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Panel
The members of the panel to assess the social impacts of drought are:
Mr Peter Kenny (Chair)
Peter Kenny was elected president of AgForce in October 2004. In his capacity as president, Peter chairs the AgForce State Council and State executive committee. In 2006, he was elected to the board of the National Farmers’ Federation, and has been a councillor and secretary of the Cattlemen’s Union of Australia. He is a keen advocate for adopting big picture approaches to agripolitics and has driven projects such as the Every Family Needs A Farmer campaign and the Blueprint for the Bush. He has always been closely associated with the land and has owned and managed properties in different industries including cattle, dairying, orchards, lucerne and piggeries.
Ms Sabina Knight
Ms Sabina Knight is a Senior Lecturer Remote Health Practice, and recent Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia (CRANA) research fellow, and an advocate for remote and rural health. She was a foundation member and past president of CRANA, and the foundation deputy chair and then chair of the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA). She has been awarded the Louis Ariotti Award for excellence and leadership in rural health, and the CRANA Aurora Award for leadership and outstanding contribution to remote health. She is a Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Royal College of Nursing Australia. She is a member of the Regional Women's Advisory Council, the Northern Territory Health Minister’s Advisory Council, a director of the board of the Rural Health Education Foundation and is a commissioner on the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission.
Mr Mal Peters
Mr Mal Peters owns and operates a 13,500 acre wool, cattle and grain property in northern NSW with his wife. He is the Director of the Australian Farm Institute, the NSW Rural Assistance Authority and the Border Rivers Catchment Management Authority. He is also a member of the NSW Ministerial Agricultural Advisory Committee, and a former President of the NSW Farmers Association. He is a passionate defender of the rural way of life and a strong advocate for developing innovative strategies to grow rural Australia.
Professor Daniela Stehlik
Professor Daniela Stehlik is Foundation Chair in Stronger Communities, Curtin University of Technology. As the inaugural Director of the Alcoa Research Centre for Stronger Communities she leads a team of social scientists working in sustainability and conservation, strengths-based practice models and place and community resiliency. In the late 1990s, she was a member of a team that conducted the first study of the impact of drought on farm families in Australia. She is particularly interested in the generative capacity of women's energy and enthusiasm as an important component of community resiliency.
Mr Barry Wakelin
Mr Barry Wakelin is the former member for the electorate of Grey, a position he held for 14 years, and the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. He has strong links with rural communities, having been a farmer, shearer and bank clerk in rural South Australia before entering politics. He is actively interested in the long-term success and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture industry.
Ms Sue West
Ms Sue West is a former Senator for NSW, who held the position of Deputy President of the Senate from May 1997 to August 2002. She grew up on a family farm in central NSW and is a registered nurse having worked in both city and rural areas. She the Chair of Anglicare Western NSW and is a Member of the Board of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. She is also a member of the Greater Western Health Advisory Heath Council, the Ministerial Advisory Council on Hearing, the Regional Communities Consultative Council and the Anglican Provincial Community Services Commission NSW.
Mrs Lesley Young
Mrs Lesley Young is the National President of the Country Women’s Association of Australia, having been an active member of the association for over 35 years. She is a mixed farming operator in Tasmania in partnership with her husband. She was an inaugural member of the Tasmanian Women in Agriculture executive, and was the former Chairman of the Board of Rural Financial Counselling Service Tasmania. She understands the difficulties of being isolated, and has been actively involved in trying to improve the conditions of women in remote areas, as well as women and families in all rural communities.