From the CEO - July 2021
Last month started off with the Committee for Perth and many others around Perth and the country celebrating National Reconciliation Week. The team participated in several events including the Walk for Reconciliation from WA Museum Boola Bardip to Yagan Square, and Yarning Circles hosted at the museum. It is a week my Aboriginal friends say is as exhilarating as exhausting with the packed program of events. Now we are busy planning for NAIDOC Week!
June saw the first of our many celebrations to mark the Committee for Perth’s 15th year in operation at our Annual Chairman’s Lunch, which was hosted by founding member Herbert Smith Freehills and newly appointed Managing Partner, Elizabeth Macknay. In early 2006, the Committee for Perth was registered as a company limited by guarantee by EY and then Freehills. The first strategic Board meeting was held in June that year with John Atkins AO as Chair.
The organisation has come a long way in that time thanks to the strong support of our members, our Board and our hardworking executive and the large body of research we have produced. To the many of you who have contributed over our first 15 years, a heartfelt thank you.
On that note, my sincere appreciation to all of you who emailed, texted and called to congratulate me on being awarded an Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, one of life’s pinch yourself moments.
The team continued to bring members together with our popular Food for Thought Leaders Luncheon – COVID Recovery & Resilience series, where Kevin Brown, CEO of Perth Airport talked about the impact of COVID-19 on the airline sector and future opportunities. In July, Professor Steve Chapman, Vice-Chancellor at Edith Cowan University (ECU) will share key elements of the Perth City Deal that will see the WA Academy of Performing Arts move into the city. I was pleased to attend a workshop to discuss the opportunities this presents for city vibrancy.
We also heard from Sue Young, Commander of the Western Australia Police Force, who discussed her career and life journey at our Executive Women’s Leadership Forum and look forward to hearing from Carol Innes, Co-Chair of Reconciliation WA in August at our next event in this series.
At the end of June, we released FACTBase Bulletin 76: The Role of Leadership in Maintaining Employee Wellbeing and Performance under COVID-19 Restrictions discussing the important role leadership plays in employee wellbeing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home. This was our first bulletin with the team at ECU and the final one in our Future of Work FACTBase series. We are on track to deliver the output report on 1 September, and in the meantime are starting to shape our next major project.
In June we also received a briefing by Alan Barrett and Roland Mau from Botanical Garden and Parks on the Kings Park and Botanic Garden Management Plan 2021–2026 at our Reshaping Working Group meeting. This plan aims to strengthen their relationship with traditional custodians, key stakeholders and the broader community.
July sees us holding two New Horizons webinars. The first will be on Western Australia’s relationship with China with Stuart Crockett, the former Government of Western Australia’s Commissioner to Greater China; and the second will be a presentation on Smart Freeways by Main Roads. So, there are plenty of opportunities coming up for members to shape Perth’s future.
Until next month
Marion Fulker AM
CEO, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow UWA
Photo: National Reconciliation Week Yarning Circle; Annual Chairman's Lunch; Executive Women's Leadership Forum.
