Prior to commencing her PhD, Polly was an Assistant Director at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Throughout her career in the Australian Public Service (APS), Polly has used her science background to contribute to a range of biosecurity import policies and negotiations with trading partners to ensure the safe trade of commercially important aquatic animal goods. She has also been involved in strategic planning for the use science in the management of Australian marine parks and remained a keen promoter of APS women in science, having held the position of Chair of DAFF’s Gender Equity Network in 2023.
Polly completed her honours in aquatic animal physiology in 2018 at The University of Sydney. Her PhD research at the ANU Research School of Biology is focused on reducing exotic disease risk in aquaculture through the delivery of scientific information and tools to inform biosecurity policy.
Supervisor:
Dr Nicholas Moody (CSIRO),
Professor Robert Lanfear (ANU)
Dudley J S, Hannaford P, Dowland S N, Lindsay L A, Thompson M B, Murphy C R, Van Dyke J C and Whittington C M (2021) ‘Structural changes to the brood pouch of male pregnant seahorses (Hippocampus abdominalis) facilitate exchange between father and embryos’ Placenta 114: 115-123.
SRW Scholarship
Emily
Hitchman
Department of Home Affairs
The Australian National University
PhD title: Credible secrecy: 'neither confirm nor deny', national security and Australia's liberal democracy
Emily is a Director in the Department of Home Affairs and has worked across multiple portfolios in the criminal justice and national security policy spaces. In these roles, Emily has advised government on cross-cutting issues such as criminal intelligence, domestic violence, aviation and maritime security, and press freedom. She has also represented Australian cyber policy internationally as part of the delegation negotiating an additional protocol to the Budapest Convention on cybercrime.
Emily’s research examines the strategic function of the Neither Confirm Nor Deny principle, and how its use in the security and intelligence context has evolved in Australia. In so doing, Emily’s research will develop a conceptual understanding of the Neither Confirm Nor Deny principle to support an analysis of how official secrecy can be navigated in the contemporary security context.
Emily holds a Bachelor of Philosophy from the ANU, and was awarded First Class Honours for her research re-examining the cultural inheritance of contemporary metaphysical discourse.
PhD title: Possible, probable, plausible: determining credibility in protection visa decision-making
Dual-trained in journalism and law, Kristian has held a range of roles in the Department of Home Affairs since 2015, with a particular focus on protection assessment and administrative law. Kristian was previously a Department of Immigration and Border Protection Research Fellow in the Migration and Border Policy Project at the Lowy Institute, undertaking research on comparative approaches to establishing identity in undocumented asylum seekers. Kristian currently works in Refugee, Humanitarian and Settlement Division, advising on lawful decision-making, litigation outcomes, and protection assessment reform.
Kristian’s research at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) will consider how administrative decision-makers make findings of fact in the absence of verifiable evidence. Through the lens of protection obligations assessment, Kristian’s research examines how decision-makers exercise their discretionary powers in probing, weighing, and constructing their assessment. This research will contribute to building and maintaining the trust of the Australian public and government in their institutions by improving the consistency and fairness of visa decision-making.
PhD title: Australia's extraterritorial human rights obligations
Szabina Horvath joined the Directorate of Operations and International Law at the Department of Defence in 2009. Szabina has provided advice on detainee management issues, maritime operations, domestic implementation of international legal obligations, gender issues, interrogation doctrine, and a range of other international humanitarian law issues, as well as human rights matters relevant to military operations. Szabina is currently seconded to the Australian Submarine Agency.
Szabina’s research examined Australia’s extraterritorial human rights obligations. Specifically, the research considered Australia’s human rights obligations when engaged in extraterritorial armed conflict, with reference to other extraterritorial situations which may enliven Australia’s human rights obligations. Szabina’s thesis includes a decision-making framework for determining when Australia may owe specific human rights obligations.
