Costello to Lead Civil Society Group
13 June 2013 at 9:30 am
The Federal Government has announced that Not for Profit leader Reverend Tim Costello AO will chair the Australian Civil Society 20 (C20) Steering Group to ensure G20 deliberations in Australia next year are fully informed by the expertise and knowledge of civil society.
The Australian C20 is expected to help the G20 by gathering the views of civil society from across the globe and convening a C20 summit to develop recommendations for G20 leaders' consideration.
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Costello is the current CEO of World Vision, a spokesperson for the Interchurch Gambling Taskforce, a member of the National Advisory Body on Gambling and a member of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation.
The Group will also include 13 Australians who are leaders in the community sector:
- Mr Joseph Assaf AM – Ethnic Business Awards
- Ms Jody Broun – National Congress of Australia's First Peoples
- Reverend Tara Curlewis – National Council of Churches in Australia
- Dr Cassandra Goldie – Australian Council of Social Service
- Ms Julie McKay – UN Women Australia
- Professor Rob Moodie – Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
- Mr Dermot O'Gorman – World Wide Fund for Nature Australia
- Mr Marc Purcell – Australian Council for International Development
- Mr Bill Scales AO – Swinburne University of Technology
- Ms Sally Sinclair – National Employment Services Association
- Judge Rauf Soulio – Australian Multicultural Council
- Dr Helen Szoke – Oxfam Australia
- Mr Greg Thompson – Transparency International Australia
"This year, Rev Costello and the C20 Steering Group will be engaging with Australian civil society, working closely with their counterparts in the C20 during Russia's presidency, and developing a process that will facilitate effective and productive engagement between civil society and G20 leaders in 2014," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
"The C20 must be civil society-owned and civil society-led. While the Government will work closely with the C20 Steering Group on matters of process, the C20's input to G20 deliberations will be independent.
"The C20 is one of a number of groups that will ensure that business, labour, civil society, youth and think tanks can contribute effectively to Australia's G20 presidency.”
