Shadow Minister for Human Services

Labor Member for Barton

As a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation, Linda was the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the NSW Parliament and the first Aboriginal woman to serve in the Australian House of Representatives.  Linda’s commitment to Indigenous issues spans more than 30 years.

She began her career as a teacher in western Sydney and then as an education bureaucrat before being appointed Director General of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 2000.  Charles Sturt University awarded her, its first Aboriginal graduate, an Honorary Doctorate in Education in 2002.

Linda was elected federal member for Barton in 2016, following a 14 year career in the NSW Parliament as Member for Canterbury. During her state political career she served as a Minister in a number of senior portfolios including as Minister for Community Services and later as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Following her election to the Federal House of Representatives she was immediately appointed as Shadow Minister for Human Services.

Linda has been long committed to the prevention of domestic violence and has detailed publically her personal experience with it. 

Linda has also held senior positions in the non-government sector serving on a number of Boards including the SBS, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board, and the NSW Board of Studies.

Born 1983 in Fitzroy, Melbourne, to an Irish father and Aboriginal mother, Dan Sultan was raised in Melbourne. His mother, Roslyn Sultan, got her name from the Afghan camel drivers of Australia's central desert a century ago, and her Aboriginal heritage has its genesis in the eastern Aranda and Gurindji clans of central Australia.

Growing up in Fitzroy with a few years in Cairns as a teenager, Dan was often one of a few indigenous students at his schools. Despite getting a hard time from kids all his life, he was always "proud to be a blackfella...it makes you strong, it makes you smart."

Dan was exposed to music while living in remote Yundemu, 300 kilometers north-west of Alice Springs in the Tanami desert - Warlpiri country, where his Irish father was working for the Aboriginal Legal Service.

Long drawn to song and dance, one of his earliest memories is as a three year old, sitting around a fire in Yundemu with 60 to 70 Warlpiri elders and watching everyone dancing and singing. "I remember sitting next to one elder and he handed me some clap sticks and everyone encouraged me to get up and dance. When I came back to Melbourne I used to put on little shows at my school, pretending to play the didgeridoo. I really enjoy performing and I have ever since that dancing circle in the Tanami Desert", says Dan.

Back in Melbourne, he recalls being taken by his mum to her friends' rockabilly band that used to play at Fitzroy's infamous Black Cat café. "They'd be playing afternoon sessions and I remember watching the lead singer and thinking he was one of the coolest people in the world. I thought, "That's what I'd like to do." Infused with indigenous sounds of central Australia and surrounded by Melbourne's soul and rock and roll, Dan began writing songs at ten years of age.

DAN SULTAN: KILLER

To watch Dan Sultan hold an audience in the palm of his hand is to see a storyteller unafraid to lay it all out there: his troubles, desires and all those tales dragged from his life onto the stage. Ever since Sultan delivered his debut album, Homemade Biscuits, in 2006 at the age of 22, music lovers from all walks of life have found a home in his ability to bare his longings and his wounds, his rich and soulful voice spilling all sorts of guts and glory over memorable rock, roots and blues hooks.

Yet, there has also long been the sense that Sultan is the baton-holder of Australia's greatest musical potential. Though swarms of festival crowds and a collection of NIMA (Album of the Year, Song of the Year) and ARIA (Best Rock Album) awards might suggest otherwise, there's a lingering feeling that Sultan's boundless talent and gift for storytelling have been building, striving to be truly realised by the man who contains them. Even as 2014's Blackbird album cracked the top five of the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold, many were talking about what might come next.

On Killer, Sultan steps out as the songwriter he has always promised to become. From the erupting gospel chorus of first single 'Hold It Together' to the jazz-inflected lilt of 'Should've Known' and the classic FM pop nous of 'Reaction', Sultan's fourth studio album makes itself known as the record on which Dan Sultan becomes that rarest of things: his own musician. By the time Killer reaches its closing track, 'Easier Man', Sultan delivering a painfully honest reflection on how his inner demons have played out, nothing short of a national treasure is unveiled.

Recorded with producer and long-time collaborator Jan Skubiszewski at his Way Of The Eagle studio in Melbourne, the album is also a sophisticated leap forward in production and instrumentation for Sultan. Where Blackbird, recorded in Nashville with rock producer Jacquire King, took an old-school-big-studio approach to soulful tunes, Killer pushes forward. The album introduces synthesisers and drum machines to lift powerful rhythms, and heightens emotions with gospel backing vocals that sound bigger than cathedral choirs.

"It's been a long process to make this album, looking back on it all," Sultan says. "I've spent a long time working on this record. With the writing, it was all about evolving. I wasn't even necessarily thinking about the album as such, I was just writing for the sake of writing, and the album made itself known over time."

