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Friday 14 March 2008

RAPID ROUNDUP: Water expert Peter Cullen dies – scientists pay tribute

Australian experts comment on the death of one of the country’s leading water experts – Peter Cullen. Peter was hugely influential as a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and as a commissioner of Australia’s National Water Commission. He was a former president of theFederation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies and was the former director of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology.

Feel free to use these comments in your stories. If you would like to speak to one of these or other experts, please don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 8207 7415 or by email.

Professor Mike Young is Research Chair, Water Economics and Management, The University of Adelaide and a Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

“Peter Cullen was a giant in every sense of the word. A big person with big ideas – big ideas that were easy to understand. Peter understood, better than most, that to change policy you had to change the way people thought. He instinctively knew how to explain water science and water policy options to the young and to the old. He was the Babel fish that every river, every community and every politician turned to. Carting his big joyful frame around him and using the National Water Initiative as his template, Peter believed that Australia could excel in water management. He sensed that now was the time to get the fundamentals right. The legacy of ideas will endure.

To remind us of his great mind and insight, here are some Cullenisms

‘While politicians like to blame other levels of Government, the reality is that our politicians reflect what we as a community are telling them. We are all responsible for the mess we find ourselves in.’

‘When scientists do enter the political arena, they must understand they are playing to different rules from those used in science and need to learn the rules of politics and the media. Unless they understand the rules and tactics of policy debate it is like them walking on to a tennis court equipped only with golf sticks’.

‘By now we should have learned that praying for rain is no substitute for good planning’.

‘It is really pretty simple housekeeping. How much water do we have to allocate?’

‘It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a sustainable and healthy Murray Darling Basin. There is much to be done’.”

Dr Wendy Craik is Chief Executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

"We were honoured to have worked closely with Professor Cullen over many years, but especially during his time as Chief Executive of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology to which the Commission was a significant funding partner. Professor Cullen's stewardship of the CRC from 1993 to 2002, especially through its Murray-Darling Freshwater research Centre, paved the way for major Commission programs such The Living Murray and the Sustainable Rivers Audit.

His public advocacy and strong scientific positions created huge public awareness of the Murray's environmental needs and his work undoubtedly contributed to the development of The Living Murray's 'First Step' decision to recover water for the river.

Professor Cullen's reasoned, intellectual and concerned voice will be greatly missed in all future public discussions of the water resources challenges facing Australia."

Professor John Langford is the Director of Uniwater – a joint initiative of Monash and Melbourne Universities. He is also Former Chair of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology and Former Exec Director of the Water Services Association of Australia.

“I have known Peter Cullen for over 40 years. We were research students together at Melbourne University in the 1960s. I was Chairman of the Board of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology for 12 years while he was the Chief Executive.

He was a great mind and put freshwater ecology on the map in Australia. More than anything, though, he changed the water debate in this country and our attitudes to our river environment.

He was a brilliant communicator with a sharp mind – he understood the political process and the media and used this to great effect. His influence in the water debate will be greatly missed at this critical time. I will greatly miss his company and the vigorous discussions we regularly had on water affairs."

Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds is an advisor to the Wentworth Group and is a researcher in CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems’ Integration Science and Public Policy.

“Professor Peter Cullen was a man of giant intellect, passion, and good humour. He dedicated his life to improving our understanding the ecology of Australia's water cycle, and to ensuring that this science was acted on to protect and improve the health of our rivers, creeks and esturaries. Peter would know that it is not yet time to rest on our laurells - and that was not his style anyway. But we know that we have made a better start on the path because of his efforts. He made an enormous contribution to informing and motivating national water reform, and that we and all future Australians owe him our gratitude."

Dr Geoff Syme is Research Program Leader at CSIRO Land and Water

"As a social scientist I was inspired into a lifetime in water resources management by Peter's very early papers that clearly saw water problems as people problems and was prepared to tackle them as such. He has been a great friend and mentor to me over 25 years and all involved with water resources management have benefitted hugely from his energy comradeship and his willingness to take water to the political arena."

Professor Nancy Millis, Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne,

"I have known Peter Cullen since his undergraduate days but later, we came in close contact through the Board of Management of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology which he directed before his retirement. I know his contributions will be lasting; they have been incredibly valuable in raising political and regulatory awareness, as well as informing the general public of the value of water as a scarce but essential resource for both urban and rural communities. Equally, he urged its careful exploitation, as he recognised that healthy rivers, flood plains and wetlands are vital to the quality and sustainability of the entire aquatic ecosystem. He was realistic in his advice and fearless in delivering often unpalatable messages when he was convinced that current practices were unsustainable. Would that there were more like him. His voice will be sadly missed."

