Esther Anatolitis, Co-Chair

Editor of Meanjin Esther Anatolitis is one of Australia’s leading advocates for the arts and active civic engagement. She is a member of the National Gallery of Australia Governing Council, holds an honorary associate professorship at RMIT School of Art, and heads strategic consultancy Test Pattern – whose values are art, tenacity and democracy.

Across twenty years Esther has led creative and media organisations and served many boards and policy committees as a bipartisan appointee. While leading regional and national peak bodies, Esther designed and presented Australia’s first advocacy training programs for the arts and cultural sector, supporting thousands of members in first-time and ongoing civic participation. Her writing has long focused on the foundations of Australian democracy and the need for an Australian head of state, and she’s a frequent commentator on national politics and culture.

Esther’s commitment to an Australian republic dates back to the 1999 referendum where her grassroots campaign work included moderating a raucous artists’ debate at Parramatta Rd’s long-lost Side On jazz bar. More recently she’s been a member of the Australian Republic Movement’s Victorian Branch Council. Esther’s book Place, Practice, Politics was published in 2022, and her edited collection Essays that Changed Australia: Meanjin 1940 to today is due out in November.

Nathan Hansford, Co-Chair

Nathan is a management consultant with experience advising governments and corporates across Australia, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the Pacific and Europe.

The experience of having faciliated republic movement supporter groups in Asia prompted Nathan to reconnect with the Australian Republic Movement at a state and national level when he relocated back to Australia.

“We are a multi-cultural country, with tens of thousands of years of Indigenous heritage and custodianship, where equality and independence are core to our sense of us, yet we are still represented by a foreign monarch from a foreign land. I want nothing more than for my Korean-Australian daughters to be able to aspire to the highest representative position in Australia, our Head of State.”

“If you want to be involved in the ACT please find me on the Australian Republic Supporters Facebook Group and connect so we can work together to make an Australian Head of State a reality!”

Adam Spencer, Vice Chair

Breakfast radio host, science communicator, television comedian, Australia’s best known mathematician, Adam has worn many hats.

But at his heart, he believes in the power of thought and conversation. As such he strongly believes that if we really think about it, and talk about it, Australia will want to take the step of appointing its own, home grown, Head of State.

Isaac McSwan, Treasurer & Secretary, Queensland Convenor

Isaac McSwan is a partner of one of Brisbane's fastest growing accounting firms, and director of a large accounting offshoring entity based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Isaac brings a vast range of financial experience from his dealing within the overseas offshoring industry as well as within the work he does advising businesses within Australia.

Isaac has always been passionate about an Australian republic, believing Australia is already well overdue to step forward and lead with its own Head of State.

Peter Botsman, General Executive Member

Peter Botsman has been fortunate to work in varied positions: think tank head: Evatt Foundation, Brisbane Institute, Whitlam Institute, Professor of Public Health (UWS), Professor of Public Policy (UQld), Honorary Fellow, University of Melbourne 2000 to date. He is also a small but successful farmer. He has advocated for, and enjoys being around young people, and has worked as a secondary teacher in regional and remote communities focused particularly on Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people.

Michael Cooney, General Executive Member

Michael has been a member of the Australian Republic Movement since he was 15 years old, as someone born after the referendum, he will bring a passionate young voice to engage the critical demographic of young people who missed the last debate for a republic.

Stephen Walters, General Executive Member

Stephen Walters is Chief Economist for the Business Council of Australia (BCA), based in Sydney. He previously was Chief economist for NSW, based in NSW Treasury. Before joining Treasury, Stephen was Chief Economist with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and, for 14 years, was Chief Economist for investment bank J.P.Morgan.

Stephen previously was Senior Economist with Access Economics in Melbourne and International Economist with Norwich Union and Alliance Capital in the United Kingdom. He also spent seven years as an Economist with the Treasury in Perth. Stephen holds a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Western Australia and a Master's degree in applied finance from the University of Melbourne.

He also has qualifications in journalism and graduated from the AICD's Company Directors Course in 2017. Stephen has published three books, with a fourth to be published soon. Stephen is a former chair of the Executive Committee of the Australian Business Economists (ABE) and is a member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC).