This is a past event. Registration is closed. View other AIIA ACT Branch events.
Matthew Neuhaus
Honorary ProfessorMatthew Neuhaus has been Honorary Professor (International Law) at the Australian National University College of Law since November 2022.
He was Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands from August 2018 to October 2022, and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. He represented Australia at the ICJ, ICC, PCA and other international legal bodies.
Mr Neuhaus has previously served as Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2011-15) - accredited also to DRC, Zambia and Malawi - and High Commissioner to Nigeria (1997-2000) - accredited also to Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Senegal. He has also held senior positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Prime Minister and Cabinet, covering Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific, UN and Multilateral Engagement, and international law. He was Assistant Secretary for Africa, then First Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa from 2015-18.
Mr Neuhaus was Director of the Political Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London 2002-2008.
His previous postings with DFAT include Kenya (1983-1985), Papua New Guinea (1988- 1989), UN New York (1991-94) where he represented Australia on the First and Sixth Committees, and was Vice Chair of the Sixth Committee in 1993-94.
Mr Neuhaus has a B.A. (Hons) LLB from the University of Sydney and a Master of Philosophy (International Relations) from the University of Cambridge. He is President of the Royal Commonwealth Society, ACT Branch, Chair of the Friends of St John, Council Member of the UN Association of Australia (ACT), and Member of the International Advisory Board of the Round Table Journal.
Hinauri Petana
HEMs. Hinauri Petana graduated from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji, in 1979, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Management.
She commenced her public service career in the same year, with the Ministry of Finance. After 30 years in the Ministry, including 10 years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from end 1999-2009, she left in September 2009, joining the private sector as a consultant, undertaking consulting work with AusAID, the Asian Development Bank, UNDP and NZAID. As CEO, she was responsible for fiscal policy, development of the country’s Development Strategy, and was part of a team responsible for the government’s public sector reform program that was launched in 1995.
She also helped implement a lot of the financial reforms to promote greater accountability and transparency in government transactions. She held many responsible positions including Alternate Governor for Samoa on the ADB, the World Bank and the IMF Governing Boards.
She was also Chairman of the Samoa National Provident Fund and Development Bank, the Samoa Qualifications Authority, and was a director on most state-owned corporation boards.
In March 2015, she was appointed by the Government of Samoa as High Commissioner of Samoa to Australia, with accreditation to five other foreign countries; Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Thailand.
Kate Wallace
Assistant Secretary at DFATKate is a senior officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kate’s Branch is responsible for the Australian Government’s overarching approach to multilateral engagement, candidacies and elections, UN reform, UN peace and security operations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Kate is Australia’s Commonwealth Senior Official.
Kate brings significant multilateral experience, having previously managed DFAT’s relationship and investments with the World Health Organization and other key multilateral health organisations – working to strengthen the global response to COVID-19 and ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics by strengthening country-level health systems and universal health coverage.
Kate is a social policy and program specialist, with her diverse career spanning gender equality, on-arrival settlement programs for newly arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants, Indigenous child and maternal health, social determinants of health and social inclusion. Kate brings expertise in delivering outcomes in challenging and ambiguous environments and working with stakeholders to deliver innovative approaches to intractable problems.
Kate holds a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Asian Studies (Thai) from the Australian National University. She is married with two children.