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Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales

Professor Bashir, the first woman to be appointed Governor of New South Wales, took up her office on 1 March 2001. Born, of Lebanese descent, in Narrandera in the Riverina district of New South Wales, and educated at Narrandera Public School and Sydney Girls High School, Marie Bashir gained her bachelor degrees in medicine and surgery in 1956 from the University of Sydney. Dr Bashir taught at the Universities of Sydney and New South Wales, increasingly working with children's services, psychiatry and mental health services, and indigenous health programs. At the time of her appointment as Governor of New South Wales, she was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney (a post she took up in 1993); Area Director of Mental Health Services Central Sydney (from 1994); and Senior Consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern (from 1996) and to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Kempsey.

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Anthony Albanese MP

Anthony grew up in a public housing community in Camperdown and recognised early on the need to fight for social justice so that there was equal opportunity in society. That is what led Anthony to joining the Australian Labor Party. He developed his policitical activity working for former prisoner of war and legendary Whitlam and Hawke Government Minister Tom Uren. In 1996 Anthony was elected as the Member for Grayndler in Sydney's inner west, where he has lived his entire life.

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Senator Doug Cameron

Doug has worked as a fitter in the steel, ship repair, vehicle and power industries. He was elected by manufacturing workers to represent them in various positions in the union including Delegate, full-time organiser, Assistant State Secretary, Assistant National Secretary, National Secretary AMWU, State and National Secretary Metal Trades Federation of Unions, Vice President ACTU. Doug Cameron has been a long-term patron of the Asbestos Diseases Foundation, a Director of Australian Super, and under the Keating government was a member of the Australian Best Practice Committee. As a director of Australian Super and its predecessor STA he has worked with union and employer representatives to build Australian Super into a 1.3 million members fund with 100,000 employers and $28 billion under management.

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Andrew Ferguson

Andrew Ferguson worked for the Building Workers Industrial Union and then the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union for more than 30 Years. His union in the 1970's was involved in many stoppages and work bans to prevent asbestos being used on sites despite the assurances of developers, governments and politicians. When he commenced work with the union one of his first disputes was organising a strike to ban asbestos being used in an extension to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at Camperdown in Sydney despite authorisation by the NSW Department of Health. Trade unions have been in the forefront of campaigns not just for worker but public safety. Andrew was Secretary of the CFMEU for ten years. He and his union made a significant contribution to the campaign to win justice for the victims of James Hardie. Andrew continues to work part time for the CFMEU.