Michael Cooney is Maurice Blackburn’s General Manager of Public Affairs, based at the firm’s Melbourne office. Michael joined the firm in 2019 leading the stakeholder engagement, public policy and media functions. Michael is a Labor writer and adviser who has been involved in national political campaigns for change throughout most of this century. He was speechwriter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and author of The Gillard Project (Penguin, 2015).

Dr David Cunnington is a sleep physician at Sunshine Coast Respiratory and Sleep, and co-founder of the online sleep resource, SleepHub.com.au. David trained in sleep medicine both in Australia and at Harvard Medical School, and has been practicing sleep medicine for the last 20 years, treating people with a range of sleep problems. David a board member of the Australasian Sleep Association and Chair of the Clinical Committee. David is also on the Advanced Training Committee for Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. David’s recent research has been in developing non-drug treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy & mindfulness mediation for insomnia and other sleep disorders. His research and commentaries on sleep have been published in leading medical journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine and The British Medical Journal. David’s research on sleep has also received coverage in a range of press outlets such as the New York Times, Scientific American, NPR and The Huffington Post. David appears regularly in the media as a commentator on sleep and health.

Jodie is a strategic communication and behaviour change specialist with a passion for making a difference in some of the most complex health and social issues we face. Bringing together the latest evidence and best practice, she helps organisations and governments locally and internationally create positive change. This has included areas such as health issues and crises, system reform, health screening, health literacy and education, vaccination, social cohesion and community resilience. Through climate crises, COVID-19 and mis/disinformation threats, she provides issues and crisis communication counsel and helps build strategic communication capacity to navigate these challenges, helping communities across the world recover stronger. Jodie is also a postgraduate lecturer at the University of Sydney in Crisis Communication, Health Communication and Behaviour Change and Senior Strategic Communication Advisor to the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism.