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Keynote speakers

Speakers are listed in order of presentation time. More speakers will be announced over the coming weeks.

'The Gift'

Presented by:       

Monday 17 August 2026

‘The Gift’ is a collaboration between Miners’ Promise and the team at Acting Consulting Training (ACT) Australia.  ‘The Gift’ and its fictional characters are based on 15 years of Miners’ Promise experience supporting families, companies and communities in the aftermath of tragedy.

Through deep encounters with three characters, a Senior Site Executive, a Construction Superintendent, and a family member we journey from the moment of tragedy to two years later.

Professionally written, produced and delivered, ‘The Gift’ is a story of compassion, resilience, connection, recovery and hope.

The use of industrial theatre creates a safe space for a conversation that challenges us deeply; as much as we do all we can to prevent tragedy, accidents happen, and when they, providing the best possible care in the toughest of times is what counts.

Greg McNeill

as Greg

Monica Main

as Daphne

Asha Vivian

as Zoe

David Knoff

Antarctic Expedition
Leader

Monday 17 August 2026

David Knoff

David Knoff is an Antarctic Expedition Leader, Author, and leadership expert who specialises in remote leadership, hostile environment diplomacy, and resilience.

David's international career has taken him across the globe with experiences as an officer in the Australian Army, diplomatic postings in Pakistan and Iraq, and most recently with the Australian Antarctic Program. In 2019, David was given a leadership challenge unlike no other in modern history, as the Station Leader at Davis Station, Antarctica, he was leading a team of just 24 through the isolation of an Antarctic winter when the COVID-19 Pandemic broke out. The impact of the pandemic on Antarctic operations saw David's team without a ride home as planned and facing one of the longest periods of isolation in modern Antarctic History.

David's book, '537 Days of Winter: Resilience, Endurance and Humanity while stranded in Antarctica during the Pandemic' tells the story of what it was like to lead a team through unprecedented uncertainty and how to find resilience in the most extreme environments.

Combining his experiences from warzones and his six different Antarctic expeditions, David now works as a professional speaker to help others learn from his experiences in order to further their own knowledge of leadership in extreme situations. David's unique story also helps organisations and individuals understand the importance of environmental awareness and works with schools and corporations to better understand humanity's impact on climate and the planets most remote wilderness in Antarctica.

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Yamini Naidu

Global Leadership
Storyteller

Monday 17 August 2026

Yamini Naidu

Yamini Naidu, CSP, is rated among the top  business storytellers globally and is the world's only Economist turned business storyteller. Yamini is a business storytelling pioneer and co-founded Australia's first storytelling company in 2005. 

Award-winning speaker and best-selling author, she works with leaders, helping them shift from spreadsheets to stories. Her clients include Google, Adidas, Ford Motor Company, Goldman Sachs and Tiffany & Co.

Yamini recently received the PSA Educator of the Year Award 2025. This award recognises the results she has had, the impact of her work with clients and her thought leadership in business storytelling.

Yamini has also taught leadership and management at RMIT University. She is a trained economist, a postgraduate (and scholarship winner) from the London School of Economics. 

Yamini is the author of seven books, including Story Mastery, business bestseller Hooked: How leaders connect, engage & inspire using storytelling. Her latest book, X Factor: Unleash your Presenting Superpower, has just been released globally.

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Richard de Crespigny AM

Aviation Leader and
Crisis Management Expert

Monday 17 August 2026

Richard de Crespigny AM

Melbourne born and educated Richard de Crespigny got his first taste of a future flying career as a 14-year-old when his father organised a tour of the RAAF Academy at Point Cook in Victoria. He had never seen such extraordinary facilities before. He knew, then, that he needed to get a university degree and become an RAAF Officer and Pilot. The rest is history.

In 1975, aged 17, he joined the RAAF. One year later, he started flying. During his 11 years with the RAAF, he was seconded as Aide-de-Camp to two Australian Governors General – Sir Zelman Cowan and Sir Ninian Stephen. Richard remained with the RAAF until 1986 when he joined Qantas, converting to Boeing 747s. He converted to A380 command in 2008 as one of Qantas’ most senior captains.

It was at the control of the world’s largest and most advanced commercial jetliner when he and his fellow officers were faced with their greatest challenge. The date was November 4 2010. Early into the Singapore/Sydney leg of flight QF32, one of four engines exploded. The damage to the aircraft was extensive. On top of ensuring that 440 passengers remained calm during the ordeal, Richard had a mammoth task on the flight deck to keep the aircraft in the air and then get it back on the ground. For two hours he and his fellow crew (technical and cabin) remained calm as they planned to stabilise the damage, configure the overweight aircraft, then manoeuvre it towards Changi Airport in Singapore. Once on the ground, a recalcitrant engine refused to shut down, fuel was leaking near white hot brakes and a new environment was set for potential disaster. Passengers remained on board for two nervous hours before they safely disembarked.

