Our Committee
Committee Office Bearers
President – Professor Steve Garlick
Steve has professorial positions at two universities and is an international expert in spatial economics and university/ community engagement. He has an extensive publication record, and undertaken many country reviews for international and national agencies. He is an economist and applied ethicist specialising in wildlife welfare and sits on a number of international and national boards. In 2009 with wife Rosemary, Steve was internationally recognised with the World Shining Compassion Award for the work he does rehabilitating severely injured wildlife. With Rosemary, Steve runs a wildlife recovery and research centre for macropods and wombats. Together they have rescued more than 1500 injured wild animals, rehabilitated more than 600 and returned many of these back to the wild. Steve is the current president of the Animal Justice Party.
Vice President – Mark Pearson
Mark Pearson is Executive Director of Animal Liberation in Australia. He is employed full time via funds from the Christina Fitzsimons Trust. Before this he had been Team Leader of the Newcastle Community Mental Health Service in Newcastle and worked as a Clinical Acute Adult Psychiatric Nurse Specialist. In his current position the main focus is on farm animals – particularly factory farming for the past 18 years and recently kangaroos. Two recent successes have been in relation to sheep and kangaroos. The phase out of the most invasive mutilation of any animal without analgesia – ‘mulesing’ in sheep and convincing the Russian Federation to ban imports of kangaroo meat by exposing inherent cruelty and hygiene problems. He enjoys opera – even trying to sing some- and stopping live export death ships from entering Australian ports.
Party Secretary & Treasurer – Kerry Hewson
Kerry comes from an accounting background and works in that field. Importantly, she has been a long time advocate for the rights of animals and has campaigned tirelessly for animal welfare.
She has been involved in many local, state, interstate and federal animal welfare campaigns and remains active in the space.
She is also a long standing member of a number of animal rights groups in Australia.