1.05pm - 2.30pm
Women leading communities
New Zealand and Australia have endured unprecedented events during the past 12 months. In this session we will hear about the learnings and successes, and the importance of collaborative leadership during a time of crisis.
Leading Senior Constable Maha Sukkar, Victoria Police
Leading Senior Constable Maha Sukkar is Multicultural Liaison Officer with Victoria Police, where she promotes cross-cultural understanding to better serve the needs of the Victorian community. In her 15 year career, Maha has taken a lead role in promoting social cohesion, breaking cross-cultural barriers, and encouraging diversity within the police. Her commitment and dedication is changing the way newly-arrived communities see the police and how police think about communities.
Karen Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, SOLGM
In the lead up to Aotearoa/New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown, a response unit was convened in partnership with SOLGM, central government, local government and civil defence representatives. The COVID-19 Local Government Response Unit provided critical support to councils to continue to function effectively during the crisis including ensuring they made necessary decisions and met their legislative and regulatory requirements to carry out essential services operations during the COVID-19 response period.