Board members announced for new Health and Wellbeing Queensland agency

Rugby league legend and Indigenous health ambassador Preston Campbell has been named as an interim board member for the newly established Health and Wellbeing Queensland (HWQld).

Campbell will be joined by seven other interim board members and an interim Chief Executive David Conry AM, while permanent recruitment for these roles have commenced.

Welcoming efforts to get the population eating better and moving more, Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles stated “the newly appointed interim board … is the next step to getting HWQld kicking goals for Queenslanders.

“Each board member brings their own wealth of knowledge and experience that will help us reach our goal of Queenslanders being among the healthiest people in the world by 2026.”

Previously a member of the advisory board, Conry said he is delighted to be a part of the HWQld team and is looking forward to working with the board and community to establish HWQLd to achieve genuine outcomes for Queenslanders.

Conry has significant business and community service experience and was honoured in 2007 as Queensland’s Australian of the Year, in recognition for his founding of the national disability group Youngcare.

He advised “I’m looking forward to developing a strategy that makes sense, is deliverable and provides the subsequent foundation for success for many years.

“HWQld will work together with the community, private sector and all levels of government to drive collaboration and change and get Queensland more understanding and excited about their own health.”

Minister Miles said HWQld will start off with supporting the continued rollout of the successful Deadly Choices program, led by the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).

He added “in this state budget, we committed a $25.2 million boost over three years to expand the Deadly Choices program into more areas of the state.

“Since this program was developed by IUIH in 2010, there has been a significant increase in the number of health checks undertaken by Indigenous Queenslanders, which is really positive.

“We want to continue this great work to help reduce health inequity, and HWQld will help IUIH drive it.”

The interim board appointments are:

• Thomas (Preston) Campbell, founder of the Preston Campbell Foundation. 
• Professor Amanda Lee, Professor of Public Health Policy, University of Queensland. 
• Dr John Pickering, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Behavioural Scientist of Behaviour Innovation 
• Stephen Ryan, Director of GROW, a community-based mental health support service. 
• Jo Whitehead, Health Service Chief Executive, Mackay Hospital and Health Service. 
• Associate Professor Robyn Littlewood, Director of Health Services Research at the Queensland Children’s Hospital Centre for Children’s Health Research.