Program

Please find the 19th AVPC program overview below.

• Monday 29 July 2024 – Exhibition bump in and opening, Welcome Reception

• Tuesday 30 July 2024 – Conference sessions, exhibition open, Conference Dinner

• Wednesday 31 July 2024 – Conference sessions, exhibition open

• Thursday 1 Aug 2024 – Conference sessions, exhibition open, exhibition bump out

• Friday 2 Aug 2024 – Field trips (optional, additional cost)

*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.

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.

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.

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.

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.