Influence Advisory Committee

 

Watertrust Australia is supported by an Influence Advisory Committee of well-connected and influential thought leaders. The Committee’s role is to assist Watertrust Australia connect and engage with key stakeholders, shape an effective work program, and build a reputation for independence, engagement and impact.
 

Our Board members Robbie Sefton (Chair) and Dr Deb Nias (Deputy Chair) convene the committee.

Dr Phil Duncan

Phil is a member of the Gomeroi Nation and an elected representative of the Gomeroi Nation Native Title Claimant Group. He is the MDBA Basin Community Committee Chair, and CEO at the EPIC CRC. Throughout his career and volunteer community work, Phil has worked extensively with Indigenous people and government to improve the lives of First Nations people. He provides high-level policy, strategic advice, and leadership to key Indigenous representative organisations, universities, and state and federal government agencies.

Dr Guy Fitzhardinge AM

Guy has extensive land management, business and philanthropic experience. Guy is currently a Governor of WWF Australia, the Chair of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), and previously founding Chair of Karrkad Kanjdji Trust which was established to support the aspirations of the Traditional Owners of the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) and the Warddeken IPA (in west Arnhem Land) in land management and cultural preservation.

Dr Jody Gunn

Jody is CEO of the Australian Land Conservation Alliance and is committed to nature conservation at national and international scales. Jody’s career has included academia, non-government and government organisations, with a Bachelor of Science from The University of Melbourne, Australia and a PhD from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK.

Hon Karlene Maywald FTSE

Karlene is the current South Australian Water Ambassador and has a long-standing track record in water management. She is passionate about water reform in Australia, and was appointed Chair of the National Water Commission in 2012. Karlene was a representative in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010. From 2004 until 2010, she was South Australia’s Minister for Water Security and the River Murray during one of the worst drought periods in living memory.

Rob Skinner

Rob is a Professorial Fellow at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. He is a former Managing Director of Melbourne Water and currently Deputy Chair of Yarra Valley Water and convenor of the Integrated Water Management Forums for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. He is the former Chair of WaterAid Australia and of WaterAid International, Deputy Chair of the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, and Director of the International Centre of Excellence for Water Resources Management. He has been recognised as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association.

Susan Worley

Susan was the Director of Water Planning at the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation until June 2021. In this role she led planning for water supply and environmental water, in the context of climate change, through adaptive management and water allocation planning, water supply and demand outlooks, and investigations to identify options for additional water supplies.