Program

We are excited to announce that the 19th AVPC program is now available! The conference program brings together the leading experts in researching and managing invasive species from Australia and New Zealand to talk about the newest techniques and technologies and how to convert that research into effective management outcomes. Click the link below to view the draft program. Please note the program is subject to change.

With years of experience as a well-renowned Australian journalist, Pip will expertly shape the discussions around “Translating Science into Effective Management”.

After beginning her career in news, she combined her love of journalism and agriculture when she joined Landline, moving to Brisbane in 2003.

Pip has won numerous awards for her agricultural journalism including a Queensland Media Award for Excellence in Rural Journalism, the Rabobank Star prize for rural broadcasting (Qld), the National Rabobank Star prize and the International Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting for her 2011 two-part feature on the coal seam gas industry in Queensland.

In 2018 Pip was inducted in the Queensland Press Club’s Rural Journalism Hall of Fame.

Murray Watt has served as Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, as well as Minister for Emergency Management, in the Albanese Labor Government since June 2022.

In the Emergency Management portfolio, Minister Watt has led a major rethink of national disaster management, in order to better prepare Australia for the natural disasters we’ll face in the future. This includes the creation of the new National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in September 2022 and the introduction of the Government’s flagship Disaster Ready Fund, which invests up to $200 million a year in mitigation and resilience projects across the country.

In Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister Watt engineered Australia’s first ever sustainable biosecurity funding, to ensure the country would have ongoing funding to protect against biosecurity threats like foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin disease. He has also led government action on other key issues for the sector, including building the agricultural workforce, expanding agricultural trade and export markets and dealing with the impacts of climate change.

A proud Queenslander, Minister Watt has represented the State in the Senate since 2016, building strong relationships in all corners of the State. As a Senator and Shadow Minister, he led a number of Senate inquiries into issues including regional development, energy and resources, emergency management and health care.

Minister Watt has strong family ties to regional Queensland, with both sides of his family having a long history in farming and teaching.

For over 20 years, his working life has been spent as an advocate for others, as a lawyer, a public servant and as Chief of Staff to former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh. He also served one term as a Queensland State MP and Assistant Minister in health and economic portfolios.

He and wife Cynthia have two children and they are all big soccer fans.

Dr Bertie Hennecke started as the Australian Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer (ACEBO) in February 2023. Dr Hennecke joined the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in 2010. Before being appointed as the ACEBO, he held senior leadership roles in the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) and in several of the department’s plant biosecurity areas.

Dr Hennecke’s background is in natural resource management, invasive species, and agricultural sciences with nearly 30 years of experience in the public service and academia in Australia. He holds a PhD in Botany and a Master of International Agriculture.

Brooke is a proud Gomeroi Yinarr (Kamilaroi Woman) and early career researcher having finished her PhD in December 2021. Brooke’s academic journey unveiled many issues regarding western science in Aboriginal communities and therefore framed the topic of her PhD: Engaging Stakeholder Participation to Improve Animal Management in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community. Brooke created the CoMM4Unity framework as a research tool that involves all stakeholders throughout the entire process of addressing complex issues.

Brooke has multiple years of working in and with Aboriginal and western communities in the education, employment, health and cultural sectors. As a Lecturer at the University at New England in Anthrozoology (human and animal interactions) and Indigenous Knowledge, Brooke brings a one health approach with multidisciplinary research experience from animal, environmental and social sciences.

As Chief Impact Officer, Nerida leads GreenCollar’s policy development and is responsible for measuring and tracking organisation impact against the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She brings extensive legal, governance, project development and stakeholder engagement experience. Prior to joining GreenCollar, Nerida led organisations in the not for profit sector and teams in various government agencies. She also has considerable business management, strategy and corporate experience. Nerida has worked across many parts of Australia and is guided by a drive to see large-scale environmental improvement become accessible and beneficial for people, business, regional and indigenous communities and the economy more broadly.

We’re thrilled to announce our first keynote speakers, Brent Beaven and Phil Bell from New Zealand. Brent is from the New Zealand Department of Conservation and has been working in the environmental sector for over 25 years. Phil oversees Zero Invasive Predators Ltd research and development portfolios and, as the son of conservation legend Brian Bell, has been involved in conservation in one form or another since before he could walk.

Brent and Phil will be presenting the plenary session – “Towards a predator free 2050”. Key insights from the session:

• Predator Free 2050 is an ambitious goal to eradicate the most damaging predators threatening New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity – rats, possums and mustelids – from all of New Zealand by 2050.

• With more than 4,000 native New Zealand species threatened or at risk of extinction, delivering conservation outcomes by ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option.

• Predator Free 2050 seeks to transform pest management through the creation of new tools, technologies and approaches that enable eradication at scale, in new more complex habitats.

Register today to hear from Brent and Phil plus other brilliant minds, dedicated to tackling the challenges posed by vertebrate pests.

Alex Nankivell is the CEO of Nature Foundation, a non-profit private land conservancy that owns and manages over 500,000 hectares across nine nature reserves. Alex joined Nature Foundation in 2008 as Science and Knowledge Program Manager, developing strategic land management plans and managing their implementation, measurement, and ongoing improvement. Alex initiated Nature Foundation’s popular Kids on Country junior ranger program and was responsible for the roll-out of the Bushbank SA program, which protected 24 South Australian properties across 12,600 hectares.

In 2022, Alex was promoted to the CEO role and expertly handles the foundation’s strategic and operational sides. His years of hands-on experience benefit his leadership and stakeholder engagement. His strategic and science-based approach confidently leads Nature Foundation towards its conservation goals.

