Lou Clayton

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Lou is on the Local Groups Subcommittee and an active member of the ABCF Northern Group. She has been a member of ABC Friends since the 1980s, having been introduced by the late June Factor.

Lou worked as a lawyer in both the private and public spheres for over forty years. In private practice, her work covered a wide range of areas, from family law, property, workers compensation, and more recently, wills and estates.Lou’s roles in government included working on legislative programs whilst in the Departments of Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning and Transport. She was involved in a number of major government initiatives including the Victorian council amalgamations and the redesign of the Victorian Workers Compensation scheme.

Lou is a long standing member of Liberty Victoria (and former committee member) and a member of the Melbourne Georgian Choir.


Bill Condon - Treasurer

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Bill is the Treasurer and on the Membership and Development Subcommittees.

Bill is a finance person with more than 50 years of experience in finance roles, starting with Ansett Airlines in 1968. He then spent 12 years with the Tax Office, 27 years with Shell and 15 years with a large national civil engineering company. After retiring as a CFO in 2007, he returned to work in 2008 to help a friend on a 3 month project which then turned into a permanent role. Finance roles which Bill has worked in include auditing, tax, financial management, treasury, IT implementation, company secretary, and Chief Financial Officer. Bill has also been a director of companies in Australia, Fiji, PNG, Hong Kong and China.


Philip Corser

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Phil is Co-Convenor of the Membership Subcommittee and coordinates the Speaker’s Panel.

When Philip retired from a distinguished career as a secondary school teacher, he followed up on a life-long interest in (and consumer of) ABC TV and radio by joining ABC Friends. He helped to establish the Inner West Group of ABC Friends, and has been active in organising ABC Friends stalls in the inner west of Melbourne, and in letter writing campaigns to MPs. He was an active participant in the ABC Friends campaigns for the Federal election in 2019 and 2022, and expects to be even more active in the next Federal election campaign.


Pamela Creed – President

Pam is the Vice President and Convenor of the Development Subcommittee, and a member of the National Board.

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Pam worked extensively in leadership roles in tertiary arts education and training. She established the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA), as a national centre for excellence in the performing arts, and was founding CEO/Director for 15 years. Prior to this, she was Head of Visual and Performing Arts at Swinburne University. Other positions have included interim Director-Academy of Design/LCI International, Creative Producer Circolombia for Carnival Australia, and Director of CityArts. Pam was a Ministerial appointment to the Theatre Board of the Australia Council, and served on both arts and vocational education advisory boards of the Victorian Government. NFP board experience includes the Next Wave, the Academy of Design, and the Boite (former Chair).


Michael Henry AM - Vice President

Michael is the President and a member of the National Board, and is a member of all subcommittees.

michael-profile.jpgMichael has been Managing Director of the Strategy Shop, a boutique management consultancy firm, for over 25 years. Other roles have included Chair of Oxfam Australia, Deputy Chair of Oxfam International, and President of the United Nations Association of Australia (Vic). Michael is also Treasurer of Friends of Suia Covalima, an East Timor support Group, and of the Pt Smythe Cooperative.


Peter Monie

Peter is the Immediate Past President of ABC Friends Vic, and is on the Groups and Membership Subcommittees.

Peter’s career started at the Federal Department of Labour and National Service, and the Federal Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, including a stint at the Department of Employment and Productivity in the UK. His final full-time post in the public service was as Director of training in the Ministry of Employment and Training in Victoria. Peter then took a part-time role directing a Training Research Program at the Office of Training and Further Education, while running a successful private company called Cottages and Castles, which let houses in Europe, which he sold in 2006. Peter has been involved with ABC Friends since 1996, and on the Vic Committee of Management since 1997. He has been a very active contributor throughout his tenure, and was Treasurer of ABC Friends Vic (and ABC Friends National) for some years.


Colin Neave AM

Colin is a member of the Development Subcommittee.

Colin_Neave_photo.jpgColin Neave is a lawyer who practised as such between 1967 and 1982 before becoming Secretary of listed company AMI-Toyota Ltd. Subsequently he served as Chief Executive of Government Departments in Victoria and South Australia before being appointed as Banking Ombudsman then Chief Ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service . Between 2012 and 2017 he held the Office of Commonwealth Ombudsman , and was appointed as an Adviser to the CEO and Board of the ANZ Bank between 2017 and 2020. He has held other part-time positions such as Vice-Chair of the Press Council , Chair of the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (1997-2012) and Chairperson of the Legal Services Board (Vic ) between 2005 and 2012. He has been a member of ABC Friends for many years.


anne-Maree_Newbold_photo.jpgAnne-Maree Newbold OAM - Membership Secretary

Anne-Maree is the Membership Secretary and Co-Convenor of the Membership Subcommittee.

Anne-Maree has 37 years’ experience working in the mental health sector in Victoria. For the last 21 years she worked as a chief social worker within public mental health services and has previously worked as a trainer with the state-wide training and development unit. Anne-Maree has qualifications in social work and family therapy. Anne-Maree has had long term involvement in many community organizations including being president of the Association for Children with a Disability (ACD) in Victoria. She is currently a member of Western Health’s disability advisory group.


Rosie Spear

rosie-profile.jpgRosie is a member of the Membership Subcommittee and the National Merchandise Working Group.

Rosie Spear has been a member of ABC Friends since 1996, first in Canberra where she was on the Friends of the ABC committee. She then returned to Melbourne where she joined the Victorian FABC committee in 1998. Rosie has been involved with several sub-committees over that time and currently, including the role of Campaign Coordinator, Communications Convenor, and Groups subcommittee member, Membership subcommittee, and Volunteer Coordinator.

Rosie has worked in both the Public Service and private enterprise. She has also worked as an ESL tutor as well as at Museum Victoria


Sarah Stephen - Secretary

Sarah is on the Membership Subcommittee and the History Working Group.

sarah-stephen.jpgSarah has spent over 35 years working in the Victorian Government, chiefly on energy, environment and climate change policy and programs. She has managed large and diverse teams and budgets, coordinated intergovernmental processes, and written key strategic policy statements. She has extensive experience working with industry and community stakeholders and using regulatory frameworks, funded programs and communications tools to drive changes in behaviour and investment, and transition Victoria to a low emissions energy future. Shifting from a keen ABC listener/viewer to working with ABC Friends means looking closely at how rapidly evolving technologies, services and consumer behaviours are driving another big shift – and advocating to protect core institutions and services to the community.


Carol Stuart

Carol is Convenor of the Communications Subcommittee and Vice President of the National Board.

Carol_Stuart_photo.jpgCarol is a communications consultant who until recently practised law in the dispute resolution & litigation group at Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL) . She acted for corporate and not-for-profit clients in a broad range of matters, with a particular focus on issues management, corporate governance, strategic communications, and media management. Prior to her legal career, Carol held various senior management roles providing strategic communications and issues management, and media relations advice and corporate governance oversight. Her journalism and strategic communications background spans more than two decades, including advising the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Office of Public Prosecution, the City of Melbourne, and Transurban. Her board experience includes two terms on the Falls Creek Resort Management Board, Abbotsford Convent and the United Nations Association of Australia.

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