Committee

committee-header-image

Committee

The ACAJ is administered by an executive committee, which incorporates representatives from each affiliate and Australia’s national delegate to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.

Click on each name to learn more about the Committee.

  • President: Tim Lester
  • Vice President: Kallee Buchanan
  • Treasurer: Sue Neales
  • Secretary: Elizabeth Anderson
  • IFAJ Delegate: Leigh Radford
  • Rural Press Club of Qld representative: Carolyn Martin
  • Rural Press Club of Victoria representative:
  • Rural Media South Australia representative:
  • Farm Writer’s Association of NSW:
  • National Rural Press Club:

Meet the Committee

Tim Lester

President / ACAJ Public Officer

Tim is the senior policy manager for the Australian Forest Products Association and has worked in natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, biosecurity and rural innovation.

Email: president@acaj.com.au

Kallee Buchanan

Vice President

a woman in an a akubra hat and white shirt

 

Kallee Buchanan started her career as a journalist at the Bundaberg News-Mail in 2008, before joining the ABC in 2009. She’s since worked as a reporter and presenter in stations in Orange, Rockhampton and Bundaberg. In 2017 she won the radio and digital categories at the Queensland Rural Media Awards, and was named the overall journalism winner as well, which earned her a trip to the IFAJ congress in South Africa. She went on to win the International Star Prize for Digital Media. She joined the committee of the Rural Press Club of Queensland in 2016 and became its representative on the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists in 2018, becoming the secretary of the ACAJ in 2019 and served as president from 2020 to 2023.

Phone: 0407 739 493 |  Email: vp@acaj.com.au

Sue Neales

Treasurer

Sue is a media professional with more than three decades of feature writing, news reporting, and editing experience in finance, politics, agribusiness, and foreign correspondence for both local and international audiences.

As an agricultural scientist and lifelong outback wanderer, Sue’s passion for writing stories about farming, agriculture, and bush life, runs deep.

Elizabeth Anderson

Secretary

 

Email:

Leigh Radford

IFAJ delegate

Leigh Radford

Leigh is the current President of Rural Media South Australia, a long serving member of the ACAJ, and has been ACAJ’s delegate to IFAJ for the last seven years. Along with his brother Drew, he is Director in media company RadMedia and also produces podcasts for clients through “Events on Air”. Leigh continues his interest in everything rural and remains committed to making a difference in regional Australia.

Up until 2017, Leigh enjoyed three decades of adventures with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, beginning as a trainee rural reporter back in the 1980’s. Initially it was a very rapid learning curve, but he quickly realised that rural reporting was both a unique and fascinating area of broadcasting. He describes every day since as a learning experience and a chance to meet some of the nation’s most interesting leaders, farmers and characters. Leigh worked as a rural reporter at ABC regional stations in Victoria and South Australia. He was the voice of the Country Hour in South Australia from the early 1990s until January 2005, and served as the State’s Executive Producer of ABC Rural programs from 1997 until being appointed National Editor of all ABC Rural programs and online content in 2005.

Leigh became Head of Rural and National programs for the ABC’s new Regional Division in July 2015, adding TV programs ‘Landline’ and ‘Back Roads’ and National Radio programs ‘Australia all Over’ and ‘Saturday Night Country’ to his portfolio. A multi-award winning broadcaster, he has a number of Dalgety Awards for Excellence in Rural Journalism to his credit and a number of Landcare awards. He was the inaugural winner of the Telstra Rural Journalist of the Year award in South Australia in 1996.

Phone: 0409 678 323     Email: captainrural@gmail.com

Ben Waters

Farm Writers’ Association of NSW Representative

Ben Waters

Ben is an experienced agribusiness advisor who has worked with a broad range of clients for more than 15 years. He combines practical farming experience with advisory and corporate finance experience to provide a range of solutions to various clients and situations.

Ben grew up in northern New South Wales and took over the family farm 10 years ago. He is passionate about the agricultural industry and the exciting times it has ahead.

Ben is responsible for coordinating the awards for the Farm Writers Association of NSW and believes that the great stories of rural Australia need a strong platform to be told from.

Phone: 0411 462 378     Email: ben.waters@fticonsulting.com