Katherine Moseby is a Conservation Biologist at the University of New South Wales who focusses on applied research and on ground action. She lives and works in Australia’s arid and semi-arid zones and her research interests include ecosystem restoration, developing novel pest control tools, facilitating co-existence of native species and introduced predators, and improving reintroduction success of threatened species.

Katherine has co-founded four on-ground conservation research partnerships including Arid Recovery in SA and Wild Deserts in NSW. She partners with universities, governments, industry groups and NGOs on a range of conservation and restoration projects that include pest control, conservation translocations, exclusion fencing and threatened species recovery.

Andreas Glanznig is the CEO of the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (CISS), which succeeded the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (IA CRC). Under Andreas’ leadership from 2010, the IA CRC’s and CISS’s collaborative RD&E programs have developed management innovations, including biocontrol agents for rabbits and carp, new genetic surveillance techniques, new digital surveillance products for weed identification, and toxic baits for wild dogs, foxes, and feral pigs.

With a career spanning 35 years, Andreas has extensive experience in science management, policy analysis, advocacy and strategic communications. His previous roles included leading WWF’s biodiversity and invasive species advocacy team that elevated island pest eradications nationally and secured funding for the Macquarie Island rodent and rabbit eradication program. He has also been a Board Director of the Weeds Cooperative Research Centre and the Global Invasive Species Program.

Jack Gough is an experienced campaigner, policy analyst and environmental advocate who is passionate about the intersection between agriculture and conservation.

Jack is alarmed about the loss of biodiversity across Australia and believes that harnessing the commitment and knowledge of those who live and work on the land is essential to meet our conservation challenges, particularly when it comes to invasive species.

Jack previously worked as the National Pastoral Conservation Manager for the Pew Charitable Trusts, leading negotiation and advocacy on law reform, policy development and funding for conservation on pastoral and other private land.

He was the policy and government relations lead for the NSW Nature Conservation Council and for many years worked in the NSW Parliament as a senior advisor to a number of cross-bench MPs, focussed on natural resource management issues including environment, agriculture, water, biosecurity, forestry and mining reform.

Prior to this, Jack was a livestock and biosecurity policy advisor for the NSW Farmers Association.

Jack works on the land of the Dharawal people.

Trudy is a Research Scientist with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries’ Vertebrate Pest Research Unit. She holds a PhD and a science degree with honours in psychology. She is a leading expert on the welfare of wild animals and over the past 20 years has developed a range of methods and strategies to improve the humaneness and effectiveness of pest animal management in Australia. She also has specific expertise in the application of behavioural science theories and methodologies to study human attitudes and behaviour. Her research involves the use of both animal welfare science and psychology to address wildlife management issues.

Peter is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and Research Leader, Containment of Predator Threats with NSW DPI’s Vertebrate Pest Research Unit in Orange. Since 1983, he has investigated the management of “wicked problem” wildlife for agricultural, environmental and social benefit. Topics of study by Peter’s team include: feral pig control for exotic disease preparedness; strategic management of red foxes, feral cats and dingoes; parrot damage to sunflowers and almonds; flying foxes in stone fruit; economics of rabbit damage; methods for surveying animals; feral goat ecology and management; technical control solutions; exotic disease modelling; management of predator-affected fauna; and the use of genetic techniques to understand the distribution of invasive animals and determine the appropriate scale for management.

Peter led the collaborative South-east NSW and ACT Wild Dog Management project from which the nationally-adopted nil-tenure/ across-tenure strategy for managing invasive animals was formulated. He undertakes manipulative experiments at sufficient scale to make meaningful inferences about predator-prey interactions and ecosystem function, while providing applied solutions for managers of agri-ecosystems.

Peter is a great fan of cooperation between researchers and land managers in practically managing invasive animal impacts.

Michael Cornish is the Policy Lead at the Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA), Australia’s peak body for private land conservation. In this role, Michael collaborates and advocates on a wide range of Federal, State and Territory legislative and policy issues to support ALCA’s member organisations to conserve, manage, and restore nature on privately managed land.

Prior to joining the environment sector, Michael’s professional experience has ranged across law, economics, international aid, academia, and Australian and international politics.

Hailing from Queensland, James joined the Conservation Ecology Centre team in 2021, where he has been actively involved in various research and land management initiatives focusing on feral animals, native flora, and small mammals.

His previous experience, both nationally and internationally, has been in ethnobotanical research, wildlife rehabilitation, and water quality management. Additionally, his time with a variety of grassroots organisations has bolstered his beliefs in community engagement, particularly with indigenous organisations.

Having strong connections to the Otways and community, James possesses an innate understanding of knowing when to listen and when to act. He treasures the opportunity to live and work on Gadubanud country, where he can deepen his understanding of the area and contribute to conservation efforts for this land.

Dr Ryan Wilson leads the development of methods in the Biodiversity Markets branch in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Prior to working in DCCEEW, Ryan led the establishment of the Agriculture Biodiversity Stewardship Package, trialling how a biodiversity market could work for private landholders.

Ryan also held a number of policy roles in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. He represented Australia and supported a global engagement on agriculture and food security in the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the G20, OECD and APEC. Ryan contributed to food and agriculture industry policy as well as plant health policy and programs with Plant Health Australia. Ryan has a PhD in plant science from the ANU.

Dr Jordan Hampton is a veterinarian with multidisciplinary research interests spanning wildlife management, animal welfare, physiology, toxicology, public health and ethics. His focus is on free-ranging animals: invasive, harvested and overabundant species. His work is mostly conducted in Australia with some projects in North America, New Zealand and northern Europe. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Murdoch University.