Page 3297 - Week 10 - Thursday, 25 September 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee has essentially been in place for over 30 years, albeit under various names. The committee has provided independent advice to ministers on a range of issues to protect the ACT’s biodiversity, and improve management of our nature reserves and the broader landscape.
The ACT government and all Canberrans have benefited enormously from Ian’s expert knowledge and passion for our native flora and fauna. I greatly respect and value his advice highly and thank him for his leadership as chair of the advisory committee over recent years since I have held the position of minister for the environment.
I would like to reflect upon the experience that Ian has brought to his roles. Ian is a well-regarded Australian naturalist, conservationist and author. He has over 30 years of experience in a diverse range of roles in the field of environmental management, including as an environmental consultant for over 18 years, founder of the Conservation Council of Canberra and the South-East Region, presenter of a fortnightly natural history show on Canberra ABC radio, teacher of bird and other natural history courses to adult students at the ANU Centre for Continuing Education, and leader of natural history bus-based tours throughout Australia and more recently South America.
Ian has been recognised through numerous awards, including the Australian Plants Award by the Australian Native Plants Society in 2001, and in 2006 he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion for work in conservation and education.
Ian Fraser has been passionate about Canberra’s environment since he arrived here from Adelaide in 1980. In 2011 his book A Bush Capital Year, written with artist Peter Marsack, was awarded a Whitley Certificate for Best Regional Zoology by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. This book celebrated the importance and beauty of Canberra’s biodiversity and bird life. He has co-written six books on local natural history, most recently Wildflowers of the Snow Country, and a range of field guides that have encouraged people to appreciate and learn more about our territory’s beautiful reserves and wildlife.
I personally will miss the leadership and wealth of experience that Ian has brought to the Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee. I am sure that once his formal role in advising the government on managing our natural environment has ended, he will still nevertheless continue to encourage all of us to get out and appreciate and understand better our bush capital, to learn about our wildlife, and how to care for it.
Ian’s involvement in and commitment to conservation is recognised and appreciated by the government, by conservation groups and I know by many in the broader ACT community. I would like to formally thank Mr Ian Fraser for his advice on my behalf, but also on behalf of environment ministers before me on both sides of this chamber, previous governments, and the broader community. I wish him and his family all the very best for the future.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video