Esther commenced in the role of Counsellor (Industry) for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science at the Australian Embassy in Beijing on 10 February 2020. She has Bachelor Degrees in Law and Commerce from the University of Tasmania.

Prior to this, Esther was the Manager of the Timor Sea Section in the Department. She managed the Department’s involvement in the maritime boundary negotiations with Timor-Leste, including the Department’s involvement in the Compulsory Conciliation process under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and more recently Australia’s domestic implementation of the maritime boundaries treaty. This involved managing the domestic legislation process and the transitional arrangements negotiations with the affected petroleum operations.

In his current role, Gavin has responsibility for business development opportunities and building strategic relationships in the China region, with a particular focus on long-term LNG sales and purchase agreements and upstream joint venture partnerships for the company’s existing and future growth projects.

Gavin has over 15 years experience in the oil and gas industry with Woodside having worked in a diverse range of upstream commercial and LNG marketing and trading related roles. He has extensive experience in economic analysis, strategy development, stakeholder/joint venture management and negotiating complex commercial arrangements. This has specifically included roles in the company’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Exploration & International New Ventures, LNG Projects, LNG Marketing and LNG Shipping teams.

Huw has been based in China since 2011, working on carbon pricing, low-carbon development and power sector reform. He currently provides technical backstopping for the EU-China ETS Platform. Huw was previously Research and Projects Manager for China Carbon Forum (CCF), a Beijing-based non-profit aiming to foster cooperation among China’s stakeholders for climate action. He has spoken on behalf of CCF at forums around China, as well as internationally, as well as managing regular expert panel discussions on low-carbon topics.

Based in Beijing, Ms. Yang focuses on China's gas and power market fundamentals and policy analysis. Her recent research includes Chinese energy market reforms, small-scale LNG, coal-based synthetic natural gas, gas demand potential from the transport and power generation sectors, Chinese companies' LNG procurement strategies, and the impacts of Chinese gas demand and related policies on the global gas and LNG market. She also has extensive knowledge of electricity load forecast and peak demand management, pricing and structuring of electricity products, power retail operations, and electricity market deregulation.

Prior to joining IHS Markit, Ms. Yang was vice president of pricing, products, and markets at Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. in Houston, Texas. Earlier, she was a quantitative analyst at Williams Companies, where she produced forward-looking price and volatility curves for energy-related trading commodities.

Scott is Counsellor for the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, China. He has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and has been admitted to practice law in Australia.

Scott has had a varied career as a federal and state public servant, including in the Attorney-General's Department, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Department of Health, and Customs.

Scott has a background in trade and was, prior to accepting the position of Counsellor, the Director of Trade Policy in DISER, where he was involved in the negotiation of free trade agreements. He has also led policy development for the Australian Government across diverse international issues including people trafficking, anti-corruption, anti-dumping, international family law, and children's rights. He has received Australia Day Awards twice, for his work on legal reforms for tobacco packaging and age discrimination.

Scott has previously lived and worked in Asia, and considers the position of Counsellor (Industry, Science, Energy and Resources) to be a career highlight.