FENNER CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Full proceedings (PDF file, 3MB)
Background and history of the Fenner Conferences on the Environment
Conference aims and objectives

DAY 1: Thursday, 15 March

Introduction
Professor Kurt Lambeck
President, Australian Academy of Science

Welcome
Professor Frank Fenner
Australian Academy of Science

Opening address
Professor Kurt Lambeck
President, Australian Academy of Science

Keynote speaker
Dr Graeme Pearman
Monash University, Melbourne
Prospects for living in a drying climate

SESSION 1
Australia’s population movements, water, climate and climate change
Chair: Professor Kurt Lambeck
President, Australian Academy of Science

Professor Graeme Hugo
University of Adelaide, South Australia
Recent population change in Australia

Mr Barney Foran
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra
Who uses all the water?

Dr John Williams
Commissioner, Natural Resources Commission, New South Wales
Managing the population–environment nexus under climate shift: The ultimate challenge to integrated natural resource management and planning

SESSION 2
National water policy, knowledge needs and institutional reform
Chair: Professor Stephen Dovers
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra

Mr Kim Russell
Executive Officer, Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID)
What is the irrigation industry up to?

Dr Roger Jones
Climate Change Impacts and Risk, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
The knowledge-base on Australia’s climate and water: How good is it, what do we know, and what do we need to know?

Professor John Langford
Director, UniWater, University of Melbourne/Monash University Joint Venture
The Murray–Darling Basin: Down the drain or a vision splendid

PANEL DISCUSSION
How does national policy impinge on local and regional water management?
Chair: Councillor Dick Gross
President, Municipal Association of Victoria

Mr Jon Black
Executive Director, Council of Mayors, South-East Queensland

Mayor Paddi Creevey
City of Mandurah, Western Australia

Councillor Robert Bell
Gosford City Council, Vice President Local Government Association of NSW

Mr David Butt
Director, Cabinet Office and Energy and Water Policy, ACT Chief Minister's Department

Audience questions, comments and reflection

Overview of day’s proceedings
Dr Graeme Pearman
Monash University, Melbourne

Conference dinner
Special guest speaker: Professor John Quiggin
University of Queensland
Urban water: Markets and planning
Venue: Common Room, University House, Balmain Crescent, Acton
Dress: Lounge suit

DAY 2: Friday, 16 March

SESSION 3
Science-based planning for water and population in high-growth areas
Chair: Dr Ian Prosser
Science Director, CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Research Program

Dr Nicole Gurran
Senior Lecturer, Urban and Regional Planning Program, Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney
Overview of planning challenges in Australia’s high-growth urban and peri-urban areas

Dr Darryl Low Choy
Associate Professor, Urban Research Program & Environmental Planning Program, School of Environment, Griffith University
Joined-up planning: Reality or a pipedream?

Mr Sam Austin
General Manager, Asset Services, Yarra Valley Water, Victoria
Case study: Water management planning, Hume corridor in Melbourne

Dr Robert Humphries
Manager Sustainability, WA Water Corporation
Science in water planning: Essential but not sufficient

SESSION 4
Innovative technical solutions for water management
Chair: Professor Philip Kuchel
Secretary (Science Policy), Australian Academy of Science

Dr Tom Hatton
Director, CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Research Program
Innovation in urban water management: Advancing technologies and their implications

Dr Stuart Minchin
Research Director, CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra
The Water Resource Observation Network (WRON)

Professor Max Lu
Director, ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Queensland
Nanotechnological solutions to water treatment and reuse

Mr John Grimes
Chairman and Managing Director, Perpetual Water Australia
Implementing technical innovation in water management: A business perspective

Adjunct Professor Paul Perkins
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra
Innovative technical solutions: Water learnings for sustainability

Four break-out group discussions (and reporting back to Conference)

1. Water—population nexus
Will water set limits on Australia’s population? How might climate change influence thinking on population numbers and distribution?
Chair: Professor Kurt Lambeck
Rapporteur: Dr Daniel Connell

2. Water policy
What are the relative policy responsibilities for water management at national and regional levels? How does this impact water consumption expectations?
Chair: Professor Stephen Dovers
Rapporteur: Ms Karen Hussey

3. Planning for water and population
What basic science is needed? How can it be used effectively in the planning process?
Chair: Dr Ian Prosser
Rapporteur: Mr Leo Carroll

4. Innovative technical solutions
How far can technical innovation go toward addressing Australia’s water challenges?
Chair: Professor Philip Kuchel
Rapporteur: Mr Rory Eames

Rapporteurs report back

Conference wrap-up
Dr Graeme Pearman
Monash University, Melbourne

Conference Organising Committee

The Conference Organising Committee is Chaired by Dr Graeme Pearman (Monash University).  Committee members include: Professor Stephen Dovers (ANU), Professor Richard Pashley (ANU), Mr Alan Stokes (Executive Officer, Sea Change Task Force), Professor Sue Serjeantson (Executive Secretary, Australian Academy of Science), Mr John Carne (Research Project Officer, Australian Academy of Science).