Keynote Panel: Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
| Wednesday, November 5, 2025 |
| 12:55 PM - 2:30 PM |
Overview
Moderator: Lucie Cutting, Tasmania Sundays presenter for ABC Radio Hobart
Panelist: Mark Mason, Chief Executive Officer, The Speak Out Association of Tasmania Inc
Panelist: Giancarlo de Vera, Chief Executive Officer, BEING – Mental Health Consumers
Panelist: Simon Katterl, Chief Executive Officer Mental Health Lived Experience Peak QLD
Panelist: Donna Compton, Senior Manager Support Services, St. Giles Society
Details
In this vital session, four distinguished leaders will come together to explore the intersection of human rights and rural-remote mental health. Representing firsthand experiences from policy to lived experience, the panel will navigate how rights-based frameworks can inform and transform mental health service delivery in geographically isolated and underserved communities.
The panel promises a compelling blend of policy insight, community-driven leadership, and human rights advocacy, all tailored to the realities of rural and remote mental health.
Key Learning Takeaways:
Embedding Human Rights in Rural Mental Health Practice:
Delegates will learn how rights-based frameworks support dignity, inclusion, and empowerment for rural populations, even in the face of geographic and systemic barriers.
Elevating Lived Experience to Drive Transformative Change:
The session will highlight how integrating consumer leadership and lived experience in training, policy, and governance leads to more effective, culturally responsive supports.
Presenter
Lucie Cutting
Sunday presenter / Features Reporter
ABC Radio Hobart
Keynote Panel: Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
Biography
Lucie Cutting is a radio presenter and award-nominated features reporter for ABC Radio in Tasmania. Her career with ABC started as a radio producer in 2017.
Since 2023 Lucie has hosted Tasmania Sundays and presented many programs, including a national summer broadcast co-presented with musician Mike Noga.
Prior to ABC, she co-founded The Pin – an online platform exploring race, culture and identity in Australia. The site is now preserved in the national digital archive, Trove.
In 2024 Lucie was shortlisted for best arts reporting in the Tasmanian Media Awards.
She is a passionate storyteller, sought after MC and engaging facilitator of conversations.
Simon Katterl
Chief Executive Officer
Mental Health Lived Experience Peak
Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
Biography
Simon Katterl (he/him) is the CEO of Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland. A passionate advocate for human rights, he has dedicated over a decade to amplifying the consumer in mental health and legal systems. Simon has previously Chaired the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, provided commissioned advice to the Victorian Minister for Mental Health, and worked across mental health and human rights commissions as well as the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.
Mark Mason
Chief Executive Officer
The Speak Out Association of Tasmania Inc
Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
Biography
Mark has over 25 years’ experience working across the private, public and community sectors.
Mark is the CEO of the Speak Out Association of Tasmania Inc (Speak Out) which is the longest serving advocacy organisation in Tasmania for people with intellectual disability.
Mark feels passionately about the promotion and protection of human rights and has spent much of his career advocating for improved human rights protections, particularly in relation to Youth Justice, Addictions and Disability sectors.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts with Professional Honours in Public Sector Leadership and Management and is a graduate of the Tasmanian Leaders Program (2008).
Mx Giancarlo De Vera
Chief Executive Officer
Being - Mental Health Consumers
Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
Biography
For over 15 years, Giancarlo de Vera has worked across community services, government, and not-for-profit sectors, both within Australia and internationally. Before joining BEING as CEO, Giancarlo worked at People with Disability Australia, most recently as Senior Manager of Policy. Giancarlo’s career demonstrates a strong commitment to advocacy, equality, and systemic change, particularly in the realms of mental health and disability.
As a proud LGBTIQA+ and non-binary human rights advocate from a culturally and racially marginalised background, and with lived experience of psychosocial disability, Giancarlo embodies BEING’s mission of representing the voice of the diverse range of NSW mental health consumers.
Donna Crompton
Senior Manager Support Services
St. Giles Society
Human Rights and the Way Forward in Rural Remote Mental Health
Biography
Donna Crompton is a passionate advocate for inclusive practices within the NDIS landscape. With extensive experience in disability services, she leads initiatives empowering individuals with disabilities to achieve their goals. Donna fosters collaboration between stakeholders and enhances service delivery, ensuring that voices of people with disabilities are heard and valued. Her commitment to systemic change drives her work in the NDIS reform space.