Horvath S and Mackenzie-Gray Scott R (29-30 January 2018), 'Workshop on Intelligence Sharing in Multinational Military Operations' [conference report], Workshop on Intelligence Sharing in Multinational Military Operations, School of Law, University of Nottingham.
Horavath S (2018) 'The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force: the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law', Review of The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force: the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Lawby F Lachenmann and R Wolfrum (eds), in Rothwell D, Zagor M and Saunder I (eds)The Australian Year Book of International Law, Brill, Leiden.
Horvath S (9 January 2021) 'Disinformation in international forums: the civil society loophole', ILA Reporter, accessed 6 March 2024, https://ilareporter.org.au/2021/01/disinformation-in-international-forums-the-civil-society-loophole-szabina-horvath/
PhD title: Understanding the challenges associated with ‘off-label’ prescribing and repurposing of older medicines currently on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods to inform future policy development.
Prior to joining the Department of Health in 2010, Katrina worked on clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies both nationally and internationally. Whilst working for government, she has helped patients with rare, life-threatening conditions to access effective treatments; improve the sustainability of future PBS drug supply via pricing reviews; increase patient access to new and expanded pharmacy programs and protect public health through the scheduling of medicines and poisons.
Katrina’s research aims to evaluate the impacts of current medicines policy, regulatory processes, prescriber behaviour and clinical guideline content on ‘off-label’ prescribing and the potential repurposing of medicines. Australian and international policy perspectives will be studied. Katrina will use a mixed-methods approach to investigate factors that influence decision making in order to inform future policy development.
PhD title: The nature and performance of China’s state owned enterprises.
Paul’s PhD, is on the “Nature and Performance of China’s State-owned Enterprises”. During his research, Paul was a frequent contributor to the East Asia Forum, and presented testimony to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington DC in February 2016. He also spent a period as a visiting scholar at Peking University in 2015
Paul joined the Department of the Treasury as a graduate in 2006. Since April 2017, Paul has worked at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on international economic issues, attending three G20 Summits. In July 2018, Paul received a Secretary’s Excellence Award ‘for making an outstanding contribution to the Department's critical and strategic thinking across disciplines.’ Paul returns to ANU from time to time to present guest lectures and seminars relating to the Chinese economy.
Hubbard P (2004) ‘Accountability in the grey area: employing Stiglitz to tackle compliance in a world of structural pluralism, a comparative study’, Freedom of Information Review, 111: 26-32.
Hubbard P (2005) ‘Freedom of Information and Security Intelligence: An economic analysis in an Australian context’ Open Government: a journal on Freedom of Information, 1(3):EJ).
Hubbard P (2008) ‘Chinese Concessional Loans’ in Rotberg R I (ed), China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence, Brookings Institution Press, World Peace Foundation, Washington, USA.
Hubbard P (2008) ‘China’s regulations on open government information: Challenges of nationwide policy implementation’, Open Government: a journal on Freedom of Information, 4(1): 1-34.
Hubbard P (2009) ‘Urban congestion-why ’free’ roads are costly’, Economic Round-up, 2:1-19.
Hubbard P, Hurley S and Sharma D (2012) ‘The familiar pattern of Chinese consumption growth’, Economic Round-up, 4: 63-78.
Hubbard P and Williams P (2014) ‘Some of China’s SOEs are more equal than others’, East Asia Forum Quarterly, 6(4):8-9.
Hubbard P (2016) ‘Managing Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment’. The China Quarterly, 228:1106-1108.
Callaghan M and Hubbard P (2016) ‘The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Multilateralism on the Silk Road’. China Economic Journal, 9(2):116-139.
Hubbard P (2016) ‘Where have China’s state monopolies gone?’. China Economic Journal, 9(1):75-99.
Hubbard P (2016) ‘Reconciling China’s official statistics on state ownership and control’, Macroeconomic Working Papers, 25575, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
Hubbard P (2016) ‘Fragmented authoritarianism and state ownership’, East Asia Forum Quarterly, 8(4):6-7.
