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Boards and ‘The Voice’
Ian Hamm on boardroom governance
Hosted by:
Tony Nippard
May 11, 2023 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
$80.00 – $95Australians will soon have their say in a referendum on whether to update the Constitution to include an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. The referendum is part of the Government’s commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
As the focus grows, the agenda in boardrooms and c-suites includes thoughtful consideration of their position and the level of organisational support. With this comes an assessment of the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities by Chairs, Directors and CEOs.
A Yorta Yorta man, Ian Hamm has over 30 years extensive government and community sector experience, particularly at executive and governance levels.
“I’m idealistic, of course I want a national treaty” he said recently. (The Drum, 1 February 2023) But he’s also a pragmatist. “Over 35 years of doing this, it teaches me and tells me you need to take it as a step at a time. You may want to get to the end much quicker, but the practical circumstance is that you have to take it a bit at a time to get everyone to come with you.”
It is a privilege to have Ian Hamm guide this conversation for Melbourne Forum.
Ian has overseen major policy and strategic reforms for government and community organisations. He works with people from a vast array of backgrounds, managing complex and sensitive relationships to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Ian was CEO of a major Aboriginal community organisation from January to August 2018.
He chairs and is a member of a number of boards, including the Indigenous Land & Sea Corporation, the Community Broadcast Foundation, Connecting Home, the Koorie Heritage Trust, Yarra Valley Water, Holmesglen TAFE and the Australian Red Cross. He is a sitting Panel Member of Planning Panels Victoria and the Australia Financial Complaints Authority. He also sits on a number of advisory boards including Equity Trustees, Australian Unity, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is chair of Swinburne University’s Indigenous Governance Committee.
Ian is also devoting himself to improving the representation of Aboriginal people on boards and other high-level governance, through strategic action, advocacy and mentoring.
Engaging in this important discussion will ensure we are better informed and in a stronger position to influence.
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