Membership – Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce
CHAIR
Dr Geoff Garret, Queensland Chief Scientist
Geoff Garrett was appointed Chief Scientist to the State Government
of Queensland in January 2011. In this role he is accountable for
science policy, providing strategic guidance across a range of
government departments, and has also been involved with or led a
number of reviews and enquiries, covering inter alia, the science of
floods, uranium mining, bat derived horse viruses, underground coal
gasification, and health and biomedical research.
Formerly he was, for eight years, Chief Executive and member of the
Board of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation. CSIRO is one of the world’s largest and most diverse
national research organisations, with close to 6500 staff across 55 sites in Australia and an
annual turnover exceeding $1 billion.
Prior to joining CSIRO, Geoff led South Africa’s national science agency, the CSIR, as
President and Chief Executive from 1995, following five years as Executive Vice President:
Operations. He was named South Africa’s ‘Boss of the Year’ in 1998, and ‘Engineer of the
Year’ by the South African Society of Professional Engineers in 1999.
He is a recipient of the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society through science. In
June 2008 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen's
Birthday Honours List.
MEMBERS
Dr Rebecca Bartley, Research Scientist, Land and Water, CSIRO
Dr Rebecca Bartley is a Research Scientist and Team Leader in CSIRO
Land and Water's Catchment Processes Group where she leads the Material
Fluxes Team.
Dr Bartley has experience in the fields of fluvial geomorphology and
catchment hydrology. Her primary research interest has been the
development of field experiments and monitoring projects that underpin and
support large scale catchment models that are used to predict sediment and
nutrient loads in Australia’s coastal catchments. Her work has included long
term measurement based research in grazing, sugar cane and rainforest
catchments in North Queensland. She has also worked on stream and catchment management
projects in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and on and land suitability assessments in
north-west Queensland.
Research topics of special interest have included:

using sediment nuclides, dating, monitoring and modelling to improve our understanding of
sediment sources and catchment scale sediment budgets

review and synthesis of catchment scale water quality data for use in water quality models

linking land management change to water quality improvements at multiple scales

investigating the physical processes involved in the disturbance and recovery of landscapes
and how this translates from catchments to the marine system.
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Steve Banney, Consultant, Grazing land management
With over 35 years working in the northern cattle industry, Steve has a good
working knowledge of most aspects of the beef business and in recent years has
worked in a number of different areas including business management, natural
resource management, livestock exports, and on-farm animal production and
welfare.
Steve has been working as a cattle industry consultant for the last 16 years. He
has agricultural and natural resource qualifications. Past, relevant project work includes:

Delivering landholder neighbourhood catchment projects for the Fitzroy Basin Association

Developing smart phone app (Stocktake Plus) to monitor land condition and forage budgets
in collaboration with QDAF

Facilitating Meat and Livestock Australia’s BeefPlan project

Coordinating a national survey of on-farm environmental practices for cattle and sheep
industries

Reporting to AgForce on grazing management training gaps

Development of animal health and welfare module for Queensland Grazing Best
Management Practice program for QDAF