Hubbard P and Fan H (2016) Managing China, ANU Press, Canberra, Australia.
Hubbard P and Xiao W (2017) ‘Open government information in Chinese state-owned enterprises’. Information Polity, 22(1):57-64.
Hubbard P and Williams P (2017) ‘Chinese state owned enterprises: An observer’s guide’. International Journal of Public Policy,
13(3-5):153-170.
Luo L, Qi Z and Hubbard P (2017) ‘Not looking for trouble: Understanding large-scale Chinese overseas investment by sector and ownership’ China Economic Review, 46: 142-164.
Brødsgaard K E, Hubbard P (2017) ‘China’s SOE executives: drivers of or obstacles to reform?’ The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 35(1):52-75.
Xu J and Hubbard P (2018) ‘A flying goose chase: China’s overseas direct investment in manufacturing (2011–2013)’. China Economic Journal, 11(2):91-107.
Hubbard P (2018) The Nature and Performance of China’s State Owned Enterprises [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.
Hubbard P (2018) ‘The Future of the Belt and Road: Long-term Strategic Issues - By Andrew Elek’, Asian Pacific Economic Literature 32(1):144-145.
Zentelis R, Hubbard P, Lindenmayer D, Roberts D and Dovers S (2020) ‘More bang for your buck: Managing the military training and environmental values of military training areas’, Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 8, Article 100053.
SRW Scholarship
Graduated
2017
Dr
Nerida
Hunter
The Treasury
Australian National University
PhD title: Geodemographic and life course perspectives of population ageing in Australia: informing the policy response to population ageing
Nerida began her training in demography in 2010 at the university of California and subsequently joined ANU to complete her PhD as a Sir Roland Wilson scholar. Her PhD undertook applied demographic research of Australia’s aged and ageing population. She examined the size, structure and characteristics of the aged population across 328 regions of Australia, looking at; healthy life and working life expectancies; lifespan and life course disparity; and projections of growth and settlement of the aged population through to 2031. She was also a student affiliate of the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research.
Nerida worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) from 2006 to 2015 on a wide range of social policy issues. After completing the Sir Roland Wilson Scholarship, Nerida rejoined the Australian Public Service and advanced to the Senior Executive Service. Since 2016 she has worked in the Department of Social Services, Treasury and Department of Education.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences
Australian National University
PhD title: Water property rights in rivers with large dams
Neal’s research focused on the design of water markets, particularly market mechanisms for managing major water storages. Recently, Neal’s PhD research was used to inform the ACCC Murray Darling Basin water market inquiry. Neal’s PhD also explored the application of machine learning techniques to economics.
Since returning to the APS, Neal has led several major projects at ABARES, including the development of new economic models of Australian farms and water markets, drawing on techniques developed as part of his thesis. At ABARES, Neal has produced a range of research on agricultural policy issues including the effects of drought and climate change on Australian farms, and water policy in the Murray-Darling Basin. Neal writes regularly on these issues in The Conversation.
Visit Neal's websiteto learn more about him and his research.
Hughes N, Hafi A and Goesch T 2(009), 'Urban water management: optimal price and investment policy under climate variability', Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 53(2):175-192.
Hughes N and Goesch T (2009), Management of irrigation water storages: carryover rights and capacity sharing, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N and Goesch T (2009), Capacity sharing in the St George and Macintyre Brook irrigation schemes in southern Queensland, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N (10-12 February 2010), ‘Defining property rights to water in complex regulated river systems: generalising the capacity sharing concept’, AARES Conference (54th), Adelaide, Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society.
Hughes N, Lawson K, Davidson A, Jackson T and Sheng Y (2011), Productivity pathways: Climate adjusted production frontiers for the Australian broadacre cropping industry, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N (9-11 February 2011), 'Estimating irrigation farm production functions using ABARES irrigation survey data’, AARES Conference (55th), Melbourne, Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society.
