There’s never been a better time to be a tunneller in Australia.

With billions worth of upcoming tunnelling projects in the next decade, we’ve assembled a panel of three legends of the industry to help us navigate the challenges and opportunities we face during this exciting time in the industry.

The event will be held as a face to face and webinar hybrid event across several Engineers Australia offices around the country and online.

The Legends Panel will comprise 3 individuals who are all regarded as well-respected ATS ‘legends’ in the tunnelling industry. The panel will take the form of a facilitated conversation chaired by Rachael McCarrison.

Prof. Arnold Dix

• Professor Arnold Dix is a barrister, mediator, dispute adjudicator, consultant and expert on all matters relating to tunnelling, underground infrastructure, fire and disasters, as well as broader civil planning and environmental disputes. His career over the past 30 years has celebrated a unique hybrid of engineering, geology, law and risk management matters. Arnold’s key strength is in his ability to bridge the gap between the legal and technical dimensions of a problem, risk assessment or dispute.
• Arnold’s approach in legal matters is practical and commercially minded, appreciating the many factors that are intrinsic to complex disputes to do with tunnelling, mining, engineering and underground works. He has niche high level experience and a considered appreciation of the issues at hand, as well as the many stakeholder interests to be taken into account
• Arnold is the current Vice President of the International Tunnelling Association (Consultative Status to United Nations).

Diane Mather

• Diane Mather is a Design Manager for the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) $15.5 billion Inland Rail Program. She is responsible for the design management of the Gowrie to Heldion (G2H) section of the a Public Private Partnership Project and the technical lead for the three tunnels within the Gowrie to Kagaru (G2K project) scope the most technically complex sections of the Inland Rail alignment. The tunnels technical lead scope covers tunnel design and construction, tunnel systems and fire life safety, key features for the safe service offering of the project.
• Diane has more than 20 years’ experience in design and construction of civil infrastructure and mining projects, and has successfully developed, managed and delivered a wide range of design and construction programs across many disciplines. Prior to joining ARTC, Diane delivered a range of design and construction work packages on several major projects including Clem7 (NSBT), Airport Link, City Rail Link, Westconnex M5East, Westgate, Sydney Metro, Melbourne Metro and Brisbane Cross River Rail. Diane is a UK and Australia-registered chartered professional engineer and the winner of the inaugural Australian Tunnelling Society 2021 Women in Tunnelling Award.