Niara Mansell is a rralla trawlwoolway pakana luna, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman from the North East, born by the beautiful kanamaluka/Tamar river in Launceston. She is a member of pakana kanaplila, a Tasmanian aboriginal traditional/contemporary dance troupe, but has been dancing for as long as she can remember. Niara enjoys reading, socialising with close family and friends, and taking photographs of nature in her spare time. She believes that kanaplila and rayakana, dance and song, are significant for connection, for her community, and for continuing her rich cultural traditions and practices. Niara has performed in various events and festivals across lutruwita and on the mainland. For example, she has performed at the likes of the Woodford folk festival in 2016, the Festival of voices in 2017, Dance Rights at the Sydney opera house in 2018, the Tasmanian Theatre Festival in 2019, Salt-water sisters at Moonah Art Centre in 2019, and at the 40th-anniversary celebration of TasDance in 2021. In tuylupa she is excited to breathe into the embers of her ancestors, becoming a spark for her community, and lighting the fire for future generations to come.

Tony Hopkins is the Chief Executive Officer, Regional Australia Division of ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia (CDC), one of the country’s largest urban, school, and charter bus operators and part of the international ComfortDelGro group. A transport, tourism, and logistics expert and bus industry veteran of 40 years, Tony has delivered comprehensive passenger transport solutions for some of Australia’s most renowned bus brands including Greyhound and Buslink VIVO. He has served as a chair, president, vice president and committee member on the executive of various state and national industry associations for the past 14 years including the Bus Industry Confederation (BIC), Australian Public Transport Industry Association (APTIA), Queensland Bus Industry Council (QBIC) and the former National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) Taskforce. Tony is an active contributor to the community and wider industry, lobbying state, and federal governments to create improvements for with various bus operators across the country. Tony’s lifetime commitment to the bus industry was recognised in 2021, when he was presented with QBIC’s Outstanding Achievement Award. The same year, his division was honoured with the QBIC Environmental/Innovation Award, as well as a High Commendation in the 2021 NSCA Foundation/GIO National Safety Awards of Excellence.

Councillor Ryan Posselt is an experienced paramedic and nurse. He has worked in healthcare in varied settings across both NSW and Tasmania since 2006. Elected to Hobart City Council in 2022, Ryan has developed a keen interest in transport. He believes that how people choose to move around any city is intrinsically linked to community well-being through social cohesion, relationships, environment and health outcomes. As a frontline worker for his entire career, Ryan is also a strong believer in the notion that well supported workers produce better outcomes and is interested in how to better support all workers to deliver gold class services for their communities.

Simon Kuestenmacher is a rising star globally in the field of data management and insight. He is the Co-Founder of The Demographics Group based in Melbourne. He is a columnist with The Australian and The New Daily newspapers. Simon is an engaging speaker who backs his opinion with data and evidence.

Melissa Cashman, Assistant Secretary of the Vehicle Safety Policy and Partnerships Branch at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts, leads the team responsible for developing the Australian Design Rules, policy related to the Road Vehicle Standards legislation, and the management of the supporting ROVER IT system. Melissa has worked in regulation since the 1990’s; first as a NSW Police Officer serving in both in general duty and forensic roles. That work developed Melissa’s passion for transport safety, and for the last 12 years she has worked in policy and regulation roles in the Australian Public Service, primarily in the areas of aviation and road vehicle safety.

Since joining the NHVR as Chief Executive Officer in May 2014, Sal has led significant national reform across Australia’s transport sector in partnership with government and industry. Sal takes a hands-on approach to understanding the complexities and challenges facing the heavy vehicle industry, along with a clear vision for adopting innovation to drive positive change across the sector. Sal’s vision for a customer focused safety regulator has seen the NHVR adopt an ‘inform, educate, enforce’ approach to its compliance activities which supports collaborative engagement between the Regulator and industry to improve safety practices. Through Sal’s leadership, the journey to becoming a national regulator has been seamless with the successful transition of all HVNL states and territories to the NHVR, paving the way for more consistent regulation for heavy vehicle movement across the country. Sal’s contribution to the transport sector was recently recognised in the Order of Australia honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).