading voice on the need to better protect communities from airborne infections and pollutants.
He continues to promote scientific collaboration and evidence-based approaches to managing the COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Jason Gale
Senior Editor
Bloomberg News
Jason Gale is a senior editor at Bloomberg News, where he has worked for over 26 years. He began his reporting on medical science in 2005, when H5N1 avian influenza was gaining momentum. Since then, he has focused on infectious diseases and global health. His work has earned international recognition, including a Gerald Loeb Award, two Overseas Press Club of America awards, and honors from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Global Health Council. After Covid is his first book.
A/Prof Rebecca Haddock
Director of Public Affairs and Policy
Asthma Australia
Rebecca brings over two decades experience across the university, government and non-government health sectors. As Director of Public Affairs and Policy at Asthma Australia, and formerly Executive Director at the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA), Rebecca has a deep understanding of the Australian health system and a strong track record in driving policy impact. She is passionate about building sustainable, equitable and responsive systems that improve the lives of people and communities and is committed to improving outcomes for people living with asthma. Rebecca holds a PhD in Neuroscience (ANU) and is an Adjunct Professor at the Healthy Environment and Lives Global Research Centre (UC).
Ben Harris
Director, Policy and Research
Private Healthcare Australia
Ben Harris is Director, Policy and Research, at Private Healthcare Australia. Ben is an economist by training, with a long career in governments and peak bodies across the health sector. He is also the author of a range of publications, including Australia’s Mental and Physical Health Tracker.
Prof Fay Johnston
Professor and Public Health Physician
Centre for Safe Air
Fay Johnston is a Public Health Physician and Professor in Environmental Health, recognised globally for her expertise in fire sciences, air quality and health. She works to improve community health and wellbeing in the face of escalating airborne hazards. Prof Johnston leads the Centre for Safe Air, a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, and co-leads the air quality themes within the National Environmental Science Program and the HEAL network, a national NHMRC funded collaboration in environment, climate and health. She co-founded AirRater, an Australian app delivering personalised air quality, allergen and health information.
Dr Bronwyn King AO
Co-founder
Air Club
Dr Bronwyn King AO is a former radiation oncologist and global public health advocate championing international efforts to advance healthy indoor air as a critical pillar of health and resilience. As co‑founder of Air Club, she is building a global movement working with governments, UN agencies and partners—including in collaboration with the French G7 Presidency—to drive awareness and action. In 2025, she co‑convened the first high‑level UN General Assembly event on indoor air quality, helping to catalyse global momentum on this issue. She is also the founder of Tobacco Free Portfolios, mobilising over US$18 trillion in tobacco‑free finance, and is a recipient of the WHO Director‑General’s Special Award.
Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska
ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission (THRIVE) and Queensland University of Technology
Lidia Morawska is Distinguished Professor at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia; the Director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT, a Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organization (WHO); and the Centre Director for the ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission (THRIVE) hosted at QUT.
Lidia also holds positions of Vice- Chancellor Fellow, Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), University of Surrey, UK; and Adjunct Professor, Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
An author of over 1,100 publications, Lidia has been involved at the executive level with a number of relevant national/international professional bodies, is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and is acting as an advisor to the WHO.
She is the recipient of numerous scientific awards, including the 2025 Prime Minister's Prize for Science.
Alison Scotland
CEO
Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC)
Alison Scotland is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), a national forum of peak bodies in the Australian built environment, focused on achieving sustainable, productive, and resilient buildings, infrastructure, communities, and cities. She drives a powerful collaboration agenda with industry, government and not-for-profit leaders to develop national policy and technical solutions that enhance the built environment.
Daniel Sherrell
Senior Climate and Energy Adviser
Australian Council of Trade Unions
Daniel Sherrell is the Senior Adviser on Climate and Energy to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Prior to moving to Australia from the United States, he helped lead campaigns to win a Green New Deal bill for New York State, create good union jobs in renewable energy, and pass America’s first federal climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act. His first book, Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World (Penguin 2021), was named a Best Book of the Year by the New Yorker and Publisher’s Weekly, and shortlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Nation, and the Drift, among other outlets.
Plum Stone
CEO
The Safer Air Project
Plum has worked in health policy and public affairs for the last 20 years, with experience in the UK Parliament, international public affairs agencies and in-house for patient advocacy organisations. Plum wrote her undergraduate dissertation on learning the lessons of pandemics of the past to prepare for pandemics of the future and has an MSc in Public Health (Nutrition).
As a result of Plum’s professional background, and personal lived experience with an immunocompromised and high-risk family, she founded The Safer Air Project, with a mission to get indoor air quality recognised as a critical accessibility and inclusion issue for people living with chronic health conditions, in order to make indoor air safer for everyone to breathe.
Magali Wardle
Head of Market Development
NABERS
Magali is the Head of Market Development at NABERS. She is a skilled professional with over 20 years of experience in Sustainability, Engineering, Project Management and Climate Change. Her work at NABERS is focused on building partnerships to influence the uptake of NABERS ratings. Her role covers a vast portfolio of project teams dedicated to supporting customers in their sustainability journey. This encompasses energy, water and waste efficiency as well as sustainable finance across several different building asset types.
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This is a Safer Air event
We’re committed to ensuring that our events are as accessible and inclusive as possible, including for attendees who are immunocompromised or have chronic health conditions. With this in mind, we have chosen a venue with excellent ventilation as this helps reduce airborne contaminants and lower the risk of airborne virus transmission - additional portable air filters will also be in use. Respirator-style masks will be provided at the registration desk – if you would like to wear a mask, you are warmly encouraged to do so.