Some more Past Speakers & Special Guests
1300 239 209
Level 1/7 Quadrant Mall 7250
© 2023 Website Developed by Your Marketing Nerd
Multi award-winning photographer Ken Duncan, is one of Australia’s most gifted and prolific landscape photographers.
Since establishing his own publishing company in 1992, Duncan has published in excess of 50 photographic books, the majority of which still reprint year after year.
In 2009 he was awarded a Medal Of The Order Of Australia (OAM) by the Federal Government for his services to landscape photography, publishing and the arts. That same year, he received the photography industry’s highest honours – the Photo Imaging Council of Australia’s Gold Tripod award. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography. In addition to his magnificent exhibition in QVMAG, Ken will be speaking and showing high resolution panographic images on his huge screen at each of the major LECF events and judging a competition for Tasmanian photographers of all ages.
Tim McCormack is a Professor of Law at the Melbourne Law School and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Tasmania Law School. He is the Special Adviser on International Humanitarian Law to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Law of Armed Conflict expert adviser to the ADF Director of Military Prosecutions in Canberra and a Director of World Vision Australia.
Tim has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to take up the position of Charles H Stockton Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the US Naval War College in Newport (July 2015-June 2016). He has also been appointed Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School to teach International Criminal Law in the Winter Term (January 2016).
Tim was the Foundation Australian Red Cross Professor of International Humanitarian Law (1996-2010) at the Melbourne Law School and also the Foundation Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law (2001-2010) – a collaborative initiative (established 2001) between the Melbourne Law School and The Australian Defence Force Legal Service.
Tim has developed an international reputation for his expertise in International Humanitarian Law and in International Criminal Law. From 2011-13 he served as one of two international observers for Phase 2 of the Turkel Commission of Enquiry into Israel’s Processes for Investigation of War Crimes in Jerusalem; from 2003-2007 he provided expert Law of War advice to Major Dan Mori for the defence of David Hicks before the US Military Commission in Guantanamo Bay; and from 2002-2006 he was the special adviser on international law issues to the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yuigoslavia for the trial of Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague.
Tim was born in Launceston, grew up in Burnie and graduated with his LLB (hons) from University of Tasmania’s Law School in Hobart.
Fred Watson says he spent so many years working in large telescope domes that he has started to look like one. He is now the Head of Lighting and Environment working closely with the community to preserve the dark skies of Coonabarabran. Previously, Fred was the Astronomer in Charge of the Australian Astronomical Observatory at Coonabarabran, where his main scientific interest was gathering information on very large numbers of stars and galaxies. He is also an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Southern Queensland.
Fred is well-known for his astronomy slots on ABC radio, and his books including “Stargazer – the Life and Times of the Telescope”, “Why is Uranus Upside Down? and Other Questions About the Universe”, (which won the 2008 Queensland Premier’s Literary Prize for Science Writing) and the ABC’s blockbuster, “Universe”, for which he was chief consultant.
In January 2013, launched his most recent “Star-Craving Mad, Tales from a Travelling Astronomer” featuring many highlights from his recent journeys around the world, exploring points of astronomical interest, and in 2014, he launched a series of light-hearted science lectures called Fred Watson Presents.
In 2003, Fred received the David Allen Prize for communicating astronomy to the public, and in 2006 was the winner of the Australian Government Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science. In January 2010, Fred was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to astronomy, particularly the promotion and popularisation of space science through public outreach.
Fred has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won’t be his fault…
Commissioner Andrew Scipione joined NSW Police in 1980 following a period of employment with the Australian Customs Service. During his time with the NSW Police Force, he has held a range of positions and appointments. Following experience in general and traffic duties he worked as a detective in the CIB and Bankstown Detectives. He was subsequently seconded to the National Crime Authority in 1985. In 1992 he was appointed to the rank of Detective Inspector at the Joint Technical Services Group and in 1995 was promoted to the rank of Detective Superintendent (Commander) at the Special Technical Investigation Branch (formerly JTSG). During the period 1992 to 1998, he was also a Senior NSW Police Counter Terrorist Advisor to SAC-PAV. In 1998 he was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff to the NSW Police Commissioner and in 2001 was appointed as the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Special Crime & Internal Affairs. He was appointed as Deputy Commissioner in February 2002 and as Commissioner of Police on 1 September 2007.
Commissioner Scipione is a recipient of the Australian Police Medal and the National Medal. In June 2016 he was named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and received the Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
He holds a Masters Degree in Management (Macquarie University) a Graduate Diploma in Police Management (Macquarie University) and a Graduate Certificate in Security Management (Edith Cowan University). He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute. In April 2013 Commissioner Scipione was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University and he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Sydney’s School of Social Sciences and Psychology.
Commissioner Scipione is married to Joy and they have three children.
Rosalie is an accredited facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal, a criminologist, and a clinical speech pathologist with more than 30 years’ experience. In 2013 Rosalie founded a charity, Chatter Matters Tasmania, to bring literacy and parent-child attachment programs to Tasmania’s Risdon Prison. She was awarded 2017 Tasmanian Australian of the Year for the work she began at the prison. She is grateful for the platform this recognition has afforded for the promotion of kind communication in approaching issues of social justice. And she is ever-grateful to all family, friends and colleagues. Nothing that is worth doing is ever done alone.
Curt Anderson has been making music since he could first reach the piano keys. Fast forward a couple decades and his songs can be heard on the radio on every continent, and also heard daily on in-store radio at over 32,000 locations.
His debut singles “Keep it Beating” and “Every Moment” quickly gained attention on radio around the world, reaching the Top 5 on Christian radio charts in multiple countries, and going on to spend nearly forty weeks in the Top 30 becoming two of the most played songs on international Christian radio for 2016.
