Australia Indonesia Awards
Nomination and Selection
Nominations
Nominations close on 31 August 2023. Nominations are made online via Google Forms. Anyone can nominate a person for an award. In addition to selecting the particular category, and providing contact details of the person nominating, the person being nominated, and any person who could provide a reference, the form requires a response to 3 main questions:
• Tell us about your nominee:
• In what ways have they demonstrated commitment to Australia Indonesia relationships?
• In what ways could they be a role model for others?
It is recommended that responses to these questions be drafted beforehand and then pasted into the nomination form.
Selection Panel
Nominations will be reviewed and finalists selected by an independent Selection Panel chaired by Mr Chris Barnes, former Consul General in Surabaya and President of the Australia Indonesia Business Council.
Chris Barnes leads the trade policy and international relations team at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). He is responsible for trade and international policy and relationships with key international partners.
Chris is an experienced leader with considerable commercial, policy and representational skills gained in banking and diplomacy, both in Australia and internationally. Prior to joining ACCI, Chris was Australia’s first Consul-General in Indonesia’s second largest city and major commercial hub, Surabaya, with consular responsibility for East Java, Central Java, and Yogyakarta. He is also a keen follower of the Persebaya football team! He was Commissioner & Regional Director, WA Trade & Investment Office in Jakarta, and served 3 years as the National President of the Australia Indonesia Business Council (AIBC). He was the General Manager Business Development International Financial Services with Commbank.
BRUCE CHRISTIE
Bruce Christie is the former NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Deputy Director General, Biosecurity and Food Safety. From 1989 – 1992 and again from 1995 – 1998 he was posted to Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia as part of an Australian government agricultural aid program. During his time in Kupang, Bruce trained a core group of local disadvantaged youth to play cricket. He is passionate about growing cricket in Indonesia, in order to transform the lives of those Indigenous players who are now part of Cricket Indonesia and the East Nusa Tenggara Cricket Club (NTTCC).
Bruce was a finalist in the Australia Indonesia Awards in 2017, and then joined the AIA Committee for 2 years.
CAROLINE OLAH
Caroline Olah is a furniture designer of mixed Australian and Indonesian parentage who together with her husband Andrew founded Reddie Furniture in 2016. They saw a market for customised furniture and their Sydney business set up a factory in Central Java using wood from local plantations and now exports to 20 countries. Prior to this she worked in leading architectural firms in New York and Dubai.
Caroline was a finalist in the 2022 Australia Indonesia Awards program.
GEOFFREY GOLD
Geoffrey Gold is the founder of Gold Communications, a public relations and communications business based in regional Victoria. Geoff has produced several Indonesian business directories including the comprehensive Indonesian Mining Industry Directory. He is the editor and curator of the Asia Pacific Journal of Mining and the Indonesia Australia Report. He is the chair of the National Minerals, Energy, and Industry Group of the Australia Indonesia Business Council (AIBC). He is also the Australian Ambassador for the AFL Indonesia, promoting Aussie Rules football in Indonesia.
