Date: Thursday 15th October 2009
Time: 12.30pm – 2.15pm

Guest Speakers: Steven Ciobo MP, Federal Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts, Don Page MP, State Shadow Minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform and Megan Motto, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Consulting Engineers Australia and Councillor, NSW Business Chamber

Steven Ciobo MP
Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism & the Arts

Steven Ciobo was first elected as the Federal Member for the central Gold Coast seat of Moncrieff at the general election in November 2001.
In December last year, Steven was appointed the Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and Tourism.

Steven sees the reintroduction of unfair dismissal laws and Labor’s ability to manage the economy as the greatest challenges facing small business today and following the election of the Rudd Government, Steven has been working hard to keep small business issues on the national agenda.

After seeing the almost immediate effects of the Rudd Government’s decision to cut funding for Tourism Australia and the nearly $1 billion of new tourism taxes, Steven has been working on the ground to develop policies that help, not hinder, the tourism industry tackle the challenges associated with rising fuel costs and the high Australian dollar.

Steven has previously been voted the “Small Business Politician of the Year” by the Franchise Council of Australia and has been Chairman of the Coalition Friends of Tourism Group since 2007.

Before entering Parliament, Steven built a professional career as an executive in the economic reform unit at international firms Coopers & Lybrand and, later, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Prior to this he was involved in a family business dependent on the tourism industry.

Don Page MP
State Shadow Minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform

Don Page was born in Grafton in 1951 and raised on an Upper Clarence Beef Station.  He was educated at Copmanhurst Public School then The Armidale School & University of New England where he gained a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Economics and a Diploma in Rural Accounting.

Prior to joining Parliament, Don worked on his family’s beef property then went onto to become an economist in the Department of Overseas Trade, a financial analyst with Dalgety, the National Administration Manager with Domino Industries and also had a role as part time lecturer in Business Management.

Don first joined The Nationals in 1984 and was elected as State Member for Ballina 1988.  He has held the following parliamentary positions:

Shadow Minister for Tourism 2007 - 2008
Shadow Minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform 2007 - present
Shadow Minister for North Coast 2005 - present
Shadow Minister for Regional Development 2005 - 2007
Shadow Minister for State Development 2005 - 2007
Shadow Minister for Skills Development & Training 2005 - 2006
Shadow Minister for Roads & Housing 2003-2005
Shadow Minister for Forestry 1995-2003
Shadow Minister for Land & Water Conservation 1995 - 2003
Parliamentary Secretary Planning & Housing 93-95
Parliamentary Secretary Roads, Transport, Tourism 92-93
Assistant Minister for Roads 91-92
Parliamentary Secretary to Deputy Premier 89-91

Don’s interests include, people, tennis, rugby union, cricket, music, motor bikes and community activities.

Megan Motto
Chief Executive Officer, Association of Consulting Engineers Australia and Councillor, NSW Business Chamber

MEGAN MOTTO is the CEO of the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia (ACEA), a business organisation representing Australian firms who provide engineering and technology-based consulting services to government and private sector clients throughout Australia and 40 countries world-wide.  ACEA represents 260 member firms employing more than 65,000 staff. Firms range in size from large firms employing thousands of staff to medium and small firms, and sole traders.

Megan graduated from a double teaching degree in 1995 and was selected from the state’s top graduates to be targeted by the NSW Department of Education.  In her first year of teaching she was elected as a Councillor on the Board of the English Teachers’ Association of NSW.  She also implemented a Debating and Public Speaking curriculum and coached individual speakers and coaches throughout NSW.

Throughout her teaching career she held various other positions including Teachers Federation Union Representative, Occupational Health and Safety committee member, Staff welfare committee member and Publicity/Media liaison.

Shortly after embarking on her Masters degree, she joined ACEA as Communications Coordinator, and in that role was responsible for the upgrade of ACEA’s website and IT systems, as well as successfully organising major events such as industry forums and the ACEA Awards for Excellence.

After only one year she was internally promoted to Operations Manager and in that role was responsible for multiple facets of the day to day running of the organisation. In this role, she was responsible for ACEA’s financial management processes, HR and Industrial Relations matters, ICT systems, marketing and sponsorship, meetings and events, and membership recruitment, administration and services.  Highlights from this position include the successful implementation of new financial reporting and documentation processes to improve cash flow and reduce debtors, and significantly improved IT systems and publications, and the redevelopment and national on-line rollout of the ACEA database.

Following an extensive recruitment program, Megan was appointed CEO of ACEA in December 2005.  As Chief Executive of ACEA, Megan is responsible for all facets of ACEA’s business, as well as policy and lobbying, commercial growth and strategic direction for the organisation.

Megan is also currently involved in the following organisations:

Australian Construction Industry Forum 
Director (2006 – present)
Built Environment Design Professionals
Director (2006 – present) 
Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Councillor (2006 – present) 
NSW Business Chamber
Councillor (2005 – present) 
Committee for the Economic Development of Australia 
Trustee (2005 – present) 
Australian Institute of Company Directors 
Graduate (2004 – Present) 
Australian Society of Association Executives 
Member (2004 – present)