Whether he’s playing to a crowd of thousands, hundreds, or less than a dozen, what matters most to Curt is the impact he can have with an audience. He strives to make a personal connection with every crowd. “I’m passionate about music, but I’m more passionate about people. What I do on stage means very little if I don’t invest my time off-stage hanging out and talking with people.” That connection continues long after the show, through social media. “It’s not simply about amassing followers; it’s about building community with those people; showing them they matter.”
Max Ramsey, Senior Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Wisconsin, said it best: “Curt lives this faith and lives it in front of impressionable people who are starving for a faith worthy of believing in. He humbly points to Christ and not himself. He is authentic and transparent. And he really, truly cares about people.”
Coming from a small Michigan town, it’s that humbleness and down-to-earth mentality that remains the core of Nashville, Tennessee-based Curt Anderson’s music.
We are delighted to have Curt share his music with us at Alive in the Park on Easter Saturday!
Richard (Rich) Martin has a background in small business, training and mentoring. He is a Bible teacher, an accredited facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal and has particular interests in mindful personal-development for men and others who have experienced disadvantage and loss. He works in his own businesses, which include property, storage and IT support, and volunteers other time in a wide range of local community-development projects.
Rev Melissa Lipsett is ordained in the Uniting Church and has spent the last 20 years helping to build a large evangelical church on the Gold Coast. If that wasn’t adventure enough, she is now serving with Bible Society Australia in a full time capacity as Group Chief Operating Officer after serving on the board for five years. Melissa is passionate about mission – simply giving people the opportunity to discover the God who loves them desperately!
Melissa is married to Peter and they have two young adult children. She loves cooking big family meals (for family and friends) and hanging out with those she loves. She also loves to travel – particularly to those mission partners and projects she’s been involved with over many years.
Karl Faase is a well known Australian Christian communicator, media presenter, leader and social commentator. He is the CEO of Olive Tree Media, the organisation through which he produces programs of excellence for Christian media and local church use internationally. Karl is in demand across Australia as a speaker, with a special interest in encouragement & motivation, leadership, ministry development and communicating to those exploring faith. He is passionate about reclaiming the Christian Gospel as word as well as deed.
With over 20 years of involvement in media, Karl is one of Australia’s most experienced Christian radio and television presenters, with his programs broadcast and distributed in the USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand. In 2013, Karl & Olive Tree media, released the award winning series, Towards Belief, a 10-part documentary-style DVD/TV series where Karl interviews over 30 international speakers and academics on the belief blockers to faith in western countries.
In 2016 Olive Tree Media will be releasing their new series, Jesus the Game Changer, which Karl hosts. This series looks at how Jesus’ life and teaching changed the world and why it matters. The series has the same high production value as Towards Belief and was filmed in USA, UK, Singapore, India and Australia. It will be released in the second half of 2016 across the globe.
Karl’s contemporary and thought-provoking one minute radio spots are called The Daily Nudge, broadcast around Australia and across the world. The Daily Nudge is one of Australia’s best-known and most widely used spots on Christian radio.
Karl is also regularly called upon as a Christian spokesman and commentator on a variety of social issues.
Started at Little Athletics when I was 7 years old and started training
for high jump when I was 9 years old with a local high jump coach. My
international sporting bio is:
2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival Champion
2014 World Junior (U20) Championships Representative
2015 World University Games Representative
2017 World University Games Representative
2017 World Championships Representative
2018 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist
2018 IAAF Continental Cup Representative
I grew up in a Catholic family, going to church regularly. The first time
I came into full realisation of the gospel and the reality of God was when
I was entering my Christian school in Year 6. Always having been bullied
and singled out for my height, I was concerned at what would happen with
me starting a new school in my last year of primary school. Yet when I
walked in I was immediately met with this overwhelming, non-judging love
from each of the students and teachers, it was a love that left me
questioning/envious of how people showed that sort of love. They all said
they love because Jesus loved them, it was simple, yet changed my entire
life.
I gave my life to Jesus back then and got involved in different
youth groups/camps throughout my schooling. There were regular bible
studies, chapels and opportunities within my school to grow faith. On
Friday nights I would attend youth groups from all different denominations
with my fiends, and amongst all I had seen what was to offer I found
myself at a Pentecostal one where I finally felt at home. So when I left
school I was prompted by the Spirit to also leave the Catholic church
where I was on the worship team for 6 years and join my local church at
Hope Church Central Coast.
I got connected in to the Young Adults programs, a volunteer in sharing the
gospel to local schools and became a regular in the church. In leaving school
I joined the Evangelical Union at Sydney University, where I got trained in
leading Bible Studies and openly sharing my sport/faith journey to large groups
of people. In 2017 I began a Christian athlete ministry called Everlasting Crowns
with a coupleof friends who were also international athletes and wanted to serve God
through sport. This ministry saw athletes connecting to local sports
chaplains, so wherever in the world they would be competing they could
have access to Skype bible studies, encouragement, another chaplain and a
local church – so that travelling for sport wouldn¹t be a barrier in
growing faith. This ministry organised meetings at the highest
international sporting competitions and created incredible fellowship
within a high pressure environment.
Through my sporting chaplain I was given the opportunity to work closely to
the Bible Society Australia in writing daily devotionals, attend Hillsong
conferences internationally and speak at national Chaplaincy events.
In 2018 I was able to share testimonies and sermons throughout churches
in my community, from an opening of my sporting success. In being involved
in outreach movements with young people across Australia I also became an
ambassador for Youth for Christ Australia, with a mandate to set young people
free by the power of the gospel and to see unity of the churches in my home of the Central
Coast.
