August 2012 - Public Health Association of New Zealand

The 2012 PHA Conference in Wellington will be the key New Zealandpublic health event of the year, so make sure you don’t miss out.You can read more about the conference and register athttp://conference.pha.org.nz.SpeakersWe’re pleased to announce our impressive line-up ofinternational and local speakers:Hon Dr Tuitama Leao Talalelei Tuitama:Minister of Health for Samoa. A medicalphysician by profession, he was the Head ofMedical Unit of the Samoa National ReferralHospital in Apia during the 1990s andpracticed as a Private Medical Practitionerbefore endeavouring on a political career. Hon Dr Tuitamahas also represented Samoa on numerous regional andinternational meetings over the last decade.Sir Michael Marmot: Chair of theCommission on Social Determinants ofHealth at the World Health Organization.The review he led for the British Governmenton improving health and improving fairnessin health identified the six most effectivestrategies to addressing inequalities.Please note: unfortunately Sir Michael Marmot is unableto attend the conference in person, but will be presentingvia a pre-recorded video specifically tailored for the PHAconference.Peter Boshier: New Zealand Principal FamilyCourt Judge. Peter has worked extensivelyin the management of the Family Court andjudicial system. In 1993, he completed areview of the Family Court, which resulted inchanges to Court processes.Russell Wills: New Zealand’s Children’sCommissioner. He has had leadershiproles in community paediatrics with thePaediatric Society of New Zealand and theRoyal Australasian College of Physicians,and contributed to national guidelines andprojects on family violence, child abuse and medicalaspects of children in Child, Youth and Family care.Cindy Blackstock: Executive Director, FirstNations Child and Family Caring Societyof Canada. Cindy has worked in the fieldof child and family services for more than20 years. Key interests include exploringstructural drivers of child maltreatment inFirst Nations communities, human rights and the role ofthe voluntary sector in expanding the range of culturallyand community based responses to child maltreatment.Anne Smith: Emeritus Professor fromCollege of Education at Otago University.From 1995 until 2006 she was Director ofthe Children’s Issues Centre, which carriedout research on children’s wellbeing andrights in such areas as family law, earlychildhood education, and the prevention of child abuse.In 2009 she received an award from the United States forher “research and advocacy to ensure that the voices ofchildren are heard”.Cindy Kiro: Head of the School of PublicHealth at Massey University, and previouslyChildren’s Commissioner. Her areas ofresearch expertise are Public Health, MāoriHealth, Children and Young People Policy,and Māori Development.Associate Minister of Health Hon JoGoodhew (with responsibility for publichealth) will be speaking to on 5 September.Two of our Children’s voices keynote speakers areJazmine Heka (a 16-year-old child poverty campaignerfrom Northland) and Veronica Ng Lam (Save the ChildrenFund Youth Advisory Committee Chair). These youngpeople will be presenting about raising the profile ofchildren and young people’s voices.Vol XV No 2 PHA News13