Hon Chris Picton MP

Minister for Health and Wellbeing Member for Kaurna

Chris Picton is the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in South Australia and the Member for Kaurna, representing Adelaide’s southern suburbs. He is passionate about improving healthcare outcomes for all South Australians and is dedicated to delivering better services and opportunities for his local community.

Since entering Parliament, Chris has held a range of ministerial roles, including Minister for Police, Correctional Services, Emergency Services and Road Safety, as well as Assistant Minister to the Treasurer. He also served as Convenor of SA Labor’s Policy Platform Committee, helping shape the party’s direction and priorities.

Before his election, Chris gained extensive experience in health and public policy. He served as Adviser and Chief of Staff to former federal Health Minister and Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, and as Chief of Staff to former SA Health Minister John Hill. He also worked in the private sector as an Associate Director at Deloitte Access Economics, contributing to key national reforms including tobacco plain packaging and public hospital funding.

Educated at public schools in Adelaide, Chris holds a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and a Bachelor of Arts from Flinders University.

LinkedIn Account Chris Picton MP

Professor Nicola Spurrier

Chief Public Health Officer Department for Health and Wellbeing

Professor Nicola Spurrier is the Chief Public Health Officer for the Department for Health and Wellbeing, being appointed in 2019. The Chief Public Health Officer is responsible for statewide preventative health activities including the identification and management of communicable diseases. Professor Spurrier’s role includes advising the Minister and the Chief Executive of SA Health about proposed legislative or administrative changes in relation to population health. Professor Spurrier specialises in developing and implementing policies and programs across child health, obesity prevention and Aboriginal health. She also has extensive experience in health protection and promotion, public health partnership and health diplomacy activities.

Professor Spurrier is a dual qualified medical specialist, public health physician and paediatrician, with 32 years’ experience within SA Health including 13 years in the Department for Health and Wellbeing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Spurrier has been instrumental in South Australia’s effective virus response and continues to take a personal focus on the health and wellbeing of every South Australian.

Professor Helen Marshall

Clinical Research Director of Women's and Children's Health Network

Professor Marshall AM is a clinician researcher and NHMRC Investigator L2 Fellow. She is a Consultant and Professor in Vaccinology at the Adelaide Medical School and Clinical Research Director, Women’s and Children’s Health Network. Professor Marshall is Medical Director of the Vaccinology and Immunology Research Trials Unit, at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and is the Research Leader, Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Group in the Robinson Research Institute where she leads a team of 22 researchers in vaccinology.

She was the 2023 South Australian Scientist of the Year and the 2022 SA Australian of the Year and SA Woman of the Year. 

In 2022 she was awarded Member of the Order of Australia and is a Fellow of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Nathan Rigney

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia

Nathan is a Ngarrindjeri man, currently living and working on Kaurna Yerta. He has deep cultural and community connections and has worked in the health sector for nearly 15 years. 

Over the years, he has provided leadership working across Tackling Indigenous Smoking, cancer prevention, health promotion, and public health policy. Nathan has spent the past 5 years leading and supporting groundbreaking policy, including the South Australian Aboriginal Health Promotion Strategy 2022-2030 and the SA public sector Anti-Racism Strategy. Nathan has also been involved in research projects across topic areas such as bowel cancer screening, social and cultural determinants, and more recently the impact of racism in sport.

Nathan is passionate about embedding cultural determinants and Health in All Policies into program and policy design and creating culturally safe environments for Aboriginal people.

Associate Professor Carmel Williams

Director of the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation

Carmel Williams is Director of the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation based in South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide and is founding Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Advancing Health in All Policies. 

She has had a long career in government working as a policy entrepreneur, to address complex policy issues, navigating across sectors and systems to deliver good public policy outcomes that contribute to improved heath, wellbeing and health equity. Carmel led numerous collaborative projects on the social and environmental determinants of health, drawing research, policy and practice together to deliver evidence informed public policy outcomes and she works extensively with the WHO. 

Carmel is the Editor in Chief of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.