Coordinator/Chair for the Northern Pastoral Company Group.
Currently Steve is a co-presenter of the Business EDGE training, acts as a project coordinator
for Meat and Livestock Australia’s animal health and welfare program, and delivers business
and animal modules within the Grazing Best Management Practice program. Steve was
recently involved in delivering the report titled “Determining property-level rates of breeder cow
mortality in northern Australia”.
Steve is a member of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology and is a
Certified Practicing Agriculturalist.
Jon Black, Director-General, Department of Environment and Heritage
Protection
Jon has a strong background in the water services industry in Queensland
and was the former Director-General of the Department of Energy and
Water Supply. Previous to this role, Jon was the CEO of the Northern
South-East Queensland (SEQ) Distributor-Retailer Authority, UnityWater,
and prior to that, the SEQ water and sewerage distribution business.
Jon combines this first-hand industry knowledge with a wealth of
leadership experience gained in his 25 year career with the Australian
Army.
Jon has qualifications from the University of New South Wales, the
Australian Institute of Company Directors, The Royal Military College, Duntroon, and the United
States Marine Corps, Virginia, USA.
Jon is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland.
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Professor Susanne Becken, Director of Griffith Institute for Tourism,
Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith Business School, Griffith
University
Dr Susanne Becken is a Professor of Sustainable Tourism at Griffith
University, Australia, and an Adjunct Professor at Lincoln University, New
Zealand. Susanne is a globally recognised expert in the field of sustainable
tourism, in particular climate change, resource management, resilience, and
environmental behaviour. Her research, which is published in more than 100
journal papers, reports and books, is widely cited by academics around the
world, and has also influenced government policy and industry practice.
Susanne acted as a contributing author to the Fourth and Fifth IPCC Assessment Reports of
the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change and represented Asia-Pacific on the World
Meteorological Organisation’s Expert Team on Climate and Tourism. Susanne has undertaken
consultancy work for a range of Government organisations, the United Nations and industry and
contributed to linking academic theory with sustainable business and tourism management.
Susanne is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at international conference and she is on
the editorial boards of Annals of Tourism Research, the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Journal
of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, and Tourism Review. In 2011, her
achievements were formally recognised through the Emerging Scholar of Distinction Award
from the International Academy of the Study of Tourism.
Dr Mike Bell, Principal Research Fellow, Centre of Plant Science,
The University of Queensland
Dr Mike Bell joined QAAFI’s Centre for Plant Science in October
2010, after a 27 year research career with the Queensland
Department of Primary Industries.
He leads regional and national research programs in the fields of
farming systems and soil and land management in tropical and
subtropical agricultural systems in Australia. He also has
considerable research experience with agronomy and farming
systems issues in south-east Asia, having led or participated in
several Australian aid projects funded by The Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research.
Dr Bell leads research in the fields of farming systems and soil and land management in tropical
and subtropical agricultural systems, specialising in the grains, cotton and sugarcane industries.
He has interests in soil organic matter, crop nutrition and nutrient management, as well as in
interactions between management practices, crop root systems and soil biota. He is a strong
advocate for an increased diversity of species (especially legumes) in crop rotations, and for
developing safe and efficient recycling practices for organic wastes.
He was the leader of the Sustainable Farming Systems and Soil Health teams in Agri-Science
Queensland for a decade.
He has received a number of awards recognising his contributions to research and
development in the grains and sugar industries, and in 2010 was awarded an Australia Day
achievement award for innovation in grains, cotton and sugarcane farming systems.
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Col Creighton
Colin has a long career in natural resources management - seeking
increased profitability and sustainability across the fisheries,
agriculture and forestry sectors.
He is currently concentrating in Australia on strategic repair of
estuarine based fisheries habitat plus his own farming - dairy and
plantation hoop pine forestry on the Eungella Tableland, Qld plus
has a target at least 40 per cent of the year in volunteer work
across Australia's near neighbours.
Experience:

Volunteer Advisor, Third World Academy of Science, May 2014 – Present, Trieste Area, Italy
Volunteer Advisor to help think through increased sponsorship for Third World scholarships for
PDs - especially for women in developing counties.

Chair, Climate Change Adaptation - Marine Biodiversity and Fisheries, Fisheries Research and
Development Corporation, January 2010 – Present
Major initiative to foster adaptive management of Australia's oceans, estuaries and their
resources. Australia-wide Business case for habitat repair

Concepts and Ideas, WWF,
1997 – Present, Reef Rescue, Agricultural Practices and Reef Rescue II Estuarine Wetland
Repair and Best Practice Agriculture

RRRC, January 2007 – July 2013, Great Barrier Reef Catchments
Innovator for Reef Rescue I, sustainable agricultural and profitable practices in a partnership
across primary industries and NRM groups and Conservation groups
Innovator for Reef Rescue II "Systems Repair" with GBRMPA and NRM groups and commercial
and recreational fishing
Leader of various R and D activities including an inventory of best practices for the sugar cane
industry

Science Manager
Managing Climate Variability, May 2007 – June 2011
Managing Climate Variability - Climate Champions
Climate Champions Program, 2009 – 2011

Director, National Land and Water resources Audit, Land and Water Australia, 1997 – 2002)
Professor Allan Dale, Professor of Tropical Regional Development,
Cairns Institute, James Cook University
Professor Dale has a strong interest in integrated natural resource
policy and management in northern Australia. He has both extensive
research and policy expertise in governance systems and integrated
natural resource management. He is Chair of Regional Development
Australia Far North Queensland and Torres Strait.
His past research helped inform the policy and investment foundations
for the nation’s regional natural resource management system, and he
was also responsible for natural resource policy in the Queensland Government.
Allan has also been the CEO of the Wet Tropics Regional NRM Body before returning to this
international research role. As Leader – Tropical Regional Development at The Cairns Institute,
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JCU, he also accesses an international network of research expertise in the governance field,
with particularly strong linkages throughout Charles Darwin University, Griffith University and
CSIRO.
Research:

Regional and natural resource policy/ governance systems

Environmental and social impact assessment

Indigenous/rural community development

Corporate/organization development

Lecturing/training in governance theory and planning systems

Land assessment and rehabilitation

Governance for the management of terrestrial carbon and greenhouse gas abatement

Climate change adaptation and disaster management
Dr Rob Fearon, Director, Innovation Partnerships, qldwater, Manager
Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program
Rob has been with qldwater since taking on the role of CEO in 2006.
Since 2011 he has been acting as Director, Innovation Partnerships
and managing the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program
(QWRAP), a joint initiative of the LGAQ, qldwater and the Department
of Energy and Water Supply. Rob’s current focus is on regulatory and
structural reform to strengthen the Queensland urban water sector.
The Queensland Water Directorate (qldwater) is the peak technical
body for the urban water industry in Queensland with all but two urban
utilities as members. The Vision of the organisation is safe, secure and sustainable water and
sewerage services for all Queensland communities.
Prior to qldwater, Rob was CEO of the national Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone,
Estuary and Waterway Management and has held roles at the Queensland Environmental
Protection Agency, University of Queensland and the CSIRO. His key interests are in
cooperative approaches for water industry management, policy, planning and research.
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, inaugural Director of the Global
Change Institute, Professor of Marine Science, The University of
Queensland.
Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg is deeply-motivated by a desire to
communicate science effectively, undertake game-changing
research and to find high-impact solutions to address some of the
most pressing and serious challenges facing humanity.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg is Deputy Director of the Australian Research
Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. He heads a
large research laboratory (over 30 researchers and students) that
focuses on how global warming and ocean acidification are affecting and will affect coral reefs.
He has published works that include over 200 refereed publications and book chapters and is
one of the most cited authors within the peer-reviewed literature on climate change and its
impacts on natural ecosystems.
His interests in climate change has led to significant roles within the IPCC (coordinating lead
author Chapter 30, “Open Oceans”) and other international organisations in his role with the
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Chair of the Bleaching Working Group
within the World Bank-Global Environment Facility Coral Reef Targeted Research Program.
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Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg is a member of the Australian Climate Group; the Royal Society (London)
Marine Advisory Network; and the Board of Editing Reviewers at Science Magazine. In 1999 he
was awarded the Eureka Prize for his scientific research. He is the Queensland Smart State
Premier's Fellow (2008-2013). In 2012 he was awarded a Thomson Reuters Citation Award in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to research and was awarded an Australian
Research Council Laureate Fellowship. He is also the Chief Scientist for the Catlin Seaview
Survey of the Great Barrier Reef.
Euan Morton, Principal, Synergies Economic Consulting
Euan Morton is a Principal practising across the infrastructure, policy,
sustainability, corporate finance and competition fields.
Euan’s astute advice is repeatedly sought by clients due to his
understanding of their interests and industries, his desire to advance
those interests and his reputation for quick, effective and innovative
solutions.
Euan is accredited as an Independent Expert under the National
Electricity Rules and is a member of the Competition and Consumer
Committee of the Law Council of Australia. His board memberships include Ecofund
Queensland and aeiou (a charity dedicated to providing early intervention for children affected
by autism). In December 2005, Euan was appointed to an expert panel advising the Ministerial
Council on Energy on energy access pricing.
Euan has lectured at post graduate and undergraduate level and is a highly sought after
presenter on economic issues.
Skills and capabilities:

Infrastructure

Economic impact and cost benefit analysis

Competition policy and trade practices

Policy advice

Corporate finance
Projects:

Cost benefit analysis of the national livestock identification scheme;

Advised Queensland Rail in the development of QR’s Access Undertaking

Assessment of least cost expansion path for the central Queensland coal system, focussing
on potential option values created by different strategies;

Assessed road congestion pricing policy considerations and heavy vehicle road charges;

Advised SEQWater on pricing and planning issues;

Advised Queensland Treasury on pricing and institutional arrangements for water;

Assisted G-MW on irrigation pricing structures;

Advised CBH on its successful notification application for Grain Express;

Assisted in APIA’s response to the Green Paper for the Carbon Pollution Reduction
Scheme;

Prepared an assessment of the current environment of the gas market in Western Australia;

Advised Powerlink on operational expenditure issues for its regulatory review; and

