SA State Conference 2023

Sarah Ransom, General Manager, Australian Water Partnership

Sarah is a former Australian diplomat with a background in international development with DFAT, AusAID, the Asian Development Bank and in the UN system.  As General Manger of the Australian Water Partnership, Sarah leads a multidisciplinary team managing two DFAT grants focussed on supporting climate resilient sustainable water resource management across the Indo-Pacific region.  She engages with AWP’s network of partners across Australia, the region and the globe to support Australia’s role in the critical issues of water for development. 

Sarah has a deep connection with Asia, having had postings in Laos and Vietnam and lived in China and Taiwan as a Mandarin-language student.  Her technical background is in managing programs on governance, gender and community and civil society engagement, and she has advised government on peacebuilding, human rights and development policy. Sarah is a lawyer by training but a partnership and collaboration specialist by vocation. Sarah balances her role with AWP with raising her two young sons, and loves bushwalking near her home on beautiful Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, Australia.

Richard Beasley, South Australian Murray River Commissioner
Richard Beasley SC was called to the NSW Bar in 1997, and appointed silk in 2011. In 2018-19, Richard was Senior Counsel Assisting the Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission, and in 2020 he was Senior Counsel Assisting the Commission of Inquiry into the Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess. He is also the author of several novels, including Hell Has Harbour Views which was adapted as a telemovie for ABC TV in 2005, as well as Me and Rory Macbeath (Hachette), and two legal thrillers: Cyanide Games and The Burden of Lies (Simon & Schuster and Audible). 

Following his experiences at the Royal Commission, in 2021 Richard wrote “Dead in the Water”, about the environmental catastrophe occurring in the Murray Darling (Allen & Unwin). In August 2022 he was appointed Commissioner for Murray River (SA) by the South Australian Government. 

Sam Crafter, Chief Executive, Office of Hydrogen Power SA
Sam Crafter’s extensive career, with a focus on the energy and resources industries has spanned project implementation, commercial advisory, public affairs, communications and reputation management in both the public and private sector, over more than 20 years. In early 2022, Sam was appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Office of Hydrogen Power SA to assemble and lead a high performing team to procure, build and operate a Hydrogen Power Plant at Whyalla, to be operational by 2025. Delivering the hydrogen fuelled power generation and associated production and storage facilities in the Upper Spencer Gulf Region, is the objective of the office. Immediately prior to his appointment Sam was a Director at Woods Street Partners, a strategic commercial and project delivery advisory business which he co-founded, working with clients across the energy and resources sector, as well as other industries. 

During his previous state government appointment, as Executive Director, Energy Implementation, Sam led a high performing team that managed the design and implementation of key South Australian Government energy initiatives, including the world’s largest battery (Hornsdale Power Reserve), the $100m Home Battery Scheme, the $50m Grid Scale Storage Fund and South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant using public housing stock. Sam also spent seven years with Santos Ltd in various senior roles in public affairs, policy, community and government relations in Adelaide, Brisbane and Gunnedah, NSW (New South Wales). Prior to this Sam spent eight years working in State and Federal Government.

Jeremy Conway, CEO, Infrastructure SA

As Chief Executive of Infrastructure SA, Jeremy has led development of the State’s first 20-year infrastructure strategy and is responsible for providing independent advice to the South Australian Government on infrastructure projects and prioritisation. His team has a strong focus on evidence-based decision-making and seeks to improve the maturity of infrastructure planning and investment across government. Infrastructure SA also aims to identify projects that deliver benefits for all South Australians by adopting a state-wide cross-sectoral lens. This is aided by Jeremy’s deep experience in both the public and private sectors. He has held senior roles at the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and Department for the Premier and Cabinet; meanwhile his vast commercial and business experience comes from having worked in property development at Places Victoria for three years and in private equity CVC Capital Partners in London for nine years.