Committees

 

DEA Management Committee

 

Chair

• Professor Kingsley Faulkner
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Secretary

• David Shearman, SA
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Treasurer

• Hakan Yaman, WA
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Marion Carey, VIC
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George Crisp, WA
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Eugenie Kayak, VIC
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David King, QLD
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Linda Selvey, WA
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Peter Tait, ACT/NT
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Ben Ticehurst, NSW
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Dimity Williams, VIC
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Rohan Church, Co-oped Student Representative, TAS
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Profiles of DEA Committee Members

Kingsley Faulkner AM MBBS FRACS was President of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 2001-2003; Head of General Surgery, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital; Head of General Surgery, St John of Gold Health Care Clinic, Subiaco and Clinical Professor at University Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia and the University of Notre Dame.  He was formerly Chairman, Australian Council on Smoking and Health.  He is committed to address the major challenges of environmental degradation and its many consequences. 

Marion Carey is a public health physician with extensive experience in environmental health, and an interest in the public health impacts of climate change and how to adapt to these. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and currently holds a VicHealth Research Fellowship at Monash Sustainability Institute to explore evidence around the human health impacts of climate change and biodiversity decline. She worked in the Victorian Department of Human Services as Senior Medical Adviser in Environmental Health to the Chief Health Officer. There she was involved in the response to the 2009 heat wave and bushfires.  Her current areas of interest include the importance of biodiversity to human health, how heat and air pollution combined will affect public health under climate change, how primary health care can adapt to heat health impacts, how services to the homeless can adapt to the increasing challenges of extreme weather, how long term water insecurity affects health and well-being in rural areas, and health impacts of coal seam gas mining and wind farms.

George Crisp is a general practitioner from Western Australia.

Eugenie Kayak is a Melbourne based anaesthetist. She feels the health sector should be leading industry groups when it comes to decreasing ecological footprints, the subsequent limiting of contributions to environmental degradation and the prevention of associated adverse health effects. She has a young family and believes health professionals have both a role and a responsibility to ensure healthy, stable environments exist for future generations.

David King is an academic general practitioner with the University of Queensland. A keen cyclist and bushwalker, he has converted many of his academic colleagues to cycle commuting. His house has gradually been modified with energy saving features and photovoltaic cells. He has coordinated a bush regeneration project since 1993, and enjoys using the chainsaw (on introduced weed species!). He briefly experienced the Terania Creek forestry blockade, northern NSW, in the early 1980's.

Linda Selvey comes to DEA having been CEO at Greenpeace Australia Pacific. Prior to this she held senior management positions in Queensland Health, most recently Executive Director, Population Health Queensland. Linda has also been Chair of the Queensland Conservation Council, as well as representing Queensland on the Council of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 1995-1997 and 2004-2006. In 2007 she was trained by Al Gore as a climate change presenter and has since conducted around 20 presentations to large audiences at state, national and international forums; including politicians and the health sector. Dr Selvey says meeting Al Gore was "fabulous, very inspiring... I learned an incredible amount and my interest and motivation to do something about climate change expanded dramatically."

David Shearman is Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences and in the Law School. He was involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report and will be an Expert Assessor for the Fourth Assessment Report. At present his research is on the legal aspects of Climate change. He has a lifelong involvement is environmental issues and is a former President of the Conservation Council of South Australia.

Peter Tait MBBS DipRACOG FRACGP MPHAA is a general practitioner who has worked in Alice Springs since 1981. He is involved in clinical work, public health and teaching, holding an Adjunct Lecturer position with Flinders University. He has had a long involvement in the environment and peace movement. He was awarded the RACGP General Practitioner of the Year in 2007. Currently he is completing a Masters of Climate Change at the Australian National University.

Benjamin Ticehurst BSc(Med) MBBS MPH FRACGP is a GP from Sydney and senior lecturer in the School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia. He holds a Master of Public Health (JCU) through which he has studied the links between human health and ecological threats. In 2007-8, Ben and his wife spent two years working as doctors on a remote island (Badu) in the Torres Strait. Through this experience, he developed a love for the people and the natural environment of the fragile maritime landscape of the Strait. Particular interests include biodiversity & health, questioning conventional growth-based economics, harnessing medical student passion for the environment, and supporting revitalisation of endangered indigenous languages.

Dimity Williams is a Melbourne based general practitioner and the present Victorian DEA subcommittee secretary. She has had an extensive history in aiming to raise awareness of and educating others about the environment and health effects of climate change. Dimity developed DEA’s PowerPoint Presentation "The Science and Health Impacts of Climate Change" in 2009 as a tool for medical professionals to present and inform their colleagues of these important health issues. Dimity was a co-founding member of the community group ‘Families for a safe climate’ and the network ‘Victorian Child and Nature Connection’, the latter aiming to promote the health benefits (particularly for children) of connecting with nature. Dimity is also a fellow of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.

Hakan Yaman is an emergency physician and general practitioner with a masters degree in Public Health. His interests include sustainable development, the relationship between social inequalities and health outcomes and the impacts of trade agreements on the availability of generic medications in resource poor countries. He is also an avid bike rider and public transport user and would like to see priority given to these forms of commuting in State plans.

Rohan Church is a 4th year medical student who is studying at the University of Tasmania's Rural Clinical School in Burnie, North-West Tasmania.  Rohan has a long-standing interest in social justice and global equity, and was first motivated to join DEA after learning about the devastating health impacts associated with climate change.  Outside of studies and DEA work, Rohan has been a spokesperson for Climate Action Hobart, convened the academic program of the Australian Medical Students' Association Global Health Conference 2010 and has recently been working on a project to introduce climate change and public health advocacy skills into health curricula.

 

Advisers:

Mariann Lloyd-Smith is the Coordinator of the National Toxics Network Inc (NTN), a public interest non government organisation which is the Australian focal point for the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN). Marian has a PhD from the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology (UTS), Sydney. She has worked in the area of chemical and waste management for over two decades, including co-authoring Australia's national management plans for persistent organic pollutants (POPs), developing information systems to support environmentally sound chemical management and representing the community sector in a range of technical advisory groups and regional/international chemical negotiations. 

 

DEA National Student Committee

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National Representative

Rohan Church

State Representatives

• QLD - Tamsin Barratt

• NSW/ACT - Jenny Hellsing

• VIC - Phoebe Hone

• TAS - Alice McGushin

• SA - Ben Finlay

• WA - Catherine O'Shea

Secretary

Anna Norris

National Project Officer

James Correy

Publicity Officer

Melissa Franks

 

 

DEA Scientific Committee

Below is a list of names of Scientific Committee Members followed by brief profiles for each Committee Member.

 

• Stephen Boyden

• Peter Doherty

• Bob Douglas

• Michael Kidd

• David de Kretser

• Steve Leeder

• Ian Lowe

• Robyn McDermott

• Tony McMichael

• Peter Newman

• Sir Gustav Nossal

• Hugh Possingham

• Lawrie Powell

• Fiona Stanley

• Rosemary Stanton

• Norman Swan

• David Yencken

Profiles of DEA Scientific Committee Members

From 1949 to 1965 Professor Stephen Boyden carried out research in bacteriology and immunology in Cambridge (UK), New York, Paris, Copenhagen and Canberra.  From 1965 to his retirement at the end of 1990 he pioneered work at the Australian National University on human ecology and biohistory.  He has published several books on these themes.  Since retirement he has been involved in the establishment and activities of the Nature and Society Forum (of which he is at present Co-ordinator) - a community-based organization committed to improving understanding, across the community, of the processes of life and human and ecological health.

Professor Peter Doherty AC, FRS, FAA is Laureate Professor of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, Michael F. Tamer Chair of Biomedical Research at St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Nobel Laureate for Physiology or Medicine. He received the Nobel Prize in 1996 and was Australian of the Year in 1997. Recognising the importance of the issue, Professor Doherty has written on climate change and his recent book "A Light History of Hot Air" published by Melbourne University Press has a sub-text promoting this message to a wide readership.

Professor Bob Douglas became Dean of the Medical School, University of Adelaide, in 1988 and for a number of years was Chair of the Geneva based World Health Organization Technical Advisory Committee on the worldwide control of acute respiratory infections. From 1989 to 2000 he  l ead a new National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his work on the prevention of respiratory infections in children around the world and on training of public health specialists in Australia. Prof. Douglas has led the development of a new organisation called  Australia 21 www.australia21.org.au  which is building research networks to tackle some of the unsolved problems facing Australian society , including issues relating to sustainability, energy options, sustainable agriculture, youth wellbeing and Australia's international role. He is co-editor  of a book entitled "In Search of Sustainability" published by CSIRO Publishing in January 2005.

Professor Michael Kidd AM is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Flinders University. He is an Honorary Professor with the School of Medicine at The University of Sydney and was President of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners from 2002-2006. He has research and education interests in primary care, ehealth, medical education, safety and quality in primary care, and the management of HIV and hepatitis C. He is an elected member of the executive committee of The World Organization of Family Doctors and is their liaison person with the World Health Organization. He also works as a general practitioner in Adelaide and Alice Springs.

Professor David de Kretser AC is a reproductive endocrinologist whose academic career at Monash University has included appointments as Professor of Anatomy, the founding Director of the Monash Institute of Medical Research and the Associate Dean for Biotechnology Development.  In 2003, he was named a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor.  He served as the 28th Governor of Victoria from 2006 to 2011 and is a companion of the Order of Australia.  He resumed his research career at Monash University in April 2011.  He has served on the Human Reproduction Program at the World Health Organisation.  David has expressed dismay at the state of the climate change debate and supports efforts to provide people with clear and factual information on its impact and ways of addressing it.

Professor Steve Leeder is Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine and Director of the Australian Health Policy Institute at the University of Sydney. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine from 1998-2002. His background includes clinical medicine and epidemiological research and policy development. He has had a long standing interest in the interplay between health and the physical and social environment and has been President of both the Australasian Epidemiological Association and the Public Health Association of Australia. For 18 months from 2003 Steve worked as Visiting Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Professor Ian Lowe AO is emeritus professor of science, technology and society at  Griffith University in Brisbane and holds adjunct appointments at three other universities. His research concerns the influence of policy decisions on use of science and technology, especially in the fields of energy and environment. He directed Australia's Commission for the Future in 1988 and chaired the advisory council that produced the first national report on the state of the environment in 1996. He was named Australian Humanist of the Year in 1988. In 2000 he received the Queensland Premier's Millennium Award for Excellence in Science and the Australian Prime Minster's Environmental Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement. He chairs Brisbane's Urban Environment Advisory Committee and is a member of the national Environmental Health Council. He has written a weekly column for New Scientist since 1992 and received the 2002 Eureka Prize for Promotion of Science.

Professor Robyn McDermott is a public health physician who has worked as a clinician, health service manager and epidemiologist in rural Australia, South East Asia and the Pacific. She has served as President of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 2002-04 and as Pro Vice Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia from 2004-9. She has undertaken consultancies with WHO, World Bank, AusAID and State and Commonwealth Departments of Health in the areas of primary health care, chronic disease prevention and management. Her research interests are in the determinants of health in disadvantaged and Indigenous populations, health system improvement and sustainability

Professor Tony (A.J.) McMichael, AO, FTSE, (US) NAS, is Professor of Population Health at The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, where he heads the research program on Environment, Climate and Health. He was, from 1994 until 2001, Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His research interests over four decades have spanned occupational diseases, dietary influences on chronic diseases, environmental epidemiology, social epidemiological research and, more recently, the population health consequences of global environmental changes. During 1993-2001 he led the assessment of health impacts for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is a Science Advisor to the Australian Government's Climate Commission, and to the Global Health Security Centre, at Chatham House (London). His most recent book, "Human Frontiers, Environments and Disease: Past Patterns, Uncertain Futures", was published in 2001 by Cambridge University Press.

Professor Peter Newman is the Director of the Sustainability Policy Unit in the Department of Premier and Cabinet on secondment from being Professor of City Policy at Murdoch University. He is currently co-ordinating the development of a Sustainability Strategy for Western Australia. He has been an elected councillor with the City of Fremantle and is best known for his work in rebuilding the Perth's rail system.  Peter also works on an international level where he studies global cities and is a Visiting Professor with the University of Pennsylvania. His book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' was launched in the White House in 1999 and his 2001 co-authored book is called 'Back on Track: Rethinking Australian and New Zealand Transport.' His 1989 book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook' was the first to define and compare how cities around the world were building themselves around car transport.

Sir Gustav Nossal AC, CBE, FAA, FRS was Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (1965-1996) and Professor of Medical Biology at The University of Melbourne. His research is in fundamental immunology with five books and 530 scientific articles in this and related fields. He has been President (1986-1989) of the International Union of Immunological Societies; President of the Australian Academy of Science (1994-1998); a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (1989 to 1998);.Chairman of the committee overseeing the World Health Organization's Vaccines and Biologicals Program (1993-2002) and Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Council of the Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program (1998-2003). He was knighted in 1977, made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1989 and appointed Australian of the Year in 2000. Other honours include Fellow of The Royal Society of London, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, Member of the Academie des Sciences, France, the Robert Koch Gold Medal, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science, the Emil von Behring Prize, the Rabbi Shai Shacknai Prize, and over 120 named lectureships in ten countries.

Professor Hugh Possingham heads the Departments of Mathematics and Zoology, The University of Queensland and The Ecology Centre (and Centre for Conservation Biology). In 2000 he was winner of the Inaugural Fenner Medal for Plant and Animal Science (Australian Academy of Science) and in 2001 he received the Australian Mathematics Society Medal. Amongst his many interests in conservation biology, he has an interest in biodiversity and climate change. He is a member of the Wentworth Group of Australia's leading environmental scientists who advocate radical and fundamental reform to halt further degradation of Australia's landscapes.

Professor Lawrie Powell AC, a graduate of The University of Queensland Medical School, is a distinguished hepatologist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of inherited liver disease and cirrhosis. He has received numerous national and international awards in recognition of these contributions.   In 1990 he was appointed Director of The Queensland Institute of Medical Research which, over the next decade enlarged three-fold in size and funding. He was instrumental in the successful development and planning of the new Comprehensive Cancer Research Centre which opened in 2002. Currently, he is Director of Research at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and Professor Emeritus, The University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Fiona Stanley AC is the founding Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research that was established in Perth in 1990. The Institute is multidisciplinary and researches the prevention of major childhood illnesses. Her particular interests are in strategies to enhance health and well-being in populations; the causes and prevention of birth defects and major neurological disorders: the causes and lifelong consequences of low birth weight; patterns of maternal and child health in Aboriginal and Caucasian populations. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, a national organisation with an agenda to improve the health and well-being of young Australians. In 2003 Fiona Stanley was made Australian of the Year for her contribution to child health.

Rosemary Stanton OAM is a nutritionist whose work over the last 45 years has involved public health nutrition, education and consumer issues relating to nutrition. She is a Visiting Fellow in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of New South Wales, is involved with the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology (Sydney) in their international work on sustainable use of resources in food production. As well as many scientific papers, Rosemary has authored over 30 books on food and nutrition and writes for newspapers and magazines for the public and the medical profession. Her current interests focus on the interrelationships between healthy diets and environmental factors.

Norman Swan qualified as a paediatrician but is best known for presenting and producing ABC Radio National programs: Health Report and Life Matters and hosting the ABC television program: Health Dimensions. He has contributed to many other radio and television programs. Norman has been Australian Producer of the Year and was awarded a Gold Citation in the United Nations Media Peace Prizes for his radio work. In 1988 he won the Australian Writers' Guild Award for best documentary - on scientific fraud. He has also won three Walkley National Awards for Australian Journalism including the Gold and Australia's top prize for Science Journalism, the Michael Daley Award, twice. In addition to his broadcasting Norman edits his own newsletter, The Health Reader.

Professor David Yencken AO is Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne and Patron of the Australian Conservation Foundation. He is also the convenor of the Australian Collaboration, a collaboration of peak national community bodies. His recent reports include: A Just and Sustainable Australia (Yencken and Porter 2001) and Where are we going: comprehensive social, cultural, environmental and economic reporting (Yencken 2001). His most recent books are Resetting the Compass: Australia's Journey towards Sustainability  (Yencken and Wilkinson, 2000), Environment, Education and Society in the Asia Pacific (Yencken, Fien and Sykes, 2000) and Young people and the Environment: An Asia Pacific Perspective (Fien, Yencken and Sykes 2002 ). He is also the founder and editor of the Tela series devoted to the exploration of the relationship between the environment, economy and society.