Improving and Maintaining the Hunter Region's Biodiversity

Friday July 25, 2008
The University of Newcastle Conservatorium, Corner of Laman & Auckland Streets, Newcastle

Thank you to everyone that attended this important Forum. We were very pleased with the level of support the Forum received from all sectors of the community with participants attending from all around the Hunter Region, Central Coast and Sydney.

The “Improving and Maintaining the Hunter Region’s Biodiversity” Public Forum was a great opportunity for community members, government, business and industry leaders to hear from national and regional experts to better understand the Hunter Region’s biodiversity.

In June 2006, the NSW Government introduced the Biodiversity Banking Bill 2006 and the Parliament subsequently enacted it into law. The Bill was introduced to establish a market-based biodiversity offsets and biobanking scheme. It is part of a much larger context of federal and state planning and regulatory initiatives directed at improving and maintaining biodiversity.

David Farrier, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Law and Policy at the University of Wollongong, outlined this broader context and commented on the significant changes to be introduced by the biobanking legislation when it is implemented.

Jeff Palmer, Program Manager of the Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority, explained the statutory responsibility for implementing environmental policy and the processes and tools used to implement them.

Farmer Dr John Drinan, then discussed recent land management initiatives on a practical level. Drinan has a lot of hands on experience and provided tactics for on the ground land management for good biodiversity outcomes.

The expert speakers critiqued not only the new biobanking initiative but also other diverse existing schemes, such as property covenants, catchment management plans and small grants.

Dr Karel Grezl from The Tom Farrell Institute for the Environment said “The Hunter Region’s biodiversity has been fundamentally and extensively altered by human intervention since white settlement.”

The Hunter Region has changed from being a self-regenerating natural environment to being an increasingly exploited and built over economic one.

It is now time to try and increase local biodiversity that has been diminishing for so long.

“We need to bring back a more biodiverse environment and work to reclaim denuded and degraded lands for good biodiversity outcomes,” said Grezl.

The Public Forum covered policy and planning contexts, land management strategies and practical experience in improving and maintaining biodiversity, focused on the Hunter Region. It will help guide more sustainable land use in the Hunter for the benefit of current and future generations.

We would also like to thank Complete Office Supplies for its generous support of the Forum and its door prize donation. 

Thank you also to prize donors; Maitland Gaol, Silo Lounge Bar, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, Enjoy, Queen B and Bridge Climb Sydney.

Congratulations to the winners of these great prizes!

Finally, we would like to express our appreciation to our guest speakers Professor David Farrier, Jeff Palmer and Dr John Drinan for giving their time to contribute their valuable knowledge and expertise to our communities.

We look forward to seeing you all again at our next Public Forum:-

‘The Koala: Future of an Icon’ on Tuesday 23 September commencing 6pm at The Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle.

Speakers

Professor David Farrier

Professor Farrier is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Law and Policy at the University of Wollongong. He holds the degrees of LLB Lond, LLM Col, DipCrim Camb and Barrister NSW.

Professor Farrier is a member of the Institute for Conservation Biology and Law at the University of Wollongong. He has previously taught law in universities in England, Africa and Australia.

He teaches and researches in the areas of environmental law, natural resources law and criminal law. He is joint author (with D Brown, S Egger and L McNamara) of Criminal Laws (3rd ed., 2001) and joint author (with R Lyster, L Pearson and Z Lipman) of the 3rd edition of the Environmental Law Handbook: Planning and Land Use in New South Wales (1999).

In the recent past, he has carried out research on the implementation of international nature conservation conventions in Australia (supported by the Australian Research Council) and he is currently working with Professor Rob Whelan, Dean of Science and Carla Mooney, research fellow, on the implementation of threatened species legislation in Australia, focusing in particular on the intersections between science and law (again funded by the Australian Research Council).

Jeff Palmer

Jeff is currently employed by the Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority as a Program Manager with a geographic responsibility for the region’s coastal lakes and rivers. He has an early background in soil conservation extension in the north-west and lower north coast areas of NSW and spent two years working in Jordan. He subsequently participated in working missions to the Arabian Gulf and China, identifying opportunities for natural resource management projects.

In the Hunter Central Rivers region, Jeff has broad range of responsibilities from strategic planning for the Authority to the management of a team of professionals delivering natural resource management works on the ground.

Jeff has managed the various native vegetation reform processes in the Hunter Central Rivers Region from the early days of SEPP46 in 1995 to the gazettal of the Native Vegetation Act in 2003 and its implementation in 2005.

Dr John Drinan

Dr John Drinan has been a researcher, educator, administrator, consultant and farmer.
 
He began his career as a researcher in sheep production and then cattle production. He lectured and ran a department at Hawkesbury Agricultural College and later became Principal of Tocal College before filling various roles at the University of Newcastle.

He has been chair of the Dairy Research and Development Corporation, chair of the Committee of Chairs of Research Development Centres and Chief Executive of the Dairy Adjustment Authority.

Currently, John chairs the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy Advisory Committee and National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare. He also chairs the not-for-profit Australian Landcare Management Systems Inc Group and is a member of the Community Consultative Group for the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority.

John has been a part-time farmer for most of his life and lives with his wife, Anne, on their small beef property at Glendon Brook, NSW.