About Connect North-West Inc. (Connect)
Connect was established to assist regional, national and international cooperation and consultation between government agencies and the private sector, in the economic development of North-Western Australia.
Shri Goyal stated (quote), “We can look at this trade between the two countries, both in goods and services, quadrupling from about $26 billion now to $100 billion by 2030. That’s the goal we have set for ourselves. And you, ladies and gentlemen, have to make that happen!”
Connect believes that the sectoral challenges around Australia integrating the Agribusiness Supply Chain into the ECTA Value Chain (the Project) are of paramount importance in making the ECTA a reality.
To facilitate the rapid evolution of the Project, Connect is actively coordinating meetings, conferences, and forums to promote network expansion and commercial interaction regarding the design and development of the Project.
Our Team
John Hassell (Chairman) BBus(Ag), GAICD
A broadacre farmer and livestock producer, John is the President of WA Farmers and the Vice-President of the National Farmers’ Federation. Having spent his life working with and for Australia’s primary producers, John is keen to see the regional Agribusiness opportunities associated with the Austral-Indus Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (the ECTA) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreements, activated for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific’s primary producers and food processors.
Mal Wark (Secretary), Cert BusAdmin
Trained in Project Management in the Pilbara region of North-Western Australia, Mal has spent his life operating remotely in the Indo-Pacific. An Indigenous Economic Development specialist, Mal is accustomed to negotiating commercial Joint Venture outcomes between Indigenous traditional owners, the private sector, and government agencies.
Tim Baker (Chief Financial Officer), FNS40815 Cert IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking
Coming from an IT background and working in the financial services sector, Tim specialises as a Commercial and Agricultural Finance Broker (CPFWA Pty Ltd – ACL# 383441), with a focus on assisting WA-based clients exporting and/or distributing food and beverages throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Thibault Fregoni
Working in the chocolate industry for over twenty-years, Thibault is a Chocolatier who has participated at every level of the international Cacao industry, from ‘the bean to the bar’. Recently, Thibault has been engaged with AgriFutures Australia, James Cook University (Cairns/Townsville, Qld), and the Universities of Reading (UK) and Sydney (NSW), in the development of the Australian Cocoa Strategic RD&E Plan (2022-2027). Thibault is also actively working with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea, to improve Cocoa production and processing in the Pacific.
Raja Modi BSc (Zoology) Dip.Pharm.
An Indian national, trained Pharmacist, and international businessman with an office in Gujarat, Raja is based in the Pilbara region of North-Western Australia. Raja is commercially active in Western Australia and has an operational Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) established between the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA), Regional Development Australia (the RDA), and the Town of Port Hedland.
Peter Wood, Grad Cert Research Commercialisation, PhD Tourism
Born and raised in Northern Australia, Peter is an entrepreneur and scientist, specialising in research commercialisation. Combined with twenty-five years of experience designing and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Peter has assisted in globally developing new projects in the agribusiness, defence, energy, extractive, health, marine, and tour industries. With Alma Mater at Charles Darwin University (Darwin, NT), Flinders University (Adelaide, SA), James Cook University (Cairns/Townsville, Qld), and the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Qld), Peter has international connections with alumni in a range of industry domains.