Lord Mayor, Newcastle City Council, Nuatali Nelmes (Chair)

Nuatali Nelmes was returned for a second consecutive term as the Lord Mayor of Newcastle following a general election held on 9 September 2017. Nuatali previously served as Councillor at the City of Newcastle for six years from 2008, before being elected Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Business degree with a double major in industrial relations/human resource management and marketing from the University of Newcastle, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nuatali has represented Labor as a Councillor on committees overseeing recreation, urban planning and design, assets and catchment management, and is a member of the Asset Advisory Board and Chair of the Coastal Revitalisation Working Party. Nuatali is also a member of ICLEI Oceania’s Regional Executive Committee.

Lord Mayor, City of Hobart, Anna Reynolds

Anna Reynolds was elected Lord Mayor of Hobart in November 2018, the third woman to be elected into the role. First elected as an Alderman to the City of Hobart in 2014, she was Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee during her first term. Anna began her career establishing a community legal centre in North Queensland, after completing her degree at the Australian National University. She has held senior roles in advocacy, policy development and management, including Managing the Australia Conservation Foundation’s Parliament Liaison Office; Deputy Director of WWF International’s Global Climate Change Program; and as Chief Executive Officer of the Multicultural Council of Tasmania. Anna is also a member of ICLEI Oceania’s Regional Executive Committee and is the Oceania region’s GCoM Board member.

Governor, Port Moresby, Hon Powes Parkop

The Honourable Powes Parkop is a Lawyer by Profession. Currently a Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea (PNG) representing the Capital City of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby in his third term having been first elected in 2007. He is also the city Governor and Chairman of the Municipal Government, the National Capital District Commission. As an advocate for the environment, Powes has launched the One Million Trees a year initiative, and has worked side by side the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change to engage PNG at a national level, strongly advocating to protect Papua New Guinea’s oceans and forests.

Mayor, City of West Torrens, Michael Coxon

Michael Coxon is the Mayor of the City of West Torrens, elected in 2018 and after eight years as Councillor. Michael has experience as the Chairperson of the Urban Services Committee and the Corporate and Regulatory Committee, and supports the development of a strong regional approach to addressing the changing climate through the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. Michael has 28 years of executive leadership roles in property and finance industries, as well as multiple board member positions in South Australia including the West Beach Trust (SA Government) and the Camden Community Centre. 

Mayor, City of Melville, Hon George Gear JP

George Gear JP was elected to the federal parliament of Australia in 1983 in the House of Representatives. He served on a number of parliamentary and government committees including economics, environment, immigration, education and training, and select committees on aircraft noise and bushfire control. Since leaving parliament, he has been extremely passionate and active in the local community for sustainable development and climate action, and was elected Mayor of the City of Melville in 2019.

Mayor, City of Unley, Michael Hewitson AM

Michael Hewitson has served as councillor for Unley ward for 12 years and in 2018 he was elected mayor of the CIty of Unley. Michael began his career teaching year 8-12 Maths and Science in both State and independent schools across South Australia and in 1975 was appointed Director of Salisbury Education Centre. Later he joined Rostrevor College as a Board member and in 1984 was appointed as the foundation Principal and CEO of Trinity College Gawler. In 2012 he authored “How will our children learn?” and In 2013 Michael was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

Councillor, Rotorua Lakes Council, Fisher Wang

Fisher Wang is the Councillor Lead of Rotorua Lakes Council’s Climate Change programme and the youngest person elected to Rotorua Lakes Council. Since being elected to Council in 2019, he has represented the people of Rotorua leading the community towards a more sustainable future. In 2020, under Fisher’s lead, Council’s ‘Mahere Tauhohe Huarere - Rotorua Climate Action Plan’ was put out for consultation and he will be responsible for future planning and work streams identified in the final plan. 

Lord Mayor, Wollongong City Council, Gordon Bradbery AM

Gordon Bradbery has been Lord Mayor of Wollongong City since September 2011 and is the Chair of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation. He is also the Chair of the Bluescope Community Consultative Committee which aims to provide a forum for open discussion between BlueScope, community representatives and other stakeholders in relation to environmental management and performance of operations at the Port Kembla Steelworks. Gordon was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for significant service to local government, to the community of the Illawarra, and to the Uniting Church.

Karibaiti Taoaba, Regional Director, Commonwealth Local Government Forum (Pacific).

Karibaiti first joined CLGF in 2006 and became Regional Director in 2009 at the Pacific office in Suva, Fiji. Before joining CLGF, Karibaiti worked for the Government of Kiribati serving as Permanent Secretary for three ministries in Kiribati which included the President's Office (1996-1998), the Ministry of Environment and Social Development (1998 - 2003) and the Ministry of Internal and Social Development (2003 - 2006). As Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs, Karibaiti had oversight for the overall implementation of policies and administration in local government, support services to 22 island councils and 3 urban councils and decentralisation and rural development for all island councils in Kiribati.

Linda Scott President Australian Local Government Association

Councillor Linda Scott is the current President of the Australian Local Government Association and was Vice President since 2018 and a board member since 2017. Linda has also been the President of Local Government NSW since 2017 and has served as a board member since 2015.

Linda was first elected as a Councillor on the City of Sydney in 2012 and was re-elected in 2016. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor and on the Council’s committees, including the Central Sydney Planning Committee. During her time on the City of Sydney Council, Linda has successfully advocated for more affordable housing and green spaces, increased early education and care centres, new skate parks, and boosted city funding for climate change action.