Hughes N, Gibbs C, Dahl A, Tregeagle D and Sanders O (2013), Storage rights and water allocation arrangements in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N (2014) ‘Applying reinforcement learning to economic problems’. ANU Crawford PhD Conference, Canberra, The Australian National University.
Hughes N (12 August 2014), ‘Water storage rights: decentralising reservoir operation’ [conference presentation], 77th International Atlantic Economic Conference, Madrid, International Atlantic Economic Society.
Hughes N (14 November 2014) ‘Applying reinforcement learning to economic problems’ [conference presentation], ANU Crawford PhD Conference, The Australian National University, Canberra.
Hughes N (2015) Water property rights in rivers with large dams [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.
Hughes N, Gupta M and Rathakumar K (2016), Lessons from the water market: the southern Murray-Darling Basin water allocation market 2000-01 to 2015-16, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N (3 February 2016) ‘Water property rights in rivers with large environmental water holders’ [conference presentation]. Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society 2016 Conference (60th), Canberra.
Hughes N, Lawson K and Valle H (2017) Farm performance and climate: climate adjusted productivity for broadacre cropping farms, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Gupta M and Hughes N (2018) Future scenarios for the southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Gupta M, Hughes N and Wakerman-Powell K (2018) A model of water trade and irrigation activity in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N, Galeano D and Hattfield-Dodds (2019) The effects of drought and climate variability on Australian farms, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Whittle L, Galeano D, Hughes N, Gupta M, Leg P, Westwood T, Jackson T and Hatfield-Dodds S (2020) Economic effects of water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin [report], Australian Bureau of Agicutlureal and Recourse Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N, Donoghoe M and Whittle L (2020) ‘Farm Level Effects of On-Farm Irrigation Infrastructure Programs in the Southern Murray–Darling Basin’. Australian Economic Review, 53(4):494-516.
Hughes N, Gupta M, Soh W, Boult C, Lawson K, Lu, M and Westwood T (2020) The Agricultural Data Integration Project, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N and Gooday P (2021) Climate change impacts and adaptation on Australian farms [report], Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Chancellor W, Hughes N, Zhao S, Soh W, Valle H and Boult C (2021) ‘Controlling for the effects of climate on total factor productivity: A case study of Australian farms’, Food policy, 102, Article 102091.
Hughes N, Gupta M, Whittle L, Boult C and Westwood T (2021) A model of spatial and inter-temporal water trade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin [Working paper], Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
Hughes N, Soh W, Boult C and Lawson K (2022) ‘Defining drought from the perspective of Australian farmers’ Climate Risk Management, 35, Article 100420.
Hughes N, Lu, M, Soh W, Lawson K (2022) ‘Modelling the effects of climate change on the profitability of Australian farms’, Climatic Change, 172, Article 12.
Hughes N, Soh W, Lawson K and Lu M (2022) ‘Improving the performance of micro-simulation models with machine learning: The case of Australian farms’, Economic Modeling, 115, Article 105957.
Hughes N, Gupta M, Whittle L and Westwood T (2023), 'An Economic Model of Spatial and Temporal Water Trade in the Australian Southern Murray-Darling Basin', Water Resources Research, 59(4), Article e2022WR032559.
Visit Neal's website for a full list of his publications.
PhD title: Indigenous Data Sovereignty: A Compliant Framework for the Australian Public Service
Timothy joined the Australian Public Service in 2009 and has seen first-hand the importance of good policy and how it impacts the lives of Australians. He has a vested interest in discussions on social and Indigenous policy. Timothy brings to the table a unique perspective in relation to public policy that will have an impact on the people closest to him.
Through his PhD research, Timothy will examine Australian federal and state public service data governance and management programs to inform an Indigenous data sovereignty-compliant framework for the Australian Public Service. This research seeks to identify practical ways to embed the Maim nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles into APS data governance practices to safeguard Indigenous data and ensure beneficial outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Sir Roland Wilson Foundation is a partnership between The Australian National University, Charles Darwin University and the Australian Public Service.
