Professor Peter Sheehan, Chairman
Peter Sheehan has had an extensive career as an economist and policy adviser in Australia, and is currently Research Director of the Victorian Institute of Strategic Economic Studies (VISES), in which VEPC is situated. In the late 1970s, he was Principal Research Fellow at what is now the Melbourne Institute at the University of Melbourne. At the Institute, he played a leading role in developing the Prices and Incomes Accord, which became the signature policy of the Hawke Government. From 1982–1990 he was Director General of the Department of Management and Budget in the Victorian Government. This Department was a prime mover in the first round of Australian reforms to the electricity industry in the postwar period, those to pricing, reporting and productivity in the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. In 1993 he established the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies (now VISES) at Victoria University, and was Foundation Director of that Centre for nearly 20 years.
During his career Professor Sheehan has published a large number of books and articles, and has supervised over 30 doctoral students to completion. His current research interests are in new patterns of economic development, with special reference to the role of health, education and other social factors, and in global and national trends in energy use and emissions. His most recent articles have been published in the Australian Economic Review, The Lancet, The Lancet Psychiatry, Nature Climate Change and Nature.
Stephen Littlechild
Stephen Littlechild is Fellow at Judge Business School, Cambridge University, and Emeritus Professor at Birmingham University, where he was previously Professor of Commerce (1975–1989). He was a member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1983–1988), Director General of Electricity Supply and head of the Office of Electricity Regulation (1989–1998), and non-executive Member of the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) (2006–2011). Since 1999, Stephen has been an international consultant on privatisation, regulation and competition, including in the electricity, telecommunications, water and airport sectors.
Anna Skarbek
Anna has led ClimateWorks since its inception in 2009. Anna guides ClimateWorks’ independent research and advisory work analysing emissions reduction opportunities and partnering with government and business to unblock barriers to implementation.
Anna brings considerable private and public sector knowledge to the role as an experienced investment banker, policy advisor and qualified lawyer. Prior to ClimateWorks, Anna was based in London where she applied her skills as an advisor dedicated to raising and deploying capital for low carbon activities as Vice President, Advisory, at Climate Change Capital. She has also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Victorian Deputy Premier, an investment banker for Macquarie Bank and as a solicitor with Malleson Stephen Jacques.
Anna was an inaugural Director of Australia's green investment bank, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and is a Director of Green Buildings Council Australia, a Trustee of the Sustainable Melbourne Fund, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a member of the Grattan Institute’s Energy Program Reference Panel and a member of the Leadership Forum for Energy Transition for Australia. Previously Anna has served on the South Australian Government’s Low Carbon Economy Expert Panel, the Victorian Climate Change Act Independent Review Committee, the Australian Government’s Energy White Paper Reference Panel and the former Australian Government Land Sector Carbon and Biodiversity Board, as well as with the NGO Roundtable on Climate Change.
Anna holds First Class Honours Degrees in Commerce and Law from Monash University. She is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed leadership studies at the Oxford University Said Business School and the Melbourne Business School. Anna was a double Finalist in the 2014 Victorian Telstra Business Women’s Awards in the Business Innovation and Community and Government categories.
Professor Ross Garnaut, AC
Professor Garnaut is a Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics, public finance and economic development, particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific. Recent books include The Great Crash of 2008 (with David Llewellyn-Smith, 2009) and Dog Days: Australia After the Boom (2013).
Professor Garnaut has had longstanding and successful roles as policy advisor, diplomat and businessman. He was the senior economic policy official in Papua New Guinea’s Department of Finance in the years straddling Independence in 1975, principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke 1983–1985, and Australian Ambassador to China 1985–1988. He is the author of a number of influential reports to the Australian Government, including Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendancy, The Garnaut Climate Change Review, and The Garnaut Review 2011: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change.
Professor Garnaut has chaired the boards of major Australian and International companies since 1988, including Lihir Gold Ltd (1995–2010); Bank of Western Australia Ltd (1988–1995); Primary Industry Bank of Australia Ltd (1989–1994); Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Limited Pty Ltd (2002–2012) and its subsidiary OK Tedi Mining Ltd; Lonely Planet Pty Ltd; and aluminium Smelters of Victoria Ltd and the Energy Transition Hub. In 2015 he became the Chairman of ZEN Energy Technologies Pty Ltd. In September 2017, ZEN Energy formed a strategic partnership with global company GFG Alliance and SIMEC ZEN Energy was founded. Professor Garnaut remains as President of SIMEC ZEN Energy.
Dr Stephen P King
Dr King joined the Productivity Commission as a Commissioner from 1 July 2016. He was recently a Professor of Economics at Monash University in Melbourne, where he also held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics from 2009–2011. Prior to joining Monash, Stephen was a Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where he chaired the Mergers Review Committee.
Stephen's main areas of expertise are in microeconomic theory, competition economics, regulation and industrial organisation. His research has been published widely, including articles in major international economics journals. Stephen is an adjunct professor at Monash University, a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and a Lay Member of the High Court of New Zealand. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University.
Claire Noone
Claire is a Principal Consultant with Nous Group, an award-winning management consulting firm operating across Australia and the UK. In her role at Nous, Claire partners with private and public sector clients across a broad range of sectors including financial services, utilities, justice, health and human services. As a leading thinker in policy reform, regulatory design and regulatory practice, she is highly sought after by clients looking to design and implement new regulatory models for the future economy. Claire has more than 20 years’ senior executive and leadership experience across both federal and state government. Her experience extends across policy and legislation, regulatory theory and practice, strategic planning, corporate services, and service delivery across a number of portfolios. Before joining Nous, Claire was the Deputy Secretary, Regulation at the Department of Justice (Vic), prior to which she was the Acting Secretary of the Department. As the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria she was responsible for major regulatory policy reform of the Australian Consumer Law and other significant national and state-based policy and legislative reform agendas. Claire is renowned for her sharp analytical mind and her engaging and collaborative approach to working with clients and stakeholders.