Speakers

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Abe Ropitini is a Māori and Aboriginal man of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Maniapoto iwi (Aotearoa) and Trawlwoolway (Northeastern Tasmania) descent. After growing up in Aotearoa, he has spent his adult life in Australia working across health, social services, policy, and research. He is the Executive Director of Population Health at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), the peak representative body for Aboriginal health and wellbeing in Victoria.

Abe is a Senior Fellow in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health at the University of Melbourne and is a PhD candidate in medical anthropology at La Trobe University. His research is focused on correcting deficit discourses by focusing on how Aboriginal families maintain their oral histories through the recollection of treasured memories of happiness and belonging.

Kim Whiteley is an Aboriginal woman with traditional links to the Warramunga people of the Bogan River area and Wellington (Binjain country) in central-west NSW, Wiradjuri nation.

With more than 40 years’ leadership across Education, Health, Justice, and Aboriginal Land Rights — grounded in Policy, Cultural Safety, and improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — Kim has built a respected national profile as a reform leader and advocate for culturally safe systems change. As CEO of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing and Aged Care Council (NATSIAACC), she works to ensure Elders can age with dignity, respect, and self-determination in community-led services.

 Associate Professor Rait is a specialist Ophthalmologist and Vice President of the Australian Medical Association. He is the immediate past Chairman of the AMA Federal Council, having concurrently served as the President of AMA Victoria from 2018 to 2021, and been a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors since 2008. Julian has also enjoyed leadership positions within other medical organisations, including being President of the medical indemnity insurer MDA National for six years and serving as a Federal Councillor of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists for seven years. He was granted honorary life membership of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists in 2022 and on Australia Day 2018 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to Ophthalmology and to the development of overseas aid."