CACC Sydney Welcomes South Australian Minister for Trade & Investment

South Australia is at the forefront of the global green transition—driving growth across renewables, critical minerals, and energy. Beyond energy, the state is proudly known as the Defence State and home to Australia’s rapidly growing space industry. With the nation’s fastest and most transparent planning system, South Australia also offers compelling opportunities in property development and infrastructure.

Leading the private boardroom briefing is The Hon. Joe Szakacs, South Australia's Minister for Trade and Investment, joined by Chris Wood, Executive Director of Invest South Australia. This gathering will provide an opportunity to highlight South Australia’s diverse investment potential and strengthen engagement with key investment stakeholders.

THIS IS A PRIVATE GATHERING, BY INVITATION ONLY.

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HOSTED BY

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The Hon Joe Szakacs MP has represented Adelaide’s north-western suburbs as the Member for Cheltenham since his election to State Parliament in 2019 and has served as a Minister in the Malinauskas Government since early 2022. Serving currently as Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Local Government, and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Minister Szakacs has previously held the Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services portfolios.

Prior to entering politics, Minister Szakacs worked as a lawyer, trade union leader and professional company director, holding leadership and directorial positions with SA Unions, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), and Statewide Super. During his tenure he held national positions with the ACTU including the National Executive. While a member of the Board of Directors of Statewide Super, he held positions including Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and was a member of the Investment Committee. He has participated in various global forums for workers capital and pension funds, including the Global Union’s Committee on Workers’ Capital and the United Nations Principals of Responsible Investment.

Minister Szakacs completed his university studies both in Adelaide and in the USA and is an admitted Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia. As a representative swimmer, Minister Szakacs competed both nationally and internationally. He held multiple South Australian records, was a South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) athlete and a scholarship holder at the University of Missouri. Minister Szakacs continues to live in Adelaide’s western suburbs with his wife and two young children, just a few hundred metres from the hospital where he was born.

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Chris was appointed as Head of Invest SA in November 2022, and since his appointment Invest SA has attracted over $1 billion of national and international investment into South

Australia.

Formally, Chris was CEO – Regional Development Australia (Adelaide), where he was leading multiple initiatives including RDA’s Regional Blueprint, cross departmental projects at the State and Federal level, and development of the RDSA investment pipeline of over 750 projects.

Prior to that, he established Edge International Consulting which provided commercial opportunity identification and investment facilitation services to domestic and international businesses to unlock long-term, sustainable projects (including infrastructure development and international joint

ventures) to invigorate local economies, build wealth and create jobs. Chris was the Managing Director of Edge International Consulting for a decade.

Before establishing Edge International Consulting, Chris was with the Australian Government and worked as Consul & Trade and Investment Commissioner in Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, where he led Energy and Agribusiness Investment Teams across North-East Asia.

As CEO for a not-for-profit volunteer-based organization, Mel leads the mission to promote trade and investment between Canada & Australia. The CACC is the only bilateral international chamber that has a presence and operations in both countries with over 6,500 members across both regions.

Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the CACC has been leading the discussion amongs Canadian and Australian leaders trying to navigate an increasingly complex global economy.

Minh is the Deputy Lead of KPMG Australia’s National Deals tax practice and was elected to the KPMG Australia National Board on 1 July 2023.

She has over 23 years of deals tax experience and has led some of the largest infrastructure and energy transactions in Australia. Minh also leads KPMG’s Global Infrastructure Investors Network and is a member of KPMG’s Global Sovereign wealth and pension funds Tax Steering Committee.

Minh holds a Science, Law (Honours) and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Sydney. She was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2000, was awarded the Corporate Tax Adviser of the Year Award from the Tax Institute in 2015, is a member of the IPA Tax Working group and is the co-chair of the Tax Institute’s Annual Infrastructure Tax conference.

Minh is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the workforce and an advocate for women in infrastructure.

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12:00PM - Doors Open/Networking

12:20PM - Lunch Served

12:40PM - Welcome Remarks

12:45PM - Roundtable Discussion

1:45PM - Networking

2:00PM - Meeting Concludes

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ABOUT THE CACC

The Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce (CACC) is a non-profit volunteer based organisation that aims to bring businesses together to facilitate strong economic and trade relationships between Canada and Australia.

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