The incident brought into play Richard de Crespigny’s considerable skills involving teamwork, problem solving, judgement, knowledge, and experience and putting years of highly-skilled training into practice. This pivotal event has changed his life forever.

His autobiography QF32, which tells the story of the incident in gripping detail, is a best-seller. QF32 also won the Best Non Fiction award in the 2013 Australian Book Industry Awards and the Australian Independent Booksellers Best Non Fiction award for books released in Australia in 2012.
In the 2016 Australia Day Honours, Richard de Crespigny was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to the aviation industry, both nationally and internationally, particularly to flight safety and to the community.

Richard de Crespigny has developed into one of Australia’s most sought-after corporate speakers, his presentations focusing on crisis management, leadership, problem solving and teamwork. He has presented to Fortune 500 companies, the Federal Government and its agencies, including defence, safety and investigation.

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Paul Featherston

Emergency Services
Leadership Expert

Tuesday 18 August 2026

Paul Featherston

Dedication, determination, decisiveness, diligence and duty – all fundamental elements of emergency service; and all elements Paul Featherston consistently applied throughout his 41 year career with NSW Ambulance, plus 12 years of voluntary Service however, Paul is adamant there is another very important ingredient to service, “comprehensive care” - “When one life is in danger, many lives are changed – the victim, their loved ones and the ones who step in”.

Joining the NSW Ambulance Service in 1972, Paul has perfected his skills in rescue and recovery and emerged very early in his career as an outstanding trainer and leader. Paul pioneered the Ambulance Service’s acclaimed paramedic system, drove advanced medical care training and logistics; and conceived and developed the Service’s Special Casualty Access Team (expert response capability in hostile environments, where access presents further danger to victims and rescuers); and went on to deliver specialist training in water, cave, cliff, air/helicopter and entrapment rescue underpinned by technical excellence, teamwork, self-motivation and compassion.

Paul has had the privilege of working on joint operations and exercises with an array of our dedicated emergency services personnel, including NSW Police, NSW Fire and Rescue, the State Emergency Service, the Rural Fire Service (of which he is also a volunteer member); and numerous interstate and international rescue and government bodies. Paul has also developed and delivered training for professional volunteer and community groups.

Through it all, whether doing the rescuing or training front-line responders and leaders, Paul has lived by the creed that “everyone matters”, “you are faced with trauma, fear and isolation; you are the hope the victim and the family cling to and you are the support the rescue crew so much deserves”.

Paul has had a decorated service, he amassed ten awards and commendations for bravery and distinguished service, including the Australian Bravery Medal, the Humane Society’s Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals, Prince Phillip Helicopter Rescue Award and the Ambulance Service Medal as part of the 2007 Queen’s Birthday Honour List. Paul has also been honoured as 2007 Sutherland Shire Citizen of the Year and has been an Australia Day Ambassador since 2007.

Since retiring from the NSW Ambulance Service, Paul has continued to dedicate himself to the lives of others including the training and care of rescuers.

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Dr Drew Rae

Expert in Safety Management
and Human Factors

Wednesday 19 August 2026

Dr Drew Rae

Dr Drew Rae is an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences at Griffith University, where he provides mentoring and support for researchers engaging with industry, government and other commercial partners, and teaches into Graduate Certificate in Safety Leadership program.  His research evaluates safety management policy and practices by examining the intersection between formal systems and the lived experiences of front-line staff. Drew co-hosts the Safety of Work podcast and is on the editorial board of the journal Safety Science.

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Milo Wilkinson

Behavioural Scientist &
Performance Architect

Wednesday 19 August 2026

Milo Wilkinson

Milo Wilkinson is an international award winning Behavioural Scientist who specialises in analysing human behaviour in order to predict likely outcomes.

As a Behavioural Scientist, criminal profiler, high-performance sporting, and corporate coach and mindfulness advocate, Milo has studied CEOs, top athletes, psychopaths, criminals, sales agents, change managers and everyone in between. She has seven degrees in the areas of cognitive and clinical neurosciences, criminal sciences, psychology and psychotherapy.

Milo has also completed a world first co-design project with Harvard University Neuroscience Department secretly discovering the functions of the unconscious brain and has been the Peak Performance Behavioural Scientist for some top Sporting Teams across the globe including the Sydney Swans, European Rugby and the NBA.

