Structure

The AustralAsia Railway Corporation organisation structure links two Governments, the Northern Territory Government and South Australian Government.

5-member Board apart from the Chair are Northern Territory or South Australian public servants.

aarc-organisational-structure-diagramm-1024x775.jpg(Click to enlarge chart)

Board Members

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Alastair Shields B.Bus (Acctg). LLB, EMPA // Chairman

Northern Territory

Appointed 2 September 2014

Alastair is Chair of the AustralAsia Railway Corporation, Chair of the Racing Commission (NT), and Chief Executive Officer of the Darwin Waterfront Corporation. He is also the Northern Territory Government representative on the Joint Management Board for Kakadu National Park. Alastair also provides specialist consulting services.

Alastair was born and educated in Darwin and has more than 35 years of public sector experience in the Northern Territory, most of it at the Northern Territory Department of the Attorney General and Justice and its predecessors. In the period 2013 to 2017, Alastair held a number of Chief Executive Officer roles for Northern Territory Government agencies.

Alastair has been involved in commercial negotiations for many major projects in the Northern Territory, including the AustralAsia Railway. He has qualifications in Law and Accounting from the Charles Darwin University, and a Masters in Public Administration from ANZSOG. In 2007, he was awarded Australian Government Lawyer of the Year by the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association.

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Samuel Burke // Chief Executive Officer

Northern Territory

Appointed CEO January 2019

Sam Burke is the Chief Executive Officer of the AustralAsia Railway Corporation.

Sam was raised and educated in the Territory and is passionate about business growth, major projects and tourism development. Previous roles include as a commercial and litigation lawyer, prosecutor with the Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions, Ministerial advisor and Chief of Staff, and Executive Director of Northern Territory Major Projects.

Sam is currently also the General Manager of the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, which is co-located with the AustralAsia Railway Corporation in Darwin. The Darwin Waterfront Precinct enjoys an average 1.2 million visits every year and Sam’s role with the Corporation has broad responsibilities, including as Project Administrator for the Darwin Convention Centre PPP and management of the Stokes Hill Wharf.

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Andrew Kirkman, NT Department of Transport // Chief Executive Officer

Northern Territory

Appointed 14 October 2015

Andrew was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics in September 2016.

With more than 20 years experience in the Northern Territory Public Sector, Andrew has previously held positions as the Chief Executive of the Department of Transport and as Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director in the Department of Housing.

In addition to key roles in the AustralAsia Railway Corporation, Department of the Chief Minister and NT Treasury, he has worked in finance and commercial roles in the private sector, locally in the mining industry and overseas on public private partnerships.

Andrew holds tertiary qualifications in business and is a Certified Practicing Accountant.

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Mike Wilde // Manager, Network Planning in the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT)

South Australia

Appointed 28 July 2016

Mike is the Manager, Network Planning in the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT). Prior to joining DIT, Mike spent over 32 years in the rail freight industry with experience in business development, customer service delivery, and operations planning roles. This includes 15 years in freight activities on the Alice Springs and Darwin corridors, holding senior management positions with FreightLink and as a board member for the Tarcoola to Darwin corridor maintenance joint venture.

Tim Materne
Mr Tim Materne // Special Counsel Commercial Litigation

South Australia

Appointed 25 November 2019

Tim is Special Counsel Commercial Litigation at the South Australian Crown Solicitor’s Office, Tim represents the South Australian Government in major and complex litigation, managing a portfolio including construction, insolvency, IP, environmental and insurance-based disputes. Prior to working for Government Tim was a partner in a boutique legal firm, specialising in marine and transport insurance and utilities law.