Good Lord

Brian Shanahan was elected to Melbourne City Council in 2004 and 2008. He has been chair of the Melbourne City Council Finance and Governance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee since 2004. Before that, he was a councillor and mayor of the City of Essendon.

Brian received an Order of Australia Medal in 2011 for ‘services to local government’. He was also awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian government in 2001, and an award for ‘excellence in multicultural affairs’ by the Victorian government in 2004.

He has worked in senior positions with the Victorian Ombudsman, Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Premier’s Department and the Victorian Health Department.

Since early retirement from the public service in 2001, Brian has been a director of Brimar Consulting, specialising in immigration and community relations matters.

Brian has lived in North Melbourne for the last ten years.

David Nolte was is a former Melbourne City Councillor (1988-93) and Chair of City Finance (1991-93). He has owned and operated his own pharmacy in Carlton North for 35 years, and is standing for Lord Mayor in Melbourne’s 2012 council elections.

A human rights advocate, David controversially led Melbourne to be the world’s first city to welcome Nelson Mandela on his release and acknowledge the Dalai Lama. David also negotiated with Vladimir Putin to deliver humanitarian aid to St Petersburg in 1991. A philanthropist, David supports Aboriginal art and artists and champions formal recognition and celebration of our Aboriginal history.

He served 20 years as a Councillor to the Victorian Pharmacy Guild and 10 years as a National Councillor to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. He is an active advocate for improved mental health services and better support for the homeless and people with addictions.

Dr Alison Parkes has over 30 years experience in financial management and is an internationally recognised consultant, author, educator and researcher based at the University of Melbourne. She lives with her husband and two children in North Melbourne. She is standing as Greens candidate for Lord Mayor in Melbourne’s 2012 council elections.

Gary Morgan and his family are long-term East Melbourne residents. He has lived and worked in Melbourne for over 50 years. He is executive chairman of Roy Morgan Research and the proprietor of well-known Collins Street restaurant Morgans at 401.

Gary Morgan was a co-founder of the Committee for Melbourne. He has a keen interest in Melbourne heritage, planning issues, parks and growing Melbourne as Australia’s major business centre.

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...

Previously deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne (2004–2008) with former Lord Mayor John So, Gary Singer is currently director and chief executive officer of Sotheby’s Australia.

Highly experienced in law, Gary has worked as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria since 1980 and is well known for his public advocacy and legal defence on civil liberties. To expand his business interest, between 2000 and 2007 Gary was joint proprietor with Dur-é Dara of EQ Cafe and Bar.

With a deep passion for the arts, Gary has a strong history of supporting various arts-based groups. This includes directorship of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2004–2008), and being a foundation member of the National Gallery of Victoria and benefactor of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne.

He is also a patron of The Production Company, Opera Australia, Bangara Dance, the Australian Ballet and a former board member of aged care provider Mitchell House. Mr Singer is also a major benefactor of Joy FM (Australia’s only Gay and Lesbian Radio Station).

Gary has a deep love for and a committed vision for Melbourne, and is a long-term resident of South Yarra. He is currently in the process of relocating Sotheby’s Australia to the Melbourne CBD.

Joseph Toscano has been a medical practitioner for 37 years, with a special interest in spinal cord paralysis. He is a broadcaster on community radio and a spokesperson for the Anarchist Media Institute.

Dr Ahmed is a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne and chief editor of focus e-magazine. He is a board member of the international research group on wood protection, and AMES, and chairperson of the African Think Tank. He is well known in Melbourne through his commitment to numerous community and business issues and was the Victorian Australian of the Year 2009.

As the founder of the African Think Tank, he advises businesses, foreign governments, and all levels of Australian government on community issues.

Dr Ahmed is motivated by five core principles: social justice, sustainable development, Aboriginal reconciliation, building stronger and dynamic communities, and applying democracy in action. His current leadership role will explore new ways of engaging Melbourne residents and businesses in decision-making.

Dr Ahmed’s leadership priority is to make Melbourne’s diverse community a strong, dynamic showcase of multiculturalism in Australia and around the world, and a society that values its heritage while embracing multiculturalism, tolerance, respect and care for each other. The challenges will be faced with happiness, resident’s consultation, and team work.

His values come from his own life experience, including his memories of being a refugee as a teenager: discriminated against, entrenched in poverty and treated as enemy (before he knew what an enemy meant). This stands in sharp contrast to the dignity and love that he received from his family and from his adopted country, Australia.