Professor Simon Beecham is Professor of Sustainable Water Resources Engineering at the University of South Australia

"In my view Peter’s greatest talent was making people, and particularly politicians, sit up and listen. Through the Wentworth Group and other vehicles he led the way towards our far-off dream of Sustainable Water Management. For example in 2003, The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists released their ‘Blueprint for a national water plan’ with the primary objective to ‘protect river health and the rights of all Australians to clean usable water’.”

From a personal perspective, Peter was a great inspiration to me. I found his passion for sustainable water management both infectious and compelling. He was also very personable and supportive and gave me invaluable advice, particularly when I was at UTS. This advice has guided me throughout my professional life. The water industry will miss Peter Cullen but hopefully will remember affectionately the remarkable contribution he made during his lifetime."

Professor Ken Baldwin, is the President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS).

"He really did make a difference. He is best known for his contribution to public policy debates over water use, as a prominent member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. Peter was an astute ambassador for his science who could engage effectively with politicians, farmers, irrigators, media and the broad community. He exemplified the connection between good science and community well being. As a researcher, Peter was highly respected for his work in freshwater ecology. In addition to his science, Peter was highly credible in political and policy debates because he an independent thinker and straight talker.

Peter was also a very effective educator both formally with undergraduate and postgraduate students but more broadly with his engagement in public debates on water usage and natural resource management. Peter was President of FASTS in 1998/9 and again in 2001.

The Australian scientific community extends our heartfelt condolences to Peter’s family."

Professor Sam Lake is a freshwater ecologist with the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University

"Peter was a great colleague; inspiring, knowledgeable and fun to be with. He was a generous and very stimulating Director of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology and he enlivened many a meeting. In the arduous and difficult area of water reform, Peter was a committed leader, who could balance social and economic interests with ecological concerns. His commitment and drive to better our environment will be sadly and greatly missed."

Professor Peter Fairweather is professor of Marine Biology and Director of the Lincoln Marine Science Centre, Flinders University

"His passing is a great loss to Australian science, the environment and Australian society. He was always a voice for reason during difficult debates over water policy, able to weigh up complex technical material along with the implications and import of it for primary industry and people living along our waterways. As well as being very well respected by other scientists, he was valued as our public voice in many of the debates about water and our environmental future. Often he could get to the heart of the really difficult issues more quickly than a whole raft of other commentators, and he wasn’t afraid to question our many scared cows.

On a more personal note, he was a fantastic colleague to interact with. He always wanted to know what you thought was new and was enthusiastic about all our discoveries. Peter acted as an important mentor at several points in my career, being very welcoming and a reliable source of solid advice. His generosity of spirit made many of us feel part of his network, and he openly encouraged the right sort of speculation but then insisted on us having the data to back up those bold new assertions. I will miss him greatly as both a human being and scientist."

David Mitchell is Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Land, Water and Society in the School of Environmental Sciences,Charles Sturt University

"Peter Cullen was a “big picture” scientist with an acute awareness of what was necessary for the secure long-term management of Australia’s water resources and the capacity to motivate and encourage people at national and local levels to share his understanding and to modify their management objectives and actions in the interests of the future welfare of the country and its peoples. He was a good friend and colleague of long-standing and I am saddened by his early demise."

Professor Peter Schwerdtfeger is Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at Flinders University

"I was privileged to hear Professor Peter Cullen’s lecture on the occasion of Flinders University’s “Schultz Oration” late in 2007. Although he was suffering from obvious physical difficulties, his explanation of Australia’s water problems and its inextricably associated dilemmas was ubiquitous in the breadth of its considerations. While he was well aware of the political and social complexities, he did not let these cloud his comprehension of the essential science."

Peter Hayes is Board Chair of the CRC for Irrigation Futures.

"Peter made a major contribution to the CRC for Irrigation Futures during his three years on the Board. His experience, knowledge and skills in both water matters and CRC’s were invaluable to our CRC in those early formative years.

One of Peter’s greatest skills was his ability to synthesis knowledge and produce something that people could use. He provided an exemplary role model for simplifying and communicating complex issues to the whole community."

Mike Logan is an irrigator and Board member of the CRC for Irrigation Futures.

"He played an important contribution in balancing the environment and the production demands of water. Peter was a strong supporter of the CRC’s goal of doubling water productivity.

He had a knack for challenging and asking the difficult questions.‘The water sector and country have lost a great water communicator and thinker."

Professor Patrick Troy is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University

"Peter Cullen was a giant in the water industry. He was the leading freshwater ecologist in the nation and was mercifully free of the obscurantism that often accompanies leading scientists when they try to communicate outside their narrow field of expertise. He was the embodiment of good sense and was prepared to call a spade a spade. He made few concessions to the powerful preferring to speak truth to power. I doubt that the Wentworth Group could have been as influential as it was without his wisdom and skill at communication.

He will be sorely missed."
Professor Peter Doherty is Laureate Professor in the Dept of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne.

"I didn’t know him personally, but admired his good sense and presence as a public figure. He will be sorely missed."