Over the course of 2016, when he wasn't touring and making appearances on tracks like A.B. Original's 'January 26' (which was voted in at number 16 on triple j's Hottest 100), Sultan was writing. When the year was out, he'd penned around 60 songs for Killer, many alone and a handful with his regular writing partners: Alex Burnett (of pop-rock group Sparkadia), Pip Norman and Ben Abraham. Even then the record wasn't complete. As Sultan and Skubiszewski got to recording, Sultan continued to write - 'Reaction' and political missive 'Kingdom' were latecomers to the album's track list.

Lyrically, Sultan is more reflective than on previous records, which have seemed to catch Sultan in the throes of growing up. There's a broader weighing of life's ups and downs present on Killer, an acknowledgement that troubles will find you, but that you are also never alone with them. It might be described as maturity. Certainly, along with a musical assuredness, the album is a portrait of a songwriter who knows himself better. "I'm not an easy man / I guess I'll never be / But I was always yours," Sultan sings on 'Easier Man'.

"I think it comes from being a bit more grown up, personally," Sultan says. "And that's the idea, isn't it"? You get older and you get a bit wiser, and as a songwriter you're always trying to get better and trying to push yourself."

Songs like 'Hold It Together' and 'Kingdom' add a wider scope to Sultan's lyrical oeuvre. While 'Hold It Together' takes a tale of a close friend and turns it into an affirming call for solidarity, 'Kingdom' is more politically cutting: "Tie my hands and break my bones / Take my children from my home," the song starts before Sultan posits a sharp question: "Who's coming with me to the kingdom?"

One of the record's surprises is 'Drover', a song written from the perspective of an indigenous drover during the Wave Hill walk-off in 1966, a protest by pastoral workers in the Northern Territory over poor working conditions. The protest was immortalised in Paul Kelly's classic 'From Little Things Big Things Grow', and Sultan describes 'Drover' as a "prequel" to that song.

"It's about the lead-up to the walk-off, about what it was like on the ground before the protest really kicked off," he says. "The drover in the song has heard murmurs of a walk-off, murmurs of, 'We're going to protest and stand up for our land and stand up for our people'. I found it really interesting to write in that way. You know, as a writer, I think empathy is essential." 

To say that Killer is not only a portrait of a songwriter at a crucial moment in his craft and in his life, but also a portrait of a country at this moment in time, is not a bridge too far. Sultan's fourth album is personal and far-reaching, a reflection on his life and a call for all our lives to pull closer together. It's also an exciting and hook-filled journey of a record, one that urges us to look at who Dan Sultan is, right here, right now.

View Dan's Website here.

Phil has more than ten years’ experience leading financial service organisations, headlined by his previous position as Chief Executive Officer at Centric Wealth, as well as senior positions across divisions at Investec, the South African-based investment bank.

Whilst at Investec, Phil was instrumental in building the corporate and private bank client base and introducing investors to innovative opportunities, including property, aircraft leasing and other alternative investments. At Centric Wealth, he helped transform the Wealth Management company into a multimillion dollar business on behalf of Champ Private Equity.

Prior to his business career, Phil played 67 tests for the Wallabies from 1989 to 1999. He captained the team ten times, demonstrating inspiring leadership qualities. During this period, he also led the push to professionalism in rugby. Phil is also widely regarded for his philanthropic activities, creating The Balmoral Burn in 2000 in support of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation raising $27.5 million for Children’s Hospitals around the country.

Phil has recently been appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his support to charitable institutions, rugby and the business community.

Born and raised in Western Sydney, Kyah Simon began her football career at Quakers Hill Junior Soccer Club under-8s where she immediately fell in love with the game. Kyah went on to represent NSW at National level for several years before receiving a scholarship to the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) under the guidance of current Matildas National Team Coach, Alen Stajcic. Stajcic, who was NSWIS coach at the time, was instrumental in Kyah’s development into the world class footballer that she is today with 75 international caps for the Matildas and her country, making her debut for Australia in 2007 at just 16 years of age.

Kyah has since represented Australia at major international tournaments including the 2008 Peace Queen Cup in South Korea, 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in China (where she converted the winning penalty for Australia to claim their first international title), and the 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she became the first Indigenous player, male or female, to score a goal at a World Cup. In 2016, Kyah fulfilled a lifelong dream in representing Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Women’s Football.

Domestically, Kyah is one of the stars of the Westfield W-League having played for the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC.  Kyah is a two-time Westfield W-League Championship winner, as a member of Sydney FCs 2009 Championship and as Captain (and Player of the Grand Final) of their 2012/13 Championship.  She was also awarded the 2010/11 Westfield W-League Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Players Player and Golden Boot award.  Kyah has also played professional football in America as a leading player with the Boston Breakers in the WPSL Elite (2012) and the National Women’s Soccer League (2013 - 2016).

