The ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment

Dr Maxine Cooper

Dr Maxine Cooper is the inaugural full-time Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, commencing 9 September 2007.  The role is an expansion of the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment—established in 1993—to include sustainability. As Commissioner, Dr Cooper will build on the work of previous Commissioners for the Environment.

Prior to taking up the position, Dr Cooper led the ACT’s Water Security Taskforce. Dr Cooper has extensive senior experience in the public and private sectors, with expertise in Arts, Heritage, Environment, Enterprise Services, and Territory Planning. Previously, she was Director, Environmental Management with Brisbane City Council; General Manager, Environment and Community with the NSW Government (Roads and Traffic Authority); and worked in private consultancy. She has held statutory positions as Conservator of Flora and Fauna and as Chief Animal Welfare Officer for the ACT.

Dr Cooper's professional life began as an urban and regional planner in Western Australia, despite having lived most of her life in New South Wales. Her  formal qualifications include a PhD (Environmental Planning), University of Melbourne, Victoria; a Master of Environmental Design (Environmental Science) University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and a Bachelor of Arts (Urban and Regional Studies) Curtin University, Western Australia. She is a full member of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, and the Planning Institute of Australia. Her focus on sustainability was particularly recognised when she received a Professional Fulbright Award to undertake work on this issue in the USA.

Mr Darro Stinson

Darro Stinson was the ACT Commissioner for the environment from 1 May 2007 to 31 August 2007. During this time he reviewed the functions and role of the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment.

Mr Stinson is an acknowledged leader in natural resource and protected area management, focusing on watersheds, catchments and sustainable use. His background spans work in Canada and Australia. He has extensive experience in the Canadian National Parks program, directly managing a significant component of the Rocky Mountain World Heritage Site. In Australia, Mr Stinson was Director of the Environment Protection Authority for the ACT Government and, most recently, he has been an advisor to senior government executives in Australia.

Mr Stinson is recognised for achievements in sustainable community planning and development, wildlife habitat protection, land use management for water quantity and quality, and innovations in ecotourism.

Dr Rosemary Purdie

Dr Rosemary Purdie was Commissioner for the Environment from 26 May 2004 to 20 December 2006.

Dr Purdie is a private consultant with a background in botany and heritage conservation. Currently an Honorary Research Associate at the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, she has also held executive positions for the Murray Darling Basin Commission, the Australian Heritage Commission, and the Australian and World Heritage Group (Environment Australia).

Dr Purdie has been a member of the ACT Flora and Fauna Advisory Committee since 1999 and chair since 2001, and was appointed to the Commonwealth Threatened Species Scientific Committee in 2001. She has served as a member of the ACT Environment Advisory Committee and the ACT Natural Resource Management Committee.

Dr Purdie has also acted as science adviser to the Earthwatch Institute and been a Vice President of the Ecological Society of Australia. She is currently Associate Editor for the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management and has written over 70 published and unpublished reports and articles across broad environmental topics including fire ecology, plant taxonomy, botanical and ecological resource analysis and description, nature conservation reserve selection, natural heritage assessment methodologies, state of the environment reporting, and natural resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Dr Purdie succeeds the inaugural Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Joe Baker.

Dr Joe Baker AO OBE

Dr Joe Baker AO OBE FTSE FRACI was the inaugural ACT Commissioner for the Environment, serving from 26 May 1993 to 31 March 2004.

Dr Baker is a pioneer of marine pharmacology, contributing to the development of sustainable resource management for waterways and land.

Dr Baker's appointments include Chief Scientific Advisor to the Queensland Dept of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Senior Fellow of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Adjunct Professor of James Cook University and Chairman of the Queensland Regional Advisory Committee on Coastal Zone Management (Cardwell-Hinchinbrook) and on Fisheries Management (Gulf of Carpentaria). He has also been a founding member of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, founding Board Member of the Queensland Academy of Sport, inaugural Chairman of the National Landcare Advisory Council, and Executive member of the (international) Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE).

His contribution to science, science education and the environment has been recognised with an OBE (1982), the Queensland Great Awards (2001), the Order of Australia for his contribution to environmental studies and chemistry (2002), and the Clunies Ross Lifetime Contribution Award (2005).