Brendan Sydes, National Biodiversity Policy Lead, Australian Conservation Foundation
Brendan Sydes holds degrees in Law and Science and is a former CEO of Environmental Justice Australia, a non-profit legal practice dedicated to environmental protection. Prior to this he also led its predecessor, the Environment Defenders Office (Victoria).
Throughout his legal career Brendan has been involved in a range of organisations dedicated to social and environmental justice, and since 2021 was first the Biodiversity Policy adviser and later the National Biodiversity Policy Adviser for the Australian Conservation Foundation.
He is currently a Senior Fellow at Melbourne University Law School where he teaches Environmental Law.
The Hon Sue Higginson MLC (Greens), NSW Legislative Council
Sue is an environmental law expert and has practiced as a public interest environmental lawyer. She is the former Principal Solicitor and CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office, Australia’s leading public interest environmental law centre. She has been responsible for high profile environmental litigation in Australia, representing communities challenging mining giants, proponents of environmentally harmful development and holding Governments to account for the environment.
Sue has operated her own legal practice where in addition to her environmental legal practice, she assisted environmental protestors who came into contact with the criminal justice system as a result of their activities to protect the environment. She has represented hundreds of people in relation to forestry, mining and coal seam gas and climate change protests in courts across Australia.
Sue has lectured and taught environmental law in universities across NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, with First Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal upon graduation.
Sue has sat on a number of Boards of not-for-profit charitable environmental organisations in Australia where she advised on governance and compliance.
A farmer, she grows dry land rice, and other crops, with her partner on their farm on the Richmond Floodplain in the Northern Rivers. Central to her farming practice is biodiversity management and conservation. Her farm is home to koalas, where she has planted thousands of trees to try to secure their future.
Kirsty Ruddock, Managing Lawyer, Safe Climate Corporate & Commercial team, Environmental Defender’s Office
Kirsty is an experienced climate lawyer having worked as a lawyer for over 20 years with experience in environmental, consumer and regulatory law. Kirsty is the Managing Lawyer of the Corporate and commercial team at the Environmental Defender’s Office. She has worked in a number of Senior roles within ACCC, Department of Planning and Natural Resources Access Regulator. She was also the Principal Solicitor at EDO NSW between 2006-2013, having also worked previously at EDO-North Queensland in Cairns, Cape York Land Council and the Australian Government Solicitor, as well as in legal roles in Samoa and the Solomon Islands.
Maria Matthes, Threatened Species Conservation Ecologist, Healing History and Koala rescuer, researcher, advocate and educator
Maria Matthes has over 35 years of experience as a Threatened Species Conservation Ecologist, working for NSW and local government, and in her own business, providing advice and reviewing development applications, evidence to government inquiries, and expert evidence to the Land and Environment Court.
Maria has spent the last 20+ years with an increased focus on koalas, and for the last 10 years has been a volunteer rescuer and more with Friends of the Koala. Maria has been awarded in 2021 Ballina Shire Council Environmentalist of the Year and Ballina NSW Women of the Year, in 2022 Ballina Citizen of the Year, and in 2024 Friends of the Koala Tree of Fame.
Phil Spark, Ecologist, North West Ecological Services
Phil Spark has been surveying wildlife as a hobby for most of his life, and professionally for 20 years. A large part of his work now is conducting threatened species research projects. He has surveyed the majority of the national parks and nature reserves of the region, and several western NSW conservation reserves and western wildlife refuges.
He became involved in conservation campaigns to protect old-growth forests during the 1980s, two of which resulted in the new national parks at Mummel Gulf and Ben Halls Gap. That passion has continued to this day campaigning to protect the environment on all fronts. In 2016 his contribution to science was recognised when invited to become a Research Associate of the Australian Museum and his efforts to protect the environment were recognised in 2017 when he received the Dunphy Award for most outstanding environmental effort of an individual. In 2021 he received the Prudence Tucker State Conservation Award from the National Parks Association of NSW.
Learning the habitat requirements and distribution of every species has been his lifelong quest. During his life he has observed declines and extinctions of species due to loss of habitat, weed invasions, feral animals, diseases, ecological imbalance, and extreme heatwaves from climate change. He is very concerned that those threats are increasing, and believes we need to be doing a lot more if we are to conserve the region’s unique wildlife.
He believes it is a huge task, but it can be done if we can get more reserves, stronger environment protection laws, and more land managers controlling the threats and enhancing the area and diversity of habitats on their land.
Wendy Hawes, Director and Ecologist, The Envirofactor Ecological Consultancy
Based in Inverell, she has over 20 years experience in survey, assessment and reporting in relation to flora, fauna and threatened species in north-west NSW. She has undertaken environmental assessments and approvals under the Environmental Planning & Assessment and Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Acts for large and small projects within the infrastructure, water, rural and urban development sectors.
Specialising in grassy woodland ecosystems and with a passion for environmental education, Wendy has developed and delivered numerous presentations, education toolkits, workshops, and field days for schools, government authorities, NGOs, landholders and community interest groups. She has provided expertise to a number of government expert panels, including the determination of identification guidelines and condition thresholds for threatened community listings under the EPBC Act and vegetation benchmarks, used in the Property Vegetation Management Tool to assess clearing applications and delivery of incentive funding under the Native Vegetation Act. Wendy has also acted as a expert witness in government compliance actions.
Wendy has prepared technical floristic survey, threatened species assessment guidelines and draft recovery plans for government, as well as plans of management and rehabilitation/remediation plans for both public and private land. Over many years of working with private landholders, NGOs and government agency staff Wendy has developed excellent liaison and negotiation skills and a detailed working knowledge of the legislative framework.
Anna Christie, Research Officer, Wando Conservation & Cultural Centre Inc, co-founder of Leard Forest Research Node
After studying jurisprudence and law at the University of NSW, Anna went on to complete dual Masters degrees in Public Affairs and Environmental Law which formed the foundation of her subsequent research, now underway, into knowledge concealment in the environmental impact assessment of coal and gas projects.
Finding that the biodiversity and acoustic assessments of the Leard Forest mining precinct lacked validation, she became convinced of the justification and need for citizens to undertake independent monitoring of mine impacts. She believes inadequacy of environmental impact assessments, and weak conditions imposed on mining companies have fostered significant knowledge gaps in environmental assessment both prior to, and following, project approval.
The formation of the Maules Creek-based Leard Forest Research Node citizen science initiative was in response to this. Since its inception, members of the Node have completed a range of studies in the Namoi valley surrounding the coal mines and in Leard and Pilliga Forest, including noise and biodiversity studies and baseline water and soil testing.
Roselyn Druce, Maules Creek community member
Born in the region and growing up in Maules Creek, Ros Druce began her working career as a wool classer, later undertaking qualifications in naturopathy and herbalism. She is a WIRES wildlife carer, and Vice-President on the Leard Forest Trust. With TAFE certificates in conservation and land management and horticulture, Ros has taken part in many biodiversity studies alongside ecologists.
As a resident of the closest affected property to Maules Creek Coal mine, Ros is especially well-placed to make observations about the impacts of coal extraction from the neighbouring Leard Forest.
A talented amateur wildlife photographer, Ros has documented the progression of mining, the damage inflicted, local ecological communities and plant life, and in particular birds.
Ros is a passionate defender of Fauna and Flora of the Leard and Pilliga State Forests.
Elizabeth Laird, Maules Creek community member
Libby grew up on a farm in Maules Creek and was formally educated locally and in the city. She began her career working in media production before retraining as a teacher and working in local towns in North-West NSW, the city and overseas. Over the last forty years Libby has seen how places, participants and bystanders have become caught up in the resources rush. She is a mother, a community participant and is passionate about life, encouraging a love of accurate information, supporting and building a safe climate future and working with those who recognise that we must leave a better place for all our children.
Chris Schuringa, The Sunrise Project, former Campaign Coordinator, Victorian Forest Alliance and veteran of the Goongerah Environment Centre, Victoria
Formerly Campaign Manager at the Victorian Forest Alliance, Chris represented members of the 39 grass roots environmental groups who successfully lobbied the Victorian Government to wind up native forest logging. Receiving Environment Victoria’s 2023 Community Environment award from Environment Victoria, Chris acknowledged the dedication, power, and passion of members groups, who worked very hard to see the protection of native forests from logging. This was achieved largely as a result of the citizen science work undertaken by the community groups to hold VicForests accountable to the law.
Chris is an advocate for using the best available ecological science, and First Nations knowledge, in environmental assessment. She brings years of on-ground experience undertaking citizen science in the Victorian Central Highlands and East Gippsland.
Chris also co-authored a report looking at the biodiversity impacts of the 2019/2020 bushfires on forests in Eastern Victoria.
Scott Daines, South East Forest Rescue Inc
Scott Daines is a long-time forest protection advocate from the community group South East Forest Rescue. He has participated in actions throughout NSW and Queensland dedicated to the preservation of native forests, and participated in the mapping and identification of endangered species in forests designated for logging. Most recently he was instrumental in locating many Greater Glider den trees which had been overlooked by conventional assessment processes.
Scott uses GIS mapping and thermal imaging, undertaking biodiversity surveys in challenging conditions where it is suspected that the industry and government have failed to adequately evaluate biodiversity in a threatened ecosystem.
South East Forest Rescue mounted a Land and Environment Court challenge against the legality of the Maules Creek Coal mine biodiversity offsets, which was only abandoned after the Whitehaven Coal company successfully pleaded to both State and Commonwealth Governments that although it had failed to secure the required biodiversity offsets for the critically endangered Grassy White Box Grassy Woodland at Leard Forest, after numerous extensions provided by the governments they deserved leniency and more time to keep searching for suitable woodland to serve as offsets.
Scott continues to pioneer the application of citizen science in the protection of native forests from exploitation by industries such as coal and logging.