Rebecca Weisser

Expertise: media, superannuation, productivity, Australian foreign policy, economic development.

Rebecca is an experienced researcher, journalist, editor and recently author of papers on superannuation, classical liberalism and the media and fairness.  She has also drafted policy submissions for the 2015 National Reform Summit and recently appeared before the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Reference Committee’s Inquiry into the partial suspension of sanctions against Iran.

She is a regular commentator on Australian public policy and international relations.   She appears regularly on ABC1’s The Drum and on ABC News 24 and has also appeared on ABC1’s Q&A, Sky’s Paul Murray Live.  She has contributed to The Australian Spectator, Quadrant, The Australian Financial Review and The Australian.  In addition she is on the board of The Australia Council for the Arts and was a judge for the 2016 Bastiat Prize.

Rebecca was opinion editor at The Australian for seven years and edited the popular column Cut and Paste as well as writing leaders, features and news.

Ms. Weisser has extensive experience in the public and private sector.  She joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1990 as a career diplomat and had postings to Vanuatu and Mexico. She led negotiations for the Mexico Australia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and represented Australia at the UN Conference on Trade and Development.  She organized Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans’ historic visit to Cuba and his meeting with Fidel Castro and interpreted for Foreign Minister Gareth Evans at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.  She has also worked as an advisor on public affairs with Qantas and as an advisor on communications with Australian Catholic University.

Rebecca has an Honours degree (1^st) in Arts from Australian National University, majoring in Human Geography, Development Studies and French and a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade, also from ANU.