SENATOR THE HON TIM AYRES | EXCLUSIVE BREAKFAST

Tim Ayres is the Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing in the Albanese Labor Government.

He was elected as a Senator for New South Wales in the 2019 election. During the 46th Parliament, he was Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration and Member of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Standing Committee. He led the work of several Select Inquiries including a Senate report on the capability of the Australian Public Service.

He was appointed as Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing in June 2022, after the election of the Labor Government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Before entering Parliament, Tim spent twenty-four years in the trade union movement, representing the interests of workers across a variety of sectors including manufacturing, defence, food processing, aviation and metal industries.

He held several elected leadership roles in the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.

He has been a long-standing member of the Australian Labor Party's National Executive.

Senator Ayres grew up on his family's beef cattle farm on the north coast of NSW and completed high school in Glen Innes. He studied industrial relations at the University of Sydney and lives in Sydney.

Kate Carnell is the first female Chair of the Australian Made Campaign. She has extensive governance and leadership experience across politics, health, business and not-for-profit sectors.

Ms Carnell has also served as ACT Chief Minister and Health Minister, is a former CEO of the Australian General Practice Network, Beyond Blue and the Australian Food and Grocery Council. Ms Carnell is also a current Board member of Beyond Blue and fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was the inaugural Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, former CEO of Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) and originally trained as a pharmacist.

Ian joined UGL in 2017 to establish and grow the transport operations business. He was appointed Executive General Manager for the transport division in 2022 and is responsible for all operational, maintenance and manufacturing activities that UGL perform in the transport sector.

Ian’s career began in the United Kingdom before moving to Australia. He has over 25 years of leadership experience in the delivery of both economic and social infrastructure, and the accompanying operations and maintenance contracts.

Amelia Taylor is the Head of Product and Marketing at Wynstan Blinds, driving brand presence and innovation.

Amelia has 15+ years’ experience in marketing and product development for high-value consumer goods. She has a Bachelor's in Marketing and PR from UTS, and thrives on understanding consumer behaviour and market trends.

Amelia’s journey includes pivotal roles at industry giants like Hunter Douglas, Somfy and Valspar (now Sherwin-Williams), where she mastered product management and retail strategies, leveraging insights for impactful initiatives.

Amelia also advocates for industry growth as a Board Director for the Blind Manufacturers Association of Australia.