The Environmental Water Trust ABN 64 150 537 764 is a charitable trust listed on the Register of Environmental Organisations of the Department of Environment, Water Heritage and the Arts.
The Trust’s public fund, the Environmental Water Fund is a Deductible Gift Recipient under the Income Tax Assessment Act so that donations to the Fund are tax deductible.
The Trustee of the Environmental Water Trust is Nature Conservation Water Fund Pty Ltd, ACN 123 563 682, a company beneficially owned by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Inc.
Purposes
The purposes of the Trust are solely to support environmental purposes and in particular:
(a) to protect and enhance the natural water resources of Australia which includes protecting, enhancing, and restoring water sources, their associated eco-systems, ecological processes and biological diversity throughout Australia;
(b) to provide information or education, or to carry on research, about the natural water resources of Australia;
(c) to apply for, acquire, manage, hold or dispose of water access licences as the Trustee determines for these purposes;
(d) to establish and maintain a public fund to be called the Environmental Water Fund which will operate as set out in the Trust Deed for the specific purpose of supporting the environmental purposes of the Trust;
(e) to support or establish any charitable institution or charitable object anywhere in Australia which the Trustee in its absolute discretion considers to be consistent with these purposes;
(f) to invite members of the public to make gifts of money, Water Access Licences or other rights and property to the Environmental Water Fund for these purposes; and
(g) to do anything else incidental or conducive to those matters.
Lachlan at Booligal 2010 (E.Hollows) (Inland Rivers Network)
Crooked Creek Nyngan - ducks breed in the water hole (N.Zoglaven) (Inland Rivers Network)
Bruce Donald AM, Chair
Bruce is a Sydney lawyer involved with a range of non-profit organisations on local and national environmental issues. His practice since 1969 has covered environmental, media and commercial law, including for a number of indigenous organisations. From 1986-1993 he was chief lawyer for the ABC, Chair of the Environmental Defender’s Office (NSW) 1995-2001, a Commissioner on the Australian Heritage Commission 1996-1998 and served part time on the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal 1999-2005. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for his public interest legal commitment.
Rob Pallin (also Secretary and Public Officer)
Rob is Executive Chairman of the Paddy Pallin group of companies and has had a life-long commitment to conservation. He currently serves on the NSW Environmental Trust, the Lord Howe Island Board and the NPWS South Coast Advisory Committee. He was Chair of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW include Chair 2000-2005 and has chaired the Plan of Management Advisory Group for the preparation of plans of management for the Sydney Water catchment areas. He was a Ku-ring-gai Municipal Councillor from 1991 to 1995 and a member of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Bush Fire Management Committee.
In the conservation and management of national parks he has served on the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council 1991-1999, the Lane Cove State Recreation Area Trust, the NPWS North Metropolitan District Advisory Committee and is currently actively involved in the Jamberoo Mountain Land Care Group. His principal philanthropic work for the environment is with the Paddy Pallin Foundation.
Lorraine Cairnes
Lorraine was the first woman national parks ranger in Australia, at Kosciuszko National Park, beginning a lifetime in conservation. She has held senior government positions in planning, natural and cultural heritage conservation, water resources management and fisheries and has chaired major government policy review processes, including native vegetation and the NSW Water Conservation Strategy. She was Independent chair of community reference groups including Central Coast CLG for WaterPlan 2050. Lorraine is the author of the Australian Natural Heritage Charter and is a Member of Executive of Australian Committee for IUCN. From 2006-9 she has served on the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Executive and at the local level her involvement includes Willoughby Environment Protection Association, Castlecrag Conservation Society.
Donald White
Don has had conservation interests all his life. He is Adjunct A/Professor at the University of Sydney having spent 30 years as an Engineer and Manager in manufacturing industry until 1998. He is actively involved in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, and is currently the Chairman and is a Board member of the Environment Protection Agency within the NSW Department of Conservation and Climate Change. He also sits on other governmental committees. Don, and his wife Rosie, live in Sydney with a property in Yengo National Park and both are volunteer members of the Rural Fire Service in the local brigade..
Peter Prineas
Peter has contributed to environmental conservation in Australia for many years as an activist, writer and lawyer, beginning with the campaigns to save Lake Pedder in Tasmania and the native forest of the Boyd Plateau in NSW. Later he helped to secure the passage of the NSW Wilderness Act. He was the first Director of the National Parks Association of NSW and later chaired the Nature Conservation Council of NSW. In the 1990s he was the Convenor of a coalition of environment groups in the first Sydney Water Project. His contribution to Government bodies includes the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council, the Licence Regulator for urban water utilities and the Board of the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
The directors are also the members of the Management Committee of the Environmental Water Fund.
The directors serve in a voluntary capacity.
Scientific and Expert Advisers
The Environmental Water Trust is advised by an eminent panel of experts.
Professor Richard Kingsford, Convenor
Professor Kingsford is the Director of the Australian Wetlands and Rivers Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of NSW. He has focussed his research over about the last 20 years on the waterbirds, wetlands and rivers of arid Australia, which cover about 70% of the continent. He has identified the significant impacts of water resource development on the rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin and contributed to policy development and environmental flow management. He was appointed by the Minister for Climate Change and Water to the Australian Government’s Environmental Flows Scientific Committee, Lower Lakes and Coorong Advisory Committee and the Lake Eyre Basin Advisory Panel. He also advises the NSW Government on the delivery of environmental flows bought from the irrigation industry through their RiverBank program.
Panel Members
Dr Kath Bowmer –Water Management & Operations
Dr Terry Hillman –Floodplain Ecologist
Dr Wayne Meyer Irrigation Scientist
Eric Hatfield, formerly Department of Natural Resources
The role of the Panel is:-
- Advise on the criteria by which the Trust makes decisions about which water to purchase;
- Advise on the decision making rules for the management of any water purchased by the Trust;
- Advise on key policy decisions which will support the effective operation of the Trust, and the effective management of government managed environmental water; and
- Advise on any research that is necessary to underpin effective use of environmental water held, and managed by the Trust.
Kathy Ridge is a leading conservationist and lawyer who specialises in cultural and natural resources law. She played the key role in initiating the Environmental Water Trust and with Lisa Ogle provided its foundation report. Kathy is currently a director of the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority, a member of the Conservation Audit and Compliance Committee of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and a member of the Murray Darling Basin Community Committee. She is an honorary consultant to the Environmental Water Trust.