Advised ARTC and WestNet Rail on the cost of capital.
6
Dr Steve Morton, Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
(CES), Alice Springs.
In March 2008, after seven years as Chief of CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems and then Group Executive for Environment and
Energy, Dr Morton took up the role of Group Executive,
Manufacturing, Materials and Minerals. He served in this role for
three years before returning to CES in Alice Springs.
After completing university, Dr Morton worked as a biologist for the
Office of the Supervising Scientist at Jabiru in the Northern
Territory.
He joined CSIRO in 1984 at the Alice Springs laboratory and transferred to Canberra a decade
later. Prior to his appointment as Group Executive, Dr Morton was Chief of CSIRO’s Division of
Sustainable Ecosystems.
Dr Morton is one of the country's foremost thinkers on issues facing conservation, land
management and ecological sustainability.
Professor Hugh Possingham ARC Federation Fellow / Director ARC Centre
of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, The University of Queensland
(contact: 3365 9766 h.possingham@uq.edu.au)
After attaining a Rhodes Scholarship Hugh completed his D.Phil. at Oxford
University in 1987. Postdoctoral research periods followed at Stanford
University and ANU (as an ARC QEII Fellow). In 1991 he took a
Lectureship, later Senior Lectureship, in Applied Mathematics at The
University of Adelaide. In 1995 he was appointed Foundation Chair of the
Department of Environmental Science at The University of Adelaide.
In July 2000 Hugh took up a joint Professorship between Ecology and Mathematics at The
University of Queensland. He was elected to The Australian Academy of Science in 2005 and
now sits on its council. Professor Possingham was an ARC Federation fellow (2007 – 2011)
and is now a Director of an ARC centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (ARC CEED)
and an Australian Government National Environmental Research Program funded Hub - the
NERP Environmental Decisions Hub.
Mick Quirk, Consultant, Grazing land management
Expertise: Research, development and extension investment
management, grazing and pasture management
Education: Agricultural scientist from the University of Queensland.
Researcher, specialist and author in sustainable grazing e.g. leader
in ‘Sustainable grazing management of savanna woodlands in the
Burdekin River Catchment’.
Member of the Tropical Savanna CRC Management Group in 2006
as a researcher - provided strategic direction and analysis on the
functions of the Centre and its resourcing, performance, processes and evaluation. It advised
the CEO on strategic, operational and policy issues.
Has worked for EHP as a consultant in the development of policy around grazing and
regulation.
7
Dr Chris Rawlings, Director, Queensland Energy Resources.
BSc (Geology) (Hons), PhD - Structural Geology and Rock Mechanics
Dr Chris Rawlings has a 20 year career and extensive experience in
management and executive positions in the resources industry. Dr Rawlings
has been a Director of Queensland Energy Resources since 2006 and was
appointed Chairman in 2008.
Chris was Managing Director and CEO of South Blackwater Coal Ltd and
QCT Resources Ltd prior to taking up Non-Executive Director roles.
Chris is Chairman of Carbon Energy, Non-Executive Director at JKTech and
Chairman at Eagle Street Associates. He is also a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy, the Geological Society of Australia and the Institute of Company Directors.
Chris' previous offices included time as Director at Gympie Gold Ltd, AMC, MC, Magnetica Ltd,
QTC Resources Ltd, Queensland Mining Council, Australian Coal Research, World Coal
Institute, Non-Executive Director at Uniquest and as Chairman at Diversified Mining Services
and Northern Energy Corporation Ltd. He is also a former Chair of the Queensland Resources
Council.
Graduating from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geology,
Chris then went on to complete a PhD in Structural Geology and Rock Mechanics.
Russell, Reichelt, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority
Russell Reichelt joined the GBRMPA in 2007 as Chairman and Chief
Executive. Dr Reichelt is a board member of the Great Barrier Reef
Foundation and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. He began diving
on the Great Barrier Reef in 1968 and worked as a research scientist at the
Australian Institute of Marine Science in the 1980s studying the ecology of
coral reefs, particularly the crown-of-thorns starfish.
He has a PhD in marine science and has served as CEO of the Australian
Institute of Marine Science, Chairman of the Fisheries Research and
Development Corporation, and as a member of Australia’s State of the Environment Committee.
He has previously chaired the National Oceans Advisory Group, CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans
Flagship Advisory Committee and Seafood Services Australia Ltd. He is an Adjunct Professor
at the University of Queensland; and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological
Sciences and Engineering, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (UK)
and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
He was appointed as Chairman of the Authority on 1 November 2007 for five years, and
reappointed on 1 November 2012 for a term concluding on 31 October 2017.
Dr Britta Schaffelke, Research Program Leader – Sustainable Coastal
Ecosystems and Industries in Tropical Australia, AIMS.
Dr Schaffelke’s expertise is the research and management of
environmental impacts, especially those related to deteriorating marine
water quality, as well as the ecology of benthic marine plants and of
introduced marine species. Prior to joining AIMS in 2005, she held a
variety of positions spanning marine ecological research, environmental
management and knowledge exchange. She migrated to Australia in 1995
for post-doctoral research at AIMS. In 2000 she joined CSIRO to work on
seaweed invasions. After positions in the Water Quality and Coastal
Development group of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and at the CRC for Reef
8
Research, She returned to AIMS to manage the AIMS component of the Reef Rescue Marine
Monitoring Program. In 2006, she became Research Team Leader of the 'Measuring Water
Quality and Ecosystem Health' Team and in 2012 Research Program Leader.
Her Program’s research focuses on understanding the human and environmental drivers of
tropical coastal and shelf systems and on forecasting the responses of key ecosystem
components to a changing environment. The research supports coastal and marine planning,
development and conservation through assessments of:

