Greg Combet was elected to parliament at last November’s federal election, becoming the first parliamentary secretary for defence procurement. His duty is to advise the defence minister on the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), acquisition, contracting matters, defence industry policy and exports, and programs like Skilling Australian Defence Industry.
The DMO reports to Combet, who has been given the task of developing a future reform program for the organisation. He recently started a review of defence procurement and sustainment. According to Combet, expenditure on procurement and sustainment would reach about $10 billion this year.
He said his engineering education has proven useful in defence procurement and in politics generally.
Prior to entering politics, Combet was secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006.
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RedR Australia provides engineering services for disaster relief. It is currently working on a $2 million contract from AusAid to oversee aid efforts in Darfur. For example, logistics specialists are making sure warlords are not picking up the airdrops destined for the people of Darfur.
According to its chairman, Professor Michael Dureau, AusAid is so impressed with RedR Australia that it is considering doubling the funding next year.
RedR Australia is also deploying personnel to earthquake-struck China and awaiting permission to help cyclone victims in Burma.
Dureau is also the chairman of RedR International. His term expires at the end of this year.
Dureau was elected chairman of the Warren Centre last December. The centre has started a project to apply fuzzy logic and systems analysis to the education system in Australian schools. Its other projects include developing a code of practice for engineers in conjunction with Engineers Australia and surveying Australian high-rise buildings to find ways to improve their energy efficiency. The centre is looking to expand the latter into India and China.

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Sir Rod Eddington is the chair of federal government’s Infrastructure Australia advisory council. The council will advise on national infrastructure priorities, policy and regulatory reforms and financing mechanisms. Eddington has been the chief business adviser to the Labor Party since 2007.
Earlier this year, he completed a study of transport infrastructure for Melbourne. The study, commissioned by the Victorian government, recommended a 17km east-west metro rail tunnel and road connections between the Eastern Freeway and the western suburbs.
Eddington is also the non-executive Australia and New Zealand chairman of the bank JPMorgan Chase. He served as chief executive of British Airways between 2000 and 2005 and was executive chairman of Ansett Australia from 1997 to 2000.

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The agencies Paul Holloway oversees include Mineral Resources Development, Planning SA and SA Police with a total expenditure budget of some $597 million.
He has been involved in implementing the Plan for Accelerating Exploration, which tripled the investment in mineral exploration in South Australia to more than $330 million a year.
Holloway said that engineering provides valuable training for politics. “Although it has been some years since I have worked as an engineer, the skills provided by that training have proved to be equally useful in my role as a government minister, where much of the work involves public administration of complex portfolios,” he said. “A background in engineering is an invaluable tool for problem solving whether you are faced with technical or complex political issues.”
Holloway was elected to state parliament for the first time in 1989 and held a variety of portfolios including a stint as attorney-general. In addition to his engineering qualification, he holds degrees in science and economics.

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Dr Ken Michael has been the governor of Western Australia since 2006. Travelling to different areas of the state is a duty he particularly appreciates. “Through these visits, I have had the opportunity to see many engineering organisations and projects, allowing me to maintain my continuing personal interest in engineering.”
Prior to his appointment as governor, Michael held several senior positions in Western Australia including commissioner of Main Roads and chancellor of the University of WA. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2006 and is an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia.

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In March, Campbell Newman was reelected as lord-mayor of Brisbane, winning 66.15% of the two-party preferred vote. His fellow Liberal Party candidates picked up six more seats in the city council and the party is now in the majority. He has also been reelected as chairman of southeast Queensland’s Council of Mayors.
Next month he plans to go with Brisbane business leaders to China to look for new commercial opportunities.
The council’s budget is approximately $2.3 billion. The council recently resolved to support increased heights and densities in Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Kurilpa, West End and Woolloongabba, in preference to greenfield development and urban sprawl. .

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Frank Sartor was elected to the NSW Parliament in 2003. His first ministerial portfolios were energy, utilities, science and medical research. He became planning minister in 2005 and took over the arts portfolio after the 2007 state election. He was previously lord-mayor of Sydney. Sartor said his engineering training is useful in government and politics. The analytical approach helps with “back-of-envelope” thinking – deciding whether an idea makes sense.
He said his recent achievements included working on planning reform for the state and becoming a father to his third son, William Cesare, who was born last December. On 15 May Sartor tabled the bill to overhaul the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.
Speaking at an alumni function celebrating 125 years of engineering at the University of Sydney, he said some of the government’s main challenges are climate change, public and private transport, and maintaining energy and water supplies.

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