Keynote Speakers
We're delighted to welcome our Keynote Speakers to our Inaugural Delegates are Diamonds Conference. You will be hearing from union leaders and IEUA WA Branch organisers, trainers and delegates talking about issues of interest to members.
Angela Briant
General Secretary
IEUA WA Branch
All Angela’s working life, she has been a union member - from her student days working at Coles to her first teaching position at Kingston Primary School in Tasmania; she signed up as an AEU member on her first day.
Angela has worked in government schools, at a Catholic primary, a Salesian K10 school and a Christian Brothers secondary school.
Angela has been an IEU member, delegate, executive member and then staff member, coming in as an Industrial advocate then progressing to become General Secretary of the IEU in Tasmania, Assistant Secretary (Tasmania) IEU Vic/Tas and since May 2015 General Secretary IEUA WA Branch.
Chris Watt
Federal Secretary
Independent Education Union
Chris has been the Federal Secretary of the IEU since 2008. Prior to becoming secretary, he was an organiser and research officer at the IEU NSW/ACT branch for ten years.
Chris was a teacher for over 14 years in the Tamworth and Sydney school districts before getting involved in the union movement.
At this conference, he will be sharing the IEU's national strategy and giving some insight into the future of the IEU at a federal level.
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IEU website: www.ieu.org.au
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Meredith Hammat
Secretary, UnionsWA
Meredith Hammat is Secretary of UnionsWA. She holds a BA and MA(Industrial Relations) from UWA. She has over 20 years’ experience in the trade union movement working as an Organiser and Assistant Secretary with the Australian Services Union. She served as President of UnionsWA ( 2008-12), as Secretary since October 2012 and is a member of the ACTU Executive.
UnionsWA is the state's peak union body representing over 30 affiliated unions and their members. UnionsWA is both the supreme governing body of the trade union movement in Western Australia and the Western Australian Branch of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
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UnionsWA website: www.unionswa.com.au
Steve McCartney
Branch Secretary
AMWU
Steve McCartney is the WA State Secretary of the AMWU and President of UnionsWA. A Mechanical Fitter by trade, Steve was an activist and delegate of the AMWU on site before he became an organiser in 2001. Steve was elected by the members as AMWU State President in 2007 and then in 2008 became State Secretary.
Steve has always been passionate about the union movement and representing and providing a voice for those who need it, whether in the workplace or in the community. Since being elected he has upheld a commitment to the aims of the branch which are a forward thinking, active industrial plan, a progressive political agenda, and a strong presence in the community.
AMWU website: www.amwu.org.au
Hon Samantha Rowe MLC
Member for East Metropolitan Region
The Hon Samantha Rowe MLC was elected to the Western Australian State Parliament in March 2013 as one of three Labor Members for the East Metropolitan Region. Samantha was appointed to the position of Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council in the thirty-ninth Parliament. She is the youngest Labor woman to hold this position and is Vice President of the State Parliamentary Labor Party. She is also a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs and was a member of the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review.
At the election of the Labor Government in March 2017, Samantha was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Training.
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More information on Samantha Rowe