Getting Heard: Influence, Networks and Advocacy for Small Business

A lunchtime session with Anne Pleash, Mission Consulting Solutions

Tuesday 13 October 2026 · 11:30am to 12:30pm · Tropic Tech & Innovation Network, 254–256 Mulgrave Road, Westcourt · [$35] ·

Most people who want something changed, whether it's a council rule, a funding decision or a supplier's attitude, do one of two things. They complain to people who can't fix it, or they send one email to someone who can and never follow up. Anne Pleash has spent 20 years doing the bit in between.

Anne spent almost seven years as Chief of Staff to Bob Katter during the Gillard minority government, when a single crossbench vote could decide legislation. Before that she was a communications consultant with AECOM and held management roles in Queensland local government. She now runs Mission Consulting Solutions from Cairns, advising businesses, health organisations and industry bodies on how to get in front of the right people and what to say once they're there. She sits on the boards of Cancer Council Australia (as Deputy Chair), Charley's Chocolate and the North West Hospital and Health Service, and chairs the Australian cocoa industry boyd. In this hour she'll cover how to work out who actually makes the decision you care about, how to build a network before you need it rather than when you're desperate, how to approach a local member, a department or a peak body so they take you seriously, and how to keep a relationship alive between asks. Expect specific examples from politics, industry and the not-for-profit sector, and a frank view on what doesn't work.There'll be time for questions. Bring the thing you're trying to change.

Who it's for

Business owners who need something from government or a big organisation and don't know where to start. People on committees or boards who want to be more effective. Anyone in a peak body, industry group or not-for-profit who has to make a case for their members. Anyone who suspects they've been sending emails into a void.

About Anne

Anne Pleash is the owner of Mission Consulting Solutions, a Cairns-based consultancy in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and government relations. She was Chief of Staff to an Independent Federal Member of Parliament for six and a half years and has advised politicians, industry leaders and First Nations communities on complex and politically sensitive issues. Anne is a trained mediator and negotiator, holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Business, and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Her work on the "Domestic Violence – It's Not Our Game" campaign won a national award presented by the Prime Minister. In 2018 she became the 207th Australian to swim the English Channel solo.

With thanks

This workshop is heavily discounted due to the support of the Queensland Government Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation as part of the Regional Enablers Program, delivered by Launch Y(E)P.

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