Board of Directors

AALARA is governed by a voluntary board of directors made up of representatives from throughout Australia. The board directors meet four times a year with an Annual General Meeting held normally towards the middle of each year. The current board of directors are:

Shane McGrath

Paul Sexton

Kristy Ahrens

General Manager

Mary Stuart

Greg Yong

Greg O'Neill

Phil Durkin

James Kemp

Tony Lines

Shane McGrath - President

Shane is the Senior Manager Operations and Product Development for the Sydney Royal Easter Show, Australia’s largest annual event.

Juggling multiple balls in the air while riding roller coasters before breakfast gets him bouncing out of bed every morning.

With direct responsibly for delivering the event and advancing the product offer he is part of a dynamic and committed team that creates memories that last a lifetime while ensuring kids understand that chocolate milk doesn’t come from brown cows.

His experience of 15 years in the MICE industry is tested annually as Sydney Showground is transformed into the world’s biggest ‘pop up’ which includes a cattle station and horse stud, theme park, shopping centre, food court, hotel and Australia’s largest classroom while welcoming around 900,000 guests in twelve days.

Mary Stuart - Vice President

Mary Stuart has been the Executive Director of the iconic 107-year-old Luna Park Melbourne for the last 14 years. During this time Mary has overseen investment in Luna Park’s heritage-listed attractions including the Great Scenic Railway, together with ride upgrades, new buildings and public art. Mary has a background in industrial relations, industry development and corporate governance.

Greg O'Neill - Director

Greg bought his first ride at age 15, working on weekends and school holidays. During this time he also worked closely with his brother Garry, building a small amusement park in Sydney, and working at shows and festivals with portable equipment. Moving to the Gold Coast in 1982, initially to do a major fit out of Grundy’s. He then commenced operating Australia’s only full time ride manufacturing company.

Paul Sexton - Director

Paul was part of the opening team as Director of Park Operations at Australia’s Wonderland in Sydney.

After 10 years, he moved to Fox Studios, as General Manager, working with Twentieth Century Fox executives. Paul moved to establish a new business with a group out of New York. His role as CEO was to establish, Sydney Skytour which was completed in 2000. Paul then developed an outside walk on Sydney Tower; Skywalk.

Paul was engaged to consult on Eureka Tower in Melbourne an observation deck and moving floor attraction called The Edge.

Over the last few years, Paul has set up his own localised attraction business with a Children’s Playland, a Laser Tag and a Virtual Reality Escape Room offer.

James Kemp - Director

James Kemp has worked in the entertainment & hospitality industry for over 20 years in varying capacities with a range of professional organisations. Originating from a sheep station in Texas Queensland, James created a business in 1994 called Barnyard Babies designed to teach children about the important role domestic farm animals play in our society. In 2004 he purchased an existing carnival company, Carnival Land Amusements.

Phil Durkin - Director

Phil and his company Australia’s Ultimate Attractions Pty Ltd own and operate some of Australia’s biggest and best attractions at 40 events per year.

We have an impressive list of events and venues and enjoy presenting our attractions all over Australia.

We operate the Slingshot standing 45m tall and the Aviator ride standing 32m tall. Each year these rides present at some of the biggest and best events.

Phil has been a Board member of AALARA for many years and enjoys serving this wonderful industry

Greg Yong - Director

Greg is the Chief Operating Officer for Ardent Leisure Theme Parks (Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and Sky Point).

Prior to this, he was Chief Operating Officer for the Asian theme park division and Executive General Manager – Theme Parks for Village Roadshow. Greg has had responsibility for some of the country’s largest properties such as Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet n Wild Gold Coast, Wet n Wild Sydney, Wet n World Hainan Island China, Lionsgate Entertainment World Zhuhai and Topgolf (Gold Coast). 

Greg has experience leading large teams (up to 5,000 staff) and often over diverse geographic locations from regional areas to capital cities and international locations. He has had responsibility for disparate portfolios including Operations, Maintenance, Technical Services, Security, Safety, Entertainment, Aquatics, Admissions, Aviation, Life Sciences, Retail, Food and Beverage and Emergency Response/Crisis Incident Management.

Greg has also worked with some of the world’s largest intellectual properties with brands such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, Dreamworks, Lego, ABC Kids and Nickelodeon all licensing directly to parks he has been associated with.

Greg holds a Master of Business Administration and postgraduate qualifications in Accounting. As former foster carers, Greg and his wife are passionate about helping those in their local community. H is also Chairman of the Gold Coast Community Fund, a group of business leaders who work to raise funds whilst applying appropriate governance protocols to help people struggling in the Gold Coast area.

Greg is a huge believer in culture and leadership. He is in the parks every day and still personally runs rides, makes average coffees and is occasionally lucky enough to help feed the animals – under supervision. He is also is a ‘professional actor’ with his sole credit being ‘Chainsaw Killer Clown’ for Fright Nights at Warner. Bros Movie World.

A qualified pilot from the age of 17 and a ‘used to be ok’ saxophone player, he is married to Tanya and has three young daughters, the family resides on the Gold Coast.   

To reach out to Greg you can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregyong/

Tony Lines - Director

Tony Lines is a self employed Consultant for Between The Lines – HR Consulting following being Head of HR for Village Roadshow Theme Parks (VRTP).

He worked with VRTP for 25 years in a variety of positions in HR and Entertainment. Overall, his HR career has spanned over 35 years. His areas of expertise include Industrial and Employee Relations, Policy Development, Performance Management and Learning & Development and he holds qualifications in Learning & Development, Management and Tourism.

Tony has served on the TTQ Executive and was part of a Tourism Australia industry committee. He previously served on the board of AALARA for many years, including 2 years as president and has represented this Industry at international level serving on IAAPA committees.

Kristy Ahrens - General Manager

Focused on contributing positively to a progressive and innovative company and brand, Kristy’s career spans across print media circulation and editorial, radio advertising, event management and client management. With a passion for creating and implementing ‘against the grain’ communication strategies that deliver real business growth with a fresh approach, Kristy thrives on developing and fostering key client relationships and connecting clients with solutions.