Archives: Speakers

Tory started working at PHA in October 2014 as a Project Officer. Her current role, as Biosecurity Planning Coordinator, involves managing PHA’s biosecurity planning projects in the Preparedness and RD&E team. She is also the Executive Officer of the National Plant Biosecurity RD&E Strategy Implementation Committee.  This Committee aims to harmonise the roles of the organisations involved in plant biosecurity RD&E and ensures a nationally coordinated approach to cross sectoral plant biosecurity RD&E. Prior to working at PHA she worked as a research assistant at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.

Tory has an honours degree in horticultural science from the University of Sydney, majoring in horticultural science and plant pathology and completed her PhD at the Australian National University in 2012 investigating proteins secreted by Phytophthora nicotianae zoospores.

Dr John Robertson is the General Manager of the Invasive Plants and Animals Program, Biosecurity Queensland in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.  John has been in this role for 4 years having comes from a background ranging from overseeing large operational programs to developing strategic partnerships in research and development across a range of primary industries and natural resource areas.

John has worked over the last thirty years in both government and private industry in the fields of natural resource management and agriculture, including aquaculture.  John has always had a strong interest in achieving sound and practical outcomes through good policy and actions based on the best available information and strong stakeholder participation and joint decision making.

John is a strong supporter of working collaboratively with others to tackle biosecurity issues. He maintains that government has an important role to play in leading and facilitating together with partners to find the necessary on-ground solutions.  John has qualifications in science, resource economics and business management.

Professor Jeggo qualified as veterinary surgeon in the UK in 1972 and after a short four-year spell in general practice has worked in research and research management of infectious diseases. This included spells in a number of developing countries, at the UK high containment laboratory and within the United Nations. During this period of 18 years at the UN, he managed programs of support for animal health in the developing world with research related projects in some 150 countries. One such program involved support to laboratories in 40 countries assisting the global eradication of rinderpest.

In 2002 he became Director of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and as such was a member of the Australian Animal Health Committee and Chair of SCHALS. In 2013 he retired from AAHL and works on a part time basis within the framework of the Geelong Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases – a One Health consortium.  He is Chair of the Governing Board of AUSGEM (a research partnership between UTS and EMAI, NSW), on the Board of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) the Advisory Board of GALMED and the International Advisory Board of SACIDS.

Rupe has been with WHA from its beginnings as the Australian Wildlife Health Network in 2002. His main activity involves supporting the WHA Management Committee, staff and a diversity of stakeholders in their efforts to further develop and improve Australia’s animal health system with an emphasis on improving Australia’s overall national surveillance capability to support protection of Australia’s natural environment.  The priority is for a good general wildlife health surveillance system that can be used to help protect Australia’s trade and animal health industries, human health, biodiversity and tourism.  A second priority is assisting in improving Australia’s emergency disease preparedness and response capability by focussing on any wildlife component.  Rupe’s PhD was in elephant seal anaesthesia and he assisted Larry Vogelnest in editing the Medicine of Australian Mammals.  He is a member of the International Association for Public Participation, Governance Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  Rupe is interested in Australia, people and how good decisions are made.

He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday 2016 Honours List for significant services to veterinary science, and to the management of wildlife health and welfare.

Bruce is the Deputy Director General Biosecurity and Food Safety, NSW Department of Primary Industries responsible for biosecurity and food safety strategy and policy development and implementation within NSW.

Bruce has over 30 years of experience working in biosecurity, initially as a veterinarian dealing with animal health and production issues and then across the broader biosecurity spectrum of animal and plant pests, diseases and weeds.

As NSW Chief Veterinary Officer he led responses to a number of exotic disease incursions, including the successful eradication of Equine Influenza (EI) from NSW and Australia.

Since 2004, when he was appointed to the position of Director Animal and Plant Biosecurity, Bruce has driven a cross-sectoral agenda aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of biosecurity systems for animals and plants in NSW and across Australia. He represents NSW on the National Biosecurity Committee and has been a key driver in the development of the national Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB) and the National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement (NEBRA).

Dr Gary Fitt obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney and joined CSIRO as an Experimental Scientist in 1977. Dr Fitt advanced to the level of Senior Principal Research Scientist before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Cotton Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in 1999. In 2008 he became the Deputy Chief of the CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences in Brisbane, the position he held until becoming the Director of the Biosecurity Flagship in 2012. In 2014 he became Science Director for CSIRO Health and Biosecurity. A position he holds today.

He has extensive research experience in agricultural sustainability and has focussed on the study of Helicoverpa moth, one of the most damaging pests of Australian and global agriculture. His particular approach has been to understand the moth’s ecology as a foundation for more sustainable pest management. His research in insect movement, migration and host plant resistance has greatly assisted in the development of Helicoverpa resistance management strategies. In the last ten years Dr Fitt has increasingly focussed on the research needs for biosecurity science for Australia and led efforts to protect Australia from invasive species and address emerging challenges in global risk and infectious diseases.

He has published more than 100 refereed publications, and contributed to more than 20 books.

He has held many positions, including Board Director of the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC and is currently Chair of the Science Advisory Body of the OECD Cooperative Research Program. He is an Adjunct Professor at both the University of New England and the University of Sydney.