the condition of tropical environments;

the dispersal and effects of sediment, nutrient and pollutant inputs from various sources;
and

key ecological functions and processes from the organism to ecosystem-level, in
particular those affected by cumulative environmental pressures.

Expert Committees and Boards

Darwin Harbour Integrated Monitoring and Research Program Committee

Fitzroy Partnership for River Health Science Panel

GBRMPA Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP) Project Committee

Healthy Waterways Alliance Mackay Whitsunday Ecosystem Water Quality Think Tank

NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub Water Quality Implementation Group
Dr Roger Shaw
Dr Roger Shaw is an independent consultant who chairs the
Independent Science Panel for the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality
Protection Plan and is a member of the audit team for the Salinity
Management Strategy of the Murray Darling Basin Authority. He was
formerly the founding CEO for the CRC for Coastal Zone Estuary and
Waterway Management, which ran an active research program in
central Queensland.
Roger’s expertise is in landscape soil and water processes (soil
assessment, soil salinity and sodicity management, irrigation water
quality guidelines and coastal management); adaptive management of natural resources,
including multi-stakeholder, multi-objective decision support and synthesis of science.
Di Tarte, Independent Chair of the Mackay-Whitsunday Healthy Rivers to
Reef Partnership Chair of the Healthy Waterways Partnership
Diane Tarte is Co-Director of Marine Ecosystem Policy Advisors P/L which
provides advice on policy and programs addressing research and
management of marine, coastal and catchment areas with a particular focus
on ecosystem based management of catchments, waterways and fisheries.
Through her roles leading a range of organizations and contributing to many
government and NGO planning and management processes she has
extensive experience in strategic planning and facilitation and chairing of
multi-stakeholder groups.
Over the past 35 years she has been involved in the protection and management of the Great
Barrier Reef and Australian tidal wetland areas, the development of government planning and
management policies and legislation focusing on integrated coastal zone management and
Oceans Policy, and the involvement of the community in the management of marine protected
areas, coastal wetland reserves and rehabilitation of riparian zones. Between 2002 and 2009
she was the Project Director of the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership.
Projects that Di is currently involved with or has recently finalised include:
9

Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership: Independent chair.

Australian Fisheries Management Authority: Chair of South East Management Advisory
Committee.

National Environment Research Program, Tropical Ecosystems Hub: Chair of the
Steering Committee.

Consultant to CSIRO in the establishment of the Building with Nature Australia program
in collaboration with the EcoShape Foundation from the Netherlands.

CSIRO Coastal Cluster: Member of the synthesis team and the national stakeholder
advisory group and contributor to, Sustainable Coastal Management and Climate
Adaptation: Lessons from Regional Approaches in Australia (2012)

In terms of the Great Barrier Reef, since the late 1970s Di has undertaken field inventory
work on GBR islands and cays and coastal tidal wetland systems. In addition she has
been involved in a range of committees including:

two Reef Advisory Committees for the GBRMPA, namely the Fisheries RAC (2001 to
2009) and Ecosystem RAC (2009 to 2013);

chair of the National Environment Research Program Tropical Ecosystems Hub Steering
Committee (2010-2015)

independent chair of the Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership
(established October 2014)

