The Sixth National Public Affairs Convention

“The Art of Communication”

Tuesday 6 September

5.45pm – Registration opens

6.00pm – Welcome drinks

6.15pm – Guest speaker
Bernard Lagan, political journalist and Mark Latham biographer, Loner: Inside a Labor Tragedy

Wednesday 7 September

8.15am – Registration continues

8.50am – Welcome from the Chair
Don Cumming, ACT branch president, The Alliance

9.00am – Panel Session: The Next Big Thing: New Forms of Communication
How word of mouth marketing, blogging and new technologies can change the way you communicate.
Bob Crawshaw, managing director, Maine Street Marketing
Trevor Cook, director, Jackson Wells Morris

10.15am – Morning Tea Break

10.45am – Workshops
Group 1: Presentation Skills
- Patrick Kennedy, director, Kennedy Communications

Group 2: Measuring Results and Evaluation
- Speaker TBA

Group 3: Make or Break? The First 24 Hours of Crisis Media Management
- Sam Elam, director, Media Manoeuvres

12.15pm – Lunch Break

1.15pm – Keynote Address: The Future of Public Affairs
Geoff Allen, chairman, The Centre for Corporate Public Affairs & director, Allen Consulting Group

2.15pm – Workshop: Stretching Your Media Budget
Stella Petschack, client relations manager, Media Monitors

3.15pm – Afternoon Tea Break

3.30pm – Panel Session: Stakeholder Management: Internal and External Communications
Managing relationships through effective communication.
Leon Beswick, Director & Sarah Cruickshank, Senior Account Manager, Parker and Partners
Jacqui Curtis, director, strategic capability development, Australian Public Service Commission
Patrick Newton, director, communications and research, Government Communications Unit, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

5.00pm – Close

7.30pm – Convention Dinner
Laurie Oakes, National Nine News political correspondent

Thursday 8 September

9.00am – Panel Session: Strategic Communications
Practical techniques to maximise your communication policies.
Brian Humphreys, managing director, Humphreys Communication Group
John Hewitt, communications director, AusAccess
Douglas Wright, chairman and managing director, Wrights Public Relations

10.15am – Morning Tea Break

10.45am – Panel Session: Managing the moment
What to do when the unexpected happens: dealing with the media and preparing for the worst.
Neil Smail, director - national affairs, National Capital Communications
Robert Olney, manager, marketing and communications, Australian Federal Police

12.00pm – Lunch Break

1.00pm – Keynote Address: View From the Top: The Importance of Public Affairs from a Management Perspective
Stevie Clayton, CEO, AIDS Council of New South Wales

2.00pm – Panel Session: Managing Media Relations
The inside track on how the news media works and getting your story on the news agenda.
Lyndal Curtis, news editor ACT, radio and television news and current affairs, ABC
Sid Marris, Canberra bureau chief, The Austalian

3.00pm – Convention close

Click here to go to our secure online registration page