Our comprehensive program features an exceptional line up of keynote speakers.
Watch this space for all the latest exciting speaker announcements.
Simon Kuestenmacher is a Director and co-founder of The Demographics Group based in Melbourne, Australia. Simon holds degrees in geography from leading universities in Berlin and Melbourne and worked for several years as a business consultant with KPMG Australia. In 2017 Simon, with Bernard Salt, co-founded The Demographics Group. The group provides specialist advice on demographic, consumer and social trends for business.
He presents on demographic and global trends that are shaping Australia today and into the future and his presentations and quirky observations are enjoyed by corporate, government and industry audiences alike.
Simon is a columnist at The New Daily newspaper and a regular contributor to The Australian newspaper; and he is also a media commentator on demographic and data matters. Simon has amassed 600,000 global followers on social media, reaches over 35 million people every month and ranks as one of the world’s Top 10 influencers in data visualisation. If you can’t get enough of data that explains how the world works, make sure to follow him on Twitter or any of his other social channels.
John Duguid FNZPI is a senior leader and planner with a proven track record of managing and delivering complex, high profile projects. Between 2007 and 2010 John was the planning manager for Auckland’s city centre. During his time in this role, he and his team were heavily involved in transforming Wynyard Point, a large, prime waterfront site, from a port/industrial precinct to what is now a thriving, mixed use neighbourhood.
In 2010 Auckland’s eight councils were amalgamated to create a single entity - Auckland Council. John secured a senior management role in the new organisation with the responsibility for place-based planning and developing a new statutory land use and environmental management plan for the region - the Auckland Unitary Plan. Working on the Auckland Unitary Plan was an incredible journey, rich in experiences and learnings, with an end-product that is widely regarded as a game-changer for Auckland and an exemplar for others.
In 2024, Auckland Council’s policy and regulatory planning functions were merged into a single department and John was successful in being appointed General Manager Planning and Resource Consents.
The department processes around 15,000 development approvals each year and is in the middle of implementing a major city-wide change to the Auckland Unitary Plan that will further increase opportunities for housing and development within the urban area and improve the management of development in areas prone to natural hazards.
John is an avid stand-up paddle boarder, has a passion for music of all sorts with a particular soft-spot for the 90s and early 2000s - and considers it a privilege to have such a challenging and influential role within the planning profession.
Hon Clare O'Neil MP grew up in Melbourne's south-east.
After she finished school, Clare studied Law at Monash University in Clayton. While she was at university, Clare was elected to the City of Greater Dandenong Council and a year later she became mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong.
After graduating from Monash University, Clare travelled to Harvard University in the US to study Public Policy. While she was there, she lived in Boston and New York and worked in the New York Stock Exchange.
Clare has served as an adviser to the Office of the Commonwealth Treasurer and has worked as a consultant with CEOs around Australia in key industries including mining, manufacturing, banking and retail. Clare has a special interest in economics, Indigenous Australia and the welfare of children.
Clare was elected to Federal Parliament in 2013. She represents the electorate of Hotham in Melbourne's South East, which stretches from Oakleigh in the north to Springvale in the south and is home to over 130,000 people. Hotham is one of the most diverse electorates in Australia, with 35% of residents born overseas.
Clare was appointed to the Shadow Ministry as the Shadow Minister for Justice in 2016 and was also appointed Shadow Minister for Financial Services in 2018.
In July 2019, Clare was appointed the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work, and since February 2021 Clare was the Shadow Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services. In 2022, Clare was appointed the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security and became a Cabinet member. In 2024, she became Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness, and after the 2025 election she took on the Cities portfolio.