Kyah recently become an Ambassador for the GO Foundation, hoping to help inspire and positively influence the Indigenous youth of our country. Through her work on and off the park, Kyah endeavours to set an example and give back to her community in any way she possibly can. Kyah is a proud Indigenous woman who goes over and above to give back to her community and those in need, valuing and appreciating the opportunities she has received through football and the unique position she is in.

Kyah also founded her very own ‘Kyah Simon Football Clinics’ for girls ages 8-18 years of age, generally run during School holidays in locations all over NSW. Kyah’s main goal for these clinics is to create a fun-filled environment where girls feel comfortable in their surroundings with other girls that share the same passions and interests. Kyah encourages girls of all abilities, ages, backgrounds and interests to come and be a part of the two day clinic, where Kyah shares insights into her footballing career, life experiences and how she got to where she is today to empower each and every participant with the emphasis on self-belief and setting goals to achieve goals.

Kyah believes in leaving the game better than when she found it, using football as a tool to empower, inspire, motivate and display to women and young girls all around the world that their self worth and value is the most important step to achieving any goals in life.

Born in South Australia,  a proud Andyamathanha/Narungga man, Adam moved to Victoria as young boy and developed a passion for Australian Rules Football. After he was drafted by the Sydney Swans from the North Ballarat U18s, Adam had an AFL career spanning over seventeen seasons, retiring in September 2015. Adam had a highly decorated AFL career including being awarded the prestigious Rising Star medal and twice receiving the Brownlow Medal.

In 2004 he was invited to join the National Indigenous Council (NIC), an advisory body to the Federal Government on Indigenous affairs. In 2014, he joined the board of Supply Nation, a government-funded body aimed at growing the Indigenous business sector through the promotion of supplier diversity in Australia. He is also the CEO of the Indigenous Defence Consortium, an organisation that aims to increase the participation of Indigenous companies in long term Nation building projects.

In 2014, Adam was named Australian of the Year in recognition of his community work aimed at empowering the next generation of Indigenous role models as well as his advocacy in the fight against racism.

Adam is also passionate about the elimination of discrimination in society. He is an advocate for the Recognise Movement (www.recognise.org.au ) along with the Racism It Stops With Me campaign (https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au ).

Adam is an ambassador for many brands including Toyota, David Jones, Qantas, SCG Trust and Lend Lease. Having retiring from AFL, Adam is looking forward to investing more time in the GO Foundation along with getting involved in other opportunities that he is passionate about. Adam hopes to enjoy more overseas holidays. In his downtime, he enjoys playing golf, poker and spending time with his family and friends.

Adam is a Co-Founder & Non-Executive Director of the GO Foundation.

Since retiring from a highly decorated career at the Sydney Swans which included being a dual All-Australian team member and a member of the AFL’s Indigenous Team of the Century, Michael has been Head Coach of the AIS-AFL Academy, coached the Indigenous All-Stars team which toured Ireland in 2013, and was Head Coach of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy.

Michael brings to his roles as co-founder and Board member many years’ experience on the board of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy.  

Michael has worked in numerous community based programs over the past 15 years, including with the Swans, Books in Homes, Sydney Swans initiatives such as the Healthy Choices schools programme, he has been an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Programme, a director of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy and an Ambassador for the AFL Indigenous Academy.

In 2009 the AFL Players’ Association awarded Michael the prestigious Madden Medal, which recognises on- and off-field excellence and community spirit.

Michael is also the Managing Director and Owner of CMC Indigenous Services.

Michael is a Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of the GO Foundation.

James has spent the last 17 years working in the Information Technology sector in multiple geographies including Europe, the Asia Pacific region, and Australia. James has been involved with and assisted a number of Indigenous organisations, both philanthropic and private sector, for the last decade including assisting with the development of Indigenous Enterprise (specifically MessageStick and CMC Indigenous Services) over the past 10 years. In his current role James leads the Business Process Services group at IBM across Australia and New Zealand.

James is a Co-Founder and a Non-Executive Director of the Go Foundation.

Peter Meurer is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected bankers bringing over 35 years of experience to his current role of Executive Chairman of Nomura Investment Bank in Australia.

Peter has previously been the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Corporate Broking at Merrill Lynch, Vice Chairman of Citi Group and prior to that Vice Chairman of McIntosh/Baring Securities. He was also a senior partner at Potter Partners and Potter Warburg.

Peter currently sits on the investment committee for the Foundation for Young Australians and is the Chairman of Ignition Wealth Pty Limited. He is a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Peter is the Chairperson of the GO Foundation Board of Directors.

