Jan Cooper joins WATIA as General Manager

Rural transport advocate to lead WATIA’s productivity and labour relations policy work

The Western Australian Transport Industry Association (WATIA) has appointed Jan Cooper as General Manager, effective today. Ms Cooper joins from the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (LRTAWA), where she was Chief Executive Officer.

In her new role, Ms Cooper will focus on productivity and labour relations policy, an area she knows from the inside. She held senior management positions in the WA Government’s Department of Productivity and Labour Relations from 1994 to 2001 and was a member of the WA Senior Executive Service, advising Ministers and Cabinet.

“Jan is one of the most respected voices in WA’s rural transport sector. Her depth of experience in productivity and labour relations policy, and her years representing operators across regional WA, will strengthen the work WATIA does for members right across the state,” said WATIA CEO Cam Dumesny.

Jan Cooper’s experience in transport advocacy

Ms Cooper spent more than two decades representing WA’s livestock and rural transport operators at LRTAWA. She has appeared as an advocate in industrial tribunals and given evidence to parliamentary committees.

Raised on a mixed grain and sheep farm at Kojonup in the Great Southern, she has also been chief executive of a major agribusiness and a director of the consulting practice Cooper Piesse & Associates. She has served on the Beef Council of WA and the WA Architects Board and is the past chair of the charity Prepare Produce Provide.

“Productivity and workforce are among the biggest issues facing WA transport operators. I’m looking forward to working with Cam and the WATIA team to deliver practical policy outcomes for the industry,” said Ms Cooper.