Catalyst Australia
Catalyst Australia Incorporated is a not for profit policy network established in 2007. We work closely with trade unions, non-Government organsiations and academics to promote social and economic equality and improved standards of corporate social responsibility.
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Management Committee 2023
The Catalyst Australia committee in 2023 was: John Abdullah (President), Dr Susan Carey (Vice President), Alison Roe (Treasurer), Dr Lindy Peters (Secretary), Dr Declan Gray, Edward Griffin, Dr Maryum Khan, Brett Shaw.[1]
Management Committee 2013
The Catalyst Australia Committee for 2013 consisted of: Dr Richard Archer (President), Susan Hopgood (Treasurer-Secretary), Alison Peters (Vice-President), John Sutton (resigned March 2013), Paul Bastian (resigned March 2013), Andrew Dettmer (from March 2013), David Carey (resigned November 2012), Lesley Gruit (November 2012 - May 2013), Maree O'Halloran, David McKnight, Chris Gambian, Louise Tarrant and Jo-anne Schofield (Executive Director).[2]
Management Committee 2011
Catalyst Australia's Management and Executive Committee provided ongoing advice and direction during 2011. Members are: Dr Richard Archer (President), Susan Hopgood (Vice President), John Sutton (Secretary-Treasurer) David Carey, Alison Peters, Dr Rae Cooper (to September), Paul Bastian, Chris Gambian, Louise Tarrant, Peter Murphy.[3]
Management Committee 2008
Catalyst Australia's Management and Executive Committee provided ongoing advice and direction during 2011. Members are: Dr Richard Archer (President), Susan Hopgood (Vice President), John Sutton (Secretary-Treasurer) David Carey, Dr Rae Cooper, Dr Lindy Edwards, Julius Roe, Dr Christopher Sheil, Louise Tarrant, Dr Shann Turnbull.[4]
Staff and consultants
Under the leadership of Executive Director Jo-anne Schofield, Catalyst retained the services of talented researchersMartijn Boersma and Jenni Downes. Martijn will continue in his part time role into 2014 maintaining his expert oversight of the CSR Dashboard with his academic role at the Centre for Corporate Governance at UTS. Jenni remains a valuable consultant to Catalyst who is able to assist on major projects and reports, particularly regarding community investment. She balances this role with her work at the Institute of Sustainable Futures at UTS.
Catherine Turner also continued in her role as Executive and Policy Adviser, managing the administration, finances, website, events and communications.
In 2013 Catalyst was fortunate to engage researchers Claire Parfitt and Gabrielle Lynch to produce our major report, What is Wealth For? Both bought practical campaigning experience and deep academic insights to that work.
We also continued our valuable association with Banarra Consulting, through the engagement of Jaana Quaintance-James to provide expert advice on the CSR Dashboard and to present an overview at our ‘Supply Chains 101’ Seminar.
Our work was further enhanced by our continued partnership with our design team at Boccalatte, while our regularly commissioned editor, Kathleen James added great value to our printed material.[5]
Catalyst Forum
On August 16 2010, Catalyst Australia and the Australia Institute sponsored a high-powered forum on corporate power, looking at the global financial, finance and mining capital in Austalia.
Jack Gray is a significant voice on global finance with UN credentials, and presently works at the University of Technology Sydney. He reviewed the global financial crash of 2008-09 and concluded that virtually nothing had been learnt from that crash. He presented figures to show that the global finance sector had expanded so much since 1970 that it represented today a 4.5 per cent tax on the rest of the economy.
Josh Fear, Deputy Director of the Australia Institute, spelt out the details on Australia's banking system - he called the session: 'Banks Behaving Badly'.
Maree O'Halloran, Director of the Welfare Rights Centre, reported that banks continue to send pre-approved credit cards to people relying on welfare benefits.
Christopher Zinn, Director Magazine, reported that very few people switch banks, despite the repeated urgings of Treasurers and Prime Ministers to 'use competition' to get a better deal.
In the next session, entitled 'Well Resourced', Tony Maher from the Mining & Energy Division of the CFMEU said that the mining companies were worse than the banks, and certainly bigger.
Dr Rae Cooper from Sydney University, John Sutton (CFMEU), and Rod Masson of the Finance Sector Union presented detailed critiques of corporate conduct for women at work, on health and safety in John Holland Construction, and on employment conditions in the finance sector.
The final session was on 'the hand that feeds - corporate donations and political parties'.
Prof Keith Ewing of Kings College London related lessons from the British elections, noting that big political donations are a glob problem. These corporate donations mean that governments a sensitive to corporate criticism, not public criticism, they promo 'free markets' and 'free choice' in lifestyles, and allow media promote their own interests as the public interest.
He noted that Australia was very lightly regulated on politic donations, and they only get reported after the elections is over. He called for: A ban on all foreign donations
Lee Rhiannon, then a Greens Senate candidate, drew attention the Canadian model, and criticised the failure of both Labor a Liberal Governments, state and federal, to implement restrictions on political donations, after repeated promises to do so.
Louise Tarrant, National Secretary of the Liquor Hospitality a Miscellaneous Union, argued that the political donations debate was a proxy for the struggle over corporate influence, which can only be countered by a citizen capacity for collective action, whe people overcome fear and fatalism, and engage their political w for the common good.
SEARCH Foundation is a member of Catalyst Australia.[6]