Her ability to dissect behaviour to actionable chunks for change makes her keynotes a very unique experience as they are highly interactive and incredibly unique in their content and delivery.

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Lisa Hardwick

Wife and Mother:
Story of Loss and Strength

Wednesday 19 August 2026

Lisa Hardwick

Lisa Hardwick is a wife and mother from Central Queensland who, for the first time, is courageously sharing her family’s story following the loss of her husband, Bradley Hardwick, in the 2019 mining incident at Moranbah North Mine.

This is not a professional presentation or a rehearsed keynote. It is the raw and deeply personal perspective of a woman whose life changed forever in an instant, and the journey that has followed for her and her two children.

Through honesty, vulnerability and strength, Lisa offers a powerful reminder of the human impact behind every workplace incident and the lasting effect it has on families, friends and communities. Her story challenges all of us to look beyond procedures and compliance, and remember why speaking up, looking out for each other and making safe decisions truly matters.

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Darren Nicholls

CEO of a
Coal Company

Monday 17 August 2026

Darren Nicholls

Darren Nicholls started his career literally at the coal face as an Apprentice Fitter and rose thru the ranks to CEO of a Coal Company producing 120 million tonnes per annum.  This journey has seen Darren have unique exposure to all the mining industry has to offer - the good and the not so good. In reflecting on his career Darren will share these perspectives on differing regulatory and workplace regimes he has worked within Australia , Canada, Russia and Kazakhstan and what he is seeing within the Queensland Coal Industry at this point in time.

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Michael Hingson

Extraordinary story of courage,
trust and resilience

Monday 17 August 2026

Michael Hingson

Michael Hingson, blind since birth, was born in Chicago to sighted parents who believed in raising their son with a can-do attitude. Treated like all other children in his family, Michael rode a bike did advanced math in his head and learn to read and write – Braille that is! Michael’s family relocated to the warm Palmdale area of California when he was five years old. It is here that Hingson had his first adventure with Guide Dogs for the Blind and received his first guide dog. He later went to college receiving a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Physics along with a secondary teaching credential from the University of California at Irvine.

Michael then enjoyed a nearly-30-year career working for high tech companies spending most of his time in management roles.

Michael Hingson’s life changed dramatically on September 11, 2001 when he and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed. Soon after, Michael and Roselle were thrust into the international limelight where Michael began to share his unique survival story and 9-11 lessons of trust, courage, heroism, and teamwork.

Mike has served as The National Public Affairs Director for one of the largest Nonprofit organizations in the nation: Guide Dogs for the Blind; He has served as the vice president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users; Michael has held a seat on the Fort Worth Lighthouse for the Blind. He is the chair of the board of directors of the Earle Baum Center for the Blind and is the vice chair of the Colorado Center for the Blind; Michael is The National Ambassador for the Braille Literacy Campaign of the National Federation of the Blind.

Until October 2019 he worked as the CEO of the Do More Foundation, the non-profit arm of Aira Tech Corp, a manufacturer of assistive technology which makes a revolutionary visual interpreter for blind people. In January 2021 Mike joined accessiBe as its Chief Vision Officer to help advance the company goal of making the entire internet fully inclusive. AccessiBe provides an artificial intelligence-based product that makes web sites accessible to many persons with disabilities.

He is the author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller: “Thunder dog –The True Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust” – selling over 2.5 million copies Worldwide. In 2014 Mr. Hingson published his 2nd book “Running with Roselle”- which Is the first of its kind- A story for our youth shedding light on one of Americas Darkest Days. Mr. Hingson’s third book, “Live Like A Guide Dog”, was released on August 20, 2024. This book shows readers how they can learn to control fear and not, as Mike would say, “become blinded by fear in the face of crisis”.
Aside from his talents and advocacies, Mr. Hingson has traveled the Globe from Japan to New Zealand, the Netherlands to his hometown, Chicago. Speaking to some of the world’s most elite: from former President, George W. Bush to Larry King, to Fortune 500 companies and colleges and Universities Nationwide. After sharing his story of survival on hundreds of TV and Radio programs, Michael is now an Expert hired by many of today’s major corporations and organizations. Speaking and consulting on the importance of Teamwork and Trust, Moving from Diversity to Inclusion, as well as offering Adaptive Technology Training – spearheading innovation for ALL! - Thus, bringing organizations to the forefront of the ever-changing competitive modern world.
In June, 2024 Mike was inducted as an alumni member into the honors Fraternity Phi Beta Kappa.

Currently Michael lives in Victorville, California with Alamo, Michael’s eighth guide dog and his rescue feline, Stitch.

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Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference