Chair – SHERIDEN MORRIS
Sheriden Morris has had a strong connection to and focus on northern Australia her entire life: from growing up in Batchelor in the Northern Territory, through her studies in tropical agronomy, and her professional career working with sugar, banana, aquaculture and tourism industries. For the past ten years she has been the Managing Director of the Cairns-based not-for-profit company, Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC). She has always strongly believed in intelligent, sustainable development for northern Australia using the region’s tropical expertise – the knowledge of living, building and working most effectively in the tropics.
Under her leadership, the RRRC has successfully attracted more than $200 million in grants and investment to support research and development projects in northern Australia. This includes the Australian Government’s Marine and National Tropical Sciences Research Facility, the Tropical Ecosystems Hub of the National Environmental Research Programme, the Tropical Water Quality Hub of the National Environmental Science Programme and the Crown of Thorns Starfish Control Program.
Sheriden is Deputy Chair of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef and has served on numerous government advisory committees for land and water management, including Queensland and Commonwealth committees for agriculture, coastal development, and Indigenous opportunity. While working for CSIRO and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Sheriden was an extensive contributor to land and sea management policy, she has also spearheaded the development and implementation of an innovative aid development programme on Australia’s northern borderlands with Papua New Guinea.
She lives on the family farm at Babinda, just south of Cairns.
Cr JOHN WHARTON AM
John Wharton has been in the northern cattle industry all his life, having owned cattle properties in the Richmond and Etheridge Shire. He was elected to the Richmond Shire Council in 1991 and went on to become Mayor in 1997. Being the Mayor for 20 years has placed him as the longest serving Mayor presently in Local Government in Queensland.
In June 2007 he was the recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia Award for his service to the community of North-West Queensland through Local Government, Regional Development, Natural Resource Management and Primary Industry Organisations. He also received the Centenary Medal in 2007 for distinguished service to Local Government.
He was appointed in January 2016 to be the Interim Chair of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Developing Northern Australia and travelled extensively across the North, consulting with communities and businesses with regard to the establishment of the CRC.
John manages and operates his own real estate business, Wharton & Co P/L, dealing in property and livestock. He also has an Agricultural consultancy business, with experience in a wide range of Agriculture in Northern Australia. These include Beef Cattle, Cropping, Water Infrastructure, Goats, Camels, Pest Control and Land Management. He also has extensive knowledge of road construction and development costs with personal earthmoving experience and pricing knowledge from 26 years in Local Government.
John is a passionate believer in Northern Australia and its future and is well known as a person who speaks up for what he believes in. He believes diversity is the key to economic success and common sense and practicality will always work.
PETER LONG
BE(Hons), BA, BSc(Env Sc), GAICD, CPEng (1989-2012), CEnvP, FIEAust
Peter is Mayor of the City of Karratha, a position he has held since 2013.
A resident of Karratha for over 30 years, Peter has instigated and run a number of businesses and has grown the largest of these organisations to a staffing of 90 people.
A professional engineer and environmental scientist by training, he has worked on some of the world’s largest resource projects including North Sea and Arabian Gulf oil and gas developments, mining projects in Africa and Australia and he has extensive experience across the Pilbara and the islands of the north-west shelf. Major proponents he has worked with include Apache Energy, BHP Billiton, Boral, Chevron, Dampier Salt, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Rio Tinto and Woodside. He lived and worked overseas for 8 years in the UK, South Africa and the USA and has travelled widely through Asia.
In his time as Mayor, Peter has worked with the organisation to see the development of major new infrastructure in Karratha, including a $100M airport upgrade, solar power station, waste facility, theatre-library-arts precinct and many other buildings and facilities.
Peter has had directorships and board positions on a number of companies and institutions including West Pilbara Institute of TAFE, St Luke’s College, Biosequest Australia and the various companies in The Astron Group.
Peter is married to Vicki, one of the Pilbara’s foremost botanists, with two adult daughters, one who is a practicing physiotherapist, the other a PhD student at UWA. His hobbies include music, reading, cycling and travel.
JOHN IVOR BEARNE
John Bearne was the founder of a North Queensland construction company, TCS (Qld) Pty Ltd. He has lived in Townsville, with his family, for the past 32 years. John has been involved in the community and its activities since taking the position as Chair of the Rowes Bay Community Kindergarten in 1983.
John was the President of the Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Chair of Townsville Enterprise, of which both organisations made him a life member. John held the position of inaugural Chair of the Australian Technical College North Queensland (TecNQ), Jezzine Barracks Community Trust, Townsville General Hospital and Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre.
Qualifications - Diploma Structural Engineering, London; Registered Builder, Queensland; FAICD Current Positions - Director – Yumba Meta, Chairman – MBT Capital Pty Ltd
Past Positions - Inaugural Chair Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre, Inaugural Chair Townsville Hospital Health Service, Inaugural Chair Jezzine Barracks Community Trust, Inaugural
Chair Australian Technical College North Queensland (TecNQ), Chair Townsville Enterprise, President Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Chair Townsville Futures Plan, President Rotary Club of Townsville Sunrise/District Director, Chair of the Townsville Mall Redevelopment, Member Queensland Greats Award Panel.
DONALD F.J. MCDONALD AM OBE
Born in Bowen Queensland, (1941) and has lived most of his life in Northern Australia. The family has been involved in the beef industry since 1827 and now the family company, MDH Pty Ltd is one of the biggest privately owned vertically integrated beef enterprises in Australia. MDH exports to many countries but mainly to Japan and Korea as well as the domestic market. Don is a director of MDH Pty Ltd. He is currently Chairman of the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor and has been on the board since 1997.
Don has also served as a director of other companies including CISRO (1997-2003), Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (1985-95), Queensland Industry Development Corporation (1986-90) and Kidston Gold Mines (1996-2003).
Community Organisations Don has served with include: Royal Flying Doctor Service (Board member); Australian Bicentennial Authority (Queensland Councillor); Cloncurry Show Society; Cloncurry Hospital Board; John Flynn Place Project, including President of Friends of John Flynn Place since 2001.
From his earliest days, Don has been vitally interested in the development of the inland and northern Australia. He was involved in the push for the extension of rural power, the spread of telephones to take over from the HF radio, better roads and freight services.
TRACEY HAYES
Based in Darwin, Tracey is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA), the peak body for the billion dollar Northern Territory cattle industry.
As CEO of the NTCA, Tracey works at the NT, national and international level to advance a range of northern issues including trade, industry competitiveness, resource use, telecommunications and infrastructure.
Originally born and raised in northern South Australia, Tracey has qualifications in rangeland management, agri-business and business management and she has over 25 years’ experience in beef production and land management in Central Australia.
Tracey is the mother of four boys and is a qualified pilot. In addition to her role as CEO of the NTCA she owns and manages businesses and investments in Northern Australia. She also represents industry on a range of advisory boards and committees at the NT and national level, including ministerial appointments.
MELISSA GEORGE
Melissa George is a Wulgurukaba Traditional Owner with traditional connections to Magnetic Island and the greater Townsville region, Far North Queensland.
Melissa has a background in Cultural Heritage and Protected Area Management and as a saltwater woman is passionate about the environment, particularly focusing on critical issues relating to sea country and its management.
She is actively involved in protecting and managing land and sea through the empowerment of Traditional Owners' cultural law and obligations to care for country. Melissa has written numerous reports related to these areas and is often asked to speak at conferences.