Australian Committee for IUCN representative on the Reef 2050 Long Term
Sustainability Plan Partnership Group (2014-2015)

member of the Water Space Working Group for the North East Shipping Management
Plan (since 2013)
Malcolm Thompson, Deputy Secretary Environment Protection,
Department of Environment
Malcolm Thompson is the deputy secretary responsible for the
Environment Protection Group in the Australian Government
Department of the Environment. Mr Thompson joined the department
in 2007 and was appointed deputy secretary in September 2009.
Mr Thompson has over 25 years of experience as a policy adviser to
the Australian Government. He studied economics at the University of
Queensland before beginning his career in the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet. He has also worked in the Treasury, the
Assistant Treasurer’s office and the Department of Transport and Regional Services. From
2003 to 2007 Mr Thompson concentrated on water policy, helping to develop the National
Water Initiative and to establish the National Water Commission.
Jane Waterhouse, Research Fellow, Catchment to Reef
Processes, James Cook University
A majority of Jane’s work has focused on water quality research,
monitoring and management in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR).
She has contributed to research topics associated with flood
plume dynamics in the GBR since 2001 through monitoring, GIS
mapping and analysis and reporting of flood plume water quality
data.
10
She has also assisted in the completion of a number of risk assessments for water quality in the
GBR, which have involved the collation, synthesis and analysis of a wide range of datasets in
the GBR and its catchments. Examples include the Relative Risk Assessment of industries and
regions in the GBR used to inform the Queensland Government agricultural regulations in 2009.
She is particularly interested in the synthesis of scientific information to inform management
decisions, and this is reflected in a number of recent projects such as the risk assessment
mentioned above.
Recent Research Projects:

Reef Rescue MMP – Assessment of terrestrial run off entering the Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Hazard Assessment of Water Quality in the Torres Strait Islands - National Environment
Research Program

Assessment of the risk of pollutants to the ecosystems of the GBR including differential
risk between sediments, nutrients and pesticides and between land uses, industries and
catchments - Department of Environment and Heritage Protection

Assessment of relative risk of the impacts of broad-scale agriculture on the Great Barrier
Reef and priorities for investment under the Reef Protection Package - Department of
Environment and Heritage Protection

Current loads of priority pollutants discharged from Great Barrier Reef Catchments to
the Great Barrier Reef, 2009 - Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities
Brad Webb, Director of BM Webb Group
Brad is Managing Director of BM Webb Group, which was founded in
1979. The company has grown from an interstate truck haulage business
into an award-winning construction and property development company.
BM Webb Group's first industrial warehouse was built 1986. In 1999,
Brad purchased 240 hectares of land at the Bohle, which is now known
as Webb Drive Industrial Estate. The estate is now home to over 70
businesses, many of which are accommodated in buildings designed
and constructed to suit customer requirements. Property investment and
construction is BM Webb Group's core business, although there are now
a number of sub-businesses that service the local community, including BM Webb Concrete,
BM Webb Quarry and BM Webb Precast.
Brad has achieved numerous construction, corporate, environmental, humanitarian and
personal awards, including most recently Townsville Citizen of the Year in 2003 and special
recognition from General Peter John Cosgrove AC MC, for providing food to the community as
part of the Cyclone Larry Recovery Taskforce in 2006.
Brad’s port and rail experience encompasses such projects as the $40 million Toll/QRX Rail
Terminal in Townsville, Port of Townsville Marine Precinct Alliance Project and Forestry
Plantation Queensland’s log yard. Brad is currently Deputy Chairman and Vice President of
Troplinks, Director of Queensland Country Credit
Union and founding Chairman of Food Relief NQ. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of
Logistics and Transport (CILTA) and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Queensland (CCIQ). He is on the Board of Directors for Port of Townsville.
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Dr Stuart Whitten, CSIRO Group Leader - Economics, Productivity and
Sustainability Land and Water
Dr Whitten is an environmental and institutional economist with CSIRO
Ecosystem Sciences. His particular specialisation is the design and delivery
markets for ecosystem services including auctions and tenders, biodiversity
offsets and cap and trade approaches. He has worked on the design and
implementation of environmental markets for the Australian Government (Reef
Tender, Environmental Stewardship Program, Forest Conservation Fund) and for several
regional natural resource management groups. At a policy level his economic expertise has
supported the national wildlife corridor plan for Australia and the economics of improving water
quality entering the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Whitten's current research focuses on understanding institutions and policy needs to support
landscape scale biodiversity and on land management and Great Barrier Reef water quality. He
has coordinated several workshops and symposia: including an international workshop on
'Conservation Tenders in Developed and Developing Countries - Status Quo, Challenges and
Prospects', and 'Improving water quality into the GBR: From costs to public policy', 'New
Horizons in Market Based Instruments’ and ‘Market-based Tools for Environmental
Management’; and published widely.
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