A professional independent director and businessman, Ken Boundy is Chairman of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and Hydrasyst, a technology company. He is also a non-executive director of NetComm Wireless, Timberlink Australia and Australian Bauxite.

Previously Ken was CEO of Tourism Australia and Goodman Fielder Asia, and held other divisional head roles across various industry sectors including in the wine, food and building materials industries.

Ken is a tier one coach and mentor and brand ambassador for the start-up accelerator, Slingshot. He is a part owner of Corinna Wilderness Experience, an ecotourism destination in the Tarkine region of north-west Tasmania and has a keen interest in plants, conservation and biodiversity.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Holly Kramer is the Deputy Chairman of Australia Post and a Non-executive Director on the Boards of Woolworths, AMP Ltd., 2XU and regional community-owned telco, Southern Phones. She is a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and sits on the Finance and Investment Committee for Western Sydney University.

In her executive career, Holly was the CEO of apparel retailer Best & Less, where she was responsible for transforming the business and returning it to growth and profitability.  In that role, she was responsible for approximately 200 stores and 4300 employees across Australia. Prior to Best & Less, she was an executive at Pacific Brands, running the Workwear and Homewares Divisions, and Telstra, where she held the roles of Group Managing Director- Product Management and Chief of Marketing.

Holly has a BA with Honours in Economics and Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

She is married with a 13 year old daughter and lives in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Sam Mostyn is a widely sought after non-executive director and sustainability adviser.

She is Chair of Citibank Australia and Carriageworks, sits on the boards of Virgin Australia, Transurban Group and Mirvac as well as the Diversity Council of Australia, the Climate Council and Climateworks.

Sam spent several years on the boards of Reconciliation Australia, the NSW Public Education Foundation, and the National Mental Health Commission.  She was a Commissioner of the Australian Football League from 2005 - 2016, and now sits on the board of the Sydney Swans.

Sam is also a member of the Australian Faculty of the Cambridge University Program for Sustainability Leadership, Chief Executive Women and the Business & Sustainable Development Commission.  

Sam has previously held senior executive roles at Insurance Australia Group, Optus Communications and Cable & Wireless plc.

Sam has a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the Australian National University.

Shirley started her career as a lawyer at the New York law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.  Upon completing the New York Bar exam, Shirley worked across Asia both for Cleary and as Regional Counsel for JP Morgan Investment Management.

After almost 8 years in Japan, Shirley’s career took a different turn when she moved back to Australia and worked for a number of community initiatives including the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Queenwood School and the Law Society of NSW. 

After writing a biography for a World War 2 prisoner-of-war, Shirley returned to banking and finance joining the legal team at BT Financial Group and Westpac Banking Corporation and volunteering for the Westpac Foundation.  Prior to joining the GO Foundation, Shirley was Counsel in the Treasury team at Westpac.

Shirley believes fiercely in the power of diversity and inclusion and is an advocate for increasing diversity amongst corporate and not-for-profit boards and senior management both in Australia and more broadly.

She is also a non-executive director on the board of YMCA NSW.

Shirley lives in Sydney with her husband of 22 years, Ian, and their three children, Sabrina, Max and Kian.

Kate grew up in the coastal town of Coffs Harbour with a desire to work in the professional sports industry. After graduating with a Bachelor of Sports Management from the University of Canberra she achieved her dream of managing the events for the Brumbies Rugby franchise.

After spending eight years studying and working in Canberra, she decided to journey to the warmer weather of Sydney, and was appointed the role of Events and Hospitality Manager for the Sydney Swans. Kate has spent the last four seasons working for one of the premier Clubs in the AFL, managing an extensive events calendar and hospitality program, and being involved in two Grand Finals.

Kate believes in education as the ‘great equaliser’ and has a passion for forging her path as a leader.

Kate has found her happy place back by the beach and enjoys nothing more than reading a good book, sweating through a yoga class, and listening to a podcast on theoretical physics.

Hugh retired from Westpac Banking Corporation in 2014 following a career of more than 40 years with the bank, spanning all aspects banking, finance, marketing, administration and project management.  

The last 14 years with Westpac were as a senior investor relations executive,  a role that included project management of the bank's annual reports. Hugh has a Degree In Agricultural Science and an MBA.

During his career, Hugh has been involved in a number of not-for profit organisations, including Apex clubs and the Walkerville YMCA (Adelaide).

Since retiring, he has consulted to the Westpac treasury team, where he met Shirley Chowdhary. It was this contact that resulted in Hugh volunteering in July 2017 to assist GO capture and prepare all its contact information, to enable GO to establish a Donor, Student and Contact Relationship Management system.

Hugh's interests include walking, snow skiing, gardening and with more free time now, travelling with his wife. He has been married to Robyn for 33 years and has two adult children, Kate and Sarah.