We're about compassion
Our mission
​We will advocate for a political system that puts compassion at its core, ensuring that policies are designed to uplift the most vulnerable, protect our planet, and foster a more inclusive society.
Compassion In Politics Australia was born out of a need for better politics. While we can have the optimism to believe that our politicians and those who work in the political sphere start off with the best of intentions, too often the gladiatorial nature of how we do politics does not work. We don’t get the outcomes that are right for the community, for the environment, for our economy nor our wellbeing.
CIPA’s main aim is to improve our politics by inserting compassion into the core of our political system.
We’ll achieve this by:
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Enhancing political leaders' wellbeing and capacity to lead with integrity
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Advocating for compassion
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Policy change
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Improving public discourse.
Our people
CIPA operates as an advisory board of dedicated professionals bringing deep experience in government, media and advocacy.
Josie Gibson
Chair, Advisory Board
Josie Gibson is Director of strategic advisory firm CatalystFX and The Catalyst Network, a changemaker community she co-founded in 2014. She is an experienced leadership coach, creative mentor and strategic adviser on complex business and community projects.
A former journalist specialising in geopolitics, Josie has held senior roles in diverse organisations, her experience spanning all sectors. On the commercial side, she has co-founded and led several businesses and built thriving networks for senior executives and women leaders in global companies.
Josie serves on a number of enterprise advisory groups and is an Adjunct Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University’s FORWARD Centre for Future Skills and Workforce Transformation in Melbourne.
Jonathan Granger
Coordinator
Jonathan has over 25 years experience in strategic communications, holding leadership positions in government, emergency services and the community sector.
He is a storyteller and strategist with a strong interest in politics, particularly in local government. ​​
Robert Masters
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Robert Masters brings more than 30 years of strategic communication and reputation management to the corporate and government sectors.
This has included more than a decade with a publicly listed international public relations consultancy and other private consultancies at Manager and Board levels, as well as more than a decade as a metropolitan newspaper political journalist at Federal and State government levels.
His experience covers the key foundations for strategic communication planning and execution, reputation management, issues and crisis management (including risk), government relations, employee relations, industrial and consumer communication, and investor relations.
He is a Life Fellow and a Past President of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (now Communication and Public Relations Australia); an Industry Fellow of Swinburne University; a Past Board member and Chairman of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation; an advisor to the Chair and CEO of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation; Chairman of Hands on Health Australia; Chairman of the Centre for Optimism; and a former Board member of the Tee Up for Kids Foundation.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2024 for his services to communication and marketing sectors and charitable organisations.
Kimberly McArthur
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Kimberly has helped to found multiple social impact organisations, all dedicated to training and education.
With a background in law, politics and psychology, she works with government, policy makers and current and aspiring politicians to develop skills and capacity to address pressing policy and political issues like polarization, mental wellbeing, gender-based violence prevention, and inclusive policy design.
Camille Carroll​
A public servant with deep knowledge of the Commonwealth and strong advocate for the empowerment of public service, accountability and governance.
Stephen Moir​​
Prior to establishing Moir Group, Stephen spent 17 years with a leading international recruitment firm. He progressed through the business and was Managing Director for the operations in Australia. He left to establish Moir Group in early 2007.
Stephen firmly believes that work is a big part of people’s lives and that having a satisfying job is a big part of having a fulfilling life. Stephen has had great success in delivering on this belief. He stands by Moir Group’s values of Care, Partnership, Rigour and Persistence and they underpin everything he does.
He always focuses on cultural fit, service and sourcing the right people for his clients, realising that, when Moir Group do their job really well, they have a significant impact on organisations and people’s lives. The result is that Moir’s candidates build successful careers with great retention for the organisations they are placed with.
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Janet Salisbury
Dr Janet Salisbury has a background in science research, writing and communications. Through this work, she became interested in creating dialogue around contentious policy issues and the role of the arts in bringing people together around common cause. She developed these ideas with the Canberra-based A Chorus of Women, including through facilitation of a series of multistakeholder ‘Canberra Conversations’ around climate change and environmental issues (2009-2014), as well as training and participation in the international Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter network. In January 2020, with bushfires still raging, she called the women in her networks to meetings in Canberra to discuss her ideas around amplifying women’s voices for a collaborative national approach for climate action. These meetings were the foundation for the Women’s Climate Congress, which Janet has subsequently led to become a dynamic national movement of women — meeting with parliamentarians, business and community leaders, to promote the Congress vision for collaborative , nonpartisan action to secure the climate and create systems change for gender-balanced, long-term human and planetary wellbeing.
Claire Yorke
Dr Claire Yorke is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Future Defence and National Security at Deakin University, and a published author. Her first book on 'Empathy in Politics and Leadership’ is written for a general readership and was published in late 2025 by Yale University Press. Through her work she explores the role and limitations of empathy and emotions in politics, leadership, strategy, and geopolitics, and combines academic research with an applied approached. Originally from the UK, she began her career in the British Parliament and then Chatham House, before completing her PhD in International Relations at Kings College London. In an international career, she has lived and worked in France, Denmark, the United States, and now Australia.