Speaker Biographies
The Honourable Joe Hockey, Former Australian Ambassador to the US, Founder, Bondi Partners
Before co-founding Bondi Partners, the Honourable Joe Hockey served as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, taking up his posting in Washington in January 2016. Notably, Mr. Hockey was responsible for Australia’s relationship with the US during the final year of President Obama’s tenure and the first three years of President Trump’s first term. As Ambassador, Mr. Hockey emphasised the importance of a free and fair trade and investment partnership between the US and Australia, while promoting innovative infrastructure investment throughout the US.
At Bondi Partners, Mr. Hockey spearheads the firm’s strategic direction in both the United States and Australia.
Previously, as the elected Treasurer of Australia, Mr. Hockey was responsible for all aspects of the Australian economy. With a reputation as a reformer, Mr. Hockey helped shape the modern financial system in Australia and had a major hand in the formation of industry policy, from tourism and hospitality to health and welfare.
In 2014, Mr. Hockey chaired the highly successful G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings. He initiated major infrastructure initiatives ranging from the implementation of asset recycling financing to the creation of the G20 Infrastructure Hub.
Mr. Hockey has had a long and distinguished career in public service. He first entered Parliament in 1996 as the Member for North Sydney and spent more than seventeen years on the front bench. Over the course of his parliamentary career, Mr. Hockey served as a Minister in a number of different portfolios including Financial Services, Small Business and Tourism, Human Services and Employment and Workplace Relations.
Previously, Mr. Hockey served as a banking and finance lawyer with a major Australian law firm. He graduated from the University of Sydney with Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law.
Mr. Hockey is married to Ms. Melissa Babbage, a company director and former investment banker. They have three young children Xavier, Adelaide and Ignatius.
Miranda Devine, Columnist, NewsCorp
Miranda Devine is an opinion columnist for the New York Post and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. She appears on Fox News and Australia’s Sky News. Previously she worked at The Sydney Morning Herald, the Boston Herald and the CSIRO. She is a dual citizen of the US and Australia.
Stephen Loosley AM, Former Senator, Australian Parliament
(Senator) Stephen Loosley served in the Australian Parliament during the Hawke and Keating Governments (1990-1995), where he chaired both the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and the Senate Regulations Committee. Prior to his Senate service, Stephen was the General Secretary of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (1983–90). He also served a term as ALP National President (1991–92). Stephen Loosley is now the Deputy Chair of Thales (Australia), where he chairs the Security Committee which has responsibility for the integrity of the company’s cyber systems. He has served as Chair of the Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board and is a Director of O’Connell Street Associates. Stephen is the immediate past chair of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, where he is now a Senior Fellow. Also, in 2017, Stephen accepted an invitation to join The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney as a Visiting Fellow. In addition, Stephen serves as a Corporate Councillor of the Asia Society (Australia) and on the Board of the European Australian Business Council (EABC). He has also served on the Board of CoverMore Travel Insurance (2013-2016), the Advisory Boards of Veolia (Australia/NZ) and Crescent Capital and on the Board of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, along with the Ethics Centre. Stephen holds First Class Honours degrees in Politics (UNSW, 1976) and Law (UTS, 1997). His first book, Machine Rules, was published by Melbourne University Press in August 2015. He was recently appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW. Stephen is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (Sydney). He is a commentator on US politics and writes for The Australian, The Australian Financial Review and The Spectator (Australia) and is the Book and Film Editor for The Strategist, Canberra. On Australia Day 2015, Stephen was awarded an AM for services to the Parliament and to public policy.
Moderated by Donald Betts Jr, Lawyer, Norton Rose Fulbright
Donald Betts Jr is a lawyer at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in Melbourne.
Donald is a former US Kansas State Senator, the youngest in the State’s history when elected, and US Congressional Candidate.
Donald is Australia’s first African American to achieve a Juris Doctorate (JD) at Monash University, and lawyer at the global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia; where he provides business development work at Jaramer Legal, Australia’s first national Indigenous law firm.
Donald is also founder and Secretary of the North American Australian Lawyers Alliance (NAALA), and the Australian United States Lawyers Alliance (AUSLA)
Donald is a commentator on Australian news media outlets on US Politics and current events, and co-host of Greenland the Podcast where the differences and similarities between the United States and Australia are explored.
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