WA DEFENCE REVIEW is grateful for the support of the following distinguished senior professionals who kindly provide advice and guidance as part of our esteemed Editorial Advisory Group. As experts in their fields, their industry-leading qualifications and knowledge plays a valued role in contributing to WA DEFENCE REVIEW’s mission to bring an independent, yet WA-focused, perspective to military, strategic and defence industry issues at the state, national and international levels.
Chair, Sir Richard Williams Foundation and Chief of Air Force (2011-15).
Senior Defence Industry Advisor and former Defence Innovation Manager, Centre for Defence Industry Capability.
Senior Defence Industry Analyst and Commentator.
Group Managing Director, Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems; Head of the Submarine Force (2001-2005), Royal Australian Navy.
Emeritus Professor of Military Studies, Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University.
Foundation Director, National Security Institute, University of Canberra and Chief of Army (2002-08).
Strategic Advisor, EOLAS Solutions.
Vice President Strategy, DroneShield; Deputy Chair, Director and Chair Space Industry, Space Industry Association of Australia; Space Attache to the United Sates in Washington DC (2018-20).
CEO, Western Roads Federation and Director, TraumaSim.
Cluster Manager, Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia.
CEO, Regional Development Australia - Perth and Director, Henderson Alliance.
Co-founder & Director, Janssen + Maluga Legal; German Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for Western Australia.
Chair - Australian Board, International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences.
WA Investment and Trade Commissioner for India-Gulf; Managing Director, Martinus Consulting.
Head of Engineering Oceania, Wood; College of Leadership & Management Committee WA, Engineers Australia.
Adjunct Member, Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia.
Executive Chairman, Blakemere Engineering; Non-Executive Director, EDG Australia; Non-Executive Director, Rangelands NRM.
Co-founder and Director, Innovate Australia and Co-founder and Director, Hydrogen Society of Australia.
Emeritus Professor, Curtin University; Technical Advisor, Nimy Resources; Technical Director, Tangibility Consulting.
Professor Emerita and Director, Centre for Muslim States and Societies, University of Western Australia.
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Brendan Augustin
Brendan Augustin is an international strategist with more than 30 years of experience across diplomacy, government relations, public policy and international business in Australia, Europe, Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
He is the Founder and Director of Bina Group Pty Ltd, a strategic advisory firm specialising in government engagement, international partnerships and market entry strategies.
Brendan began his career with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), serving for more than 15 years in Canberra and on diplomatic postings to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and France.
He subsequently joined Woodside Energy, where he held a series of senior executive roles over more than a decade, including overseas assignments in Mauritania and as Country Manager in Timor Leste. He later led the company’s government relations, international engagement and political risk strategies across Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe in support of major international investments and business development.
Brendan also served as Country Manager for Sundance Resources in Cameroon, overseeing government relations and stakeholder engagement for a multi-billion dollar iron ore project while supporting the company’s expansion into the Republic of Congo.
Since establishing Bina Group in 2021, Brendan has advised Australian and international clients in the critical minerals, energy, defence technology and advanced manufacturing sectors, supporting government engagement, market entry and international trade and investment initiatives.
Brendan has served as President of the Western Australian Branch of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) since 2021 and is a regular commentator on international affairs, trade and public policy. He speaks Indonesian, Malay and French at a professional level and has working proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish and Tetum.
Cam Dumesny
CEO, Western Roads Federation and Director, TraumaSim
Cam graduated from RMC Duntroon in 1984, spending several postings as a Logistics Officer before undertaking 12 months study at the Royal Military College of Science in the United Kingdom. Following RMCS, Cam was posted to Research and Development facilities in the UK, United States of America and Australia. Upon leaving the Army after 18 years of service, Cam has held senior executive roles in manufacturing, technology and logistics companies working in both Australia and Asia.
Since 2016, Cam has presided as the CEO over WA’s peak industry body for transport and logistics – the Western Roads Federation. Cam is also a Director of TraumaSim an WA manufacturer exporting to over 30 defence forces around the world; a trustee director of a multi-billion dollar industry super fund and on the WA advisory board for Telstra.
Cam holds post-graduate qualifications in Logistics Management, Technology Management and a conferred Masters in Blast Wave Predictive Modelling.
Geoff Wilkinson
Chair – Australian Board, International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences
Having built a career based on nearly five decades of global professional aviation experience, Geoff has undertaken roles that have emphasised airline finance, airline operations, aerial reconnaissance planning and execution, airport engineering consulting, and mentoring senior airline personnel, to his current university aviation lecturing responsibilities, where he also pursues his postgraduate research in airport engineering and safety.
Geoff is the former President of the Royal Aeronautical Society – Australian Division (RAeS-AD), having stepped aside in April 2024 and has maintained an ongoing affiliation as its Immediate Past President.
In recognition of his in-depth expertise and contribution to the aviation sector in Australia, Geoff received the ‘Australian Aviation Mentor of the Year’ Award by AI Global Media Limited in 2019.
Geoff not only maintains an affiliation with the Australia-based organisation, Travel Industry Mentor Experience (TIME), he also continues to serve on the organising committee of the Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology (APISAT), and, similarly, as the Chair of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) Australia Board, as Sydney prepares to host the Australasian ICAS Congress in 2026.
Tony Tang
Emeritus Professor, Curtin University; Technical Advisor, Nimy Resources; Technical Director, Tangibility Consulting.
Tony Tang is a senior technical executive, advisor and academic research professor with more than 30 years of experience in the global resources and critical minerals sector.
Tony studied and graduated from Curtin University and worked as an engineer and metallurgist in the resources sector, developing expertise across the full life cycle of mineral processing, extraction, and refining, from concept development and testing to engineering design, construction, and steady-state operations.
Through this work, Tony became increasingly passionate about creating innovative and sustainable solutions for critical minerals and energy challenges and realised that collaboration between industry and academia would promote this twofold focus.
He has been regularly collaborating with academic and research institutions and now serves as an adjunct professor in critical minerals, co-supervising Australian and international honours, master’s and PhD candidates in extractive metallurgy and complex chemical processing. This role keeps him closely connected to innovation, emerging technologies and new talent in critical minerals and high-technology materials: insights he brings to industries and government as they navigate energy transition, technological change and workforce challenges.
As part of this role, Tony has led several cooperative research projects and recently successfully led the operations for the Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant (C4P) at Curtin University. Tony and his team successfully oversaw a AUD$15 million program for the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC), developing and optimising production of active materials for the chemistry used in lithium batteries.
Tony also works as an Executive Advisor and Technical Director, supporting Boards and executive teams to shape strategy, minimise major investment risks and translate advanced metallurgical and chemical processing technologies into commercially robust operations, aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations.
A recognised leader in the industry, Tony recently served as Chair of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) Perth Branch, advocating for professional development and recognition within Western Australia’s minerals sector. He is also a Fellow and Chartered Professional of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM-CP) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Most recently, Tony was involved with critical minerals Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs), helping organisations move from navigating early-stage technology readiness towards commercial viability. This work supports the sustainable extraction and refining of critical minerals for use in advanced industries, including applications of strategic importance to Australian defence.
