NRW MINISTER CONGRATULATES STAFF

Five Department of Natural Resources and Water staff have been presented with Australia Day awards for their “good as gold” service.

Minister Craig Wallace today congratulated the recipients of the Australia Day 2008 Achievement Medallion.

“The medallions, part of the official Australia Day honours program, recognise the dedication, imagination and application of these staff,” Mr Wallace said.

Mr Wallace presented the medallion to the following recipients:

Bill Huxley

Hydrologist Bill Huxley, one of Australia’s leading groundwater specialists, has given 34 years of his working life to the Department. Mr Huxley is Queensland’s representative on the National Groundwater Committee which provides expert advice on national groundwater policy.

Bill Gordon

Bill Gordon, Principal Marketing Officer for the department’s Forest Products division, has dedicated his career to reforming Queensland’s forest industry. Mr Gordon played a key role in implementing the South East Queensland Forests Agreement, the Statewide Forests Process and the forestry restructuring process in 2005-06. He also made a lasting contribution through a 1996 review of the native wildflower and foliage harvesting industry and his 2003 development of a revised Hoop Pine Allocation Policy.

Nevil Cumerford

Leading the change from paper-based to digital property surveying and mapping, Mr Cumerford is a foundation member of the Spatial Sciences Institute and the project manager for the Electronic Access for Registry (EARL) Project. As chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping ePlan Working Group he led the effort to establish national guidelines for the digital lodgement of cadastral survey data.

Greg Meyer

Greg Meyer joined the department as a Cadet Survey Draftsman in 1967 and progressed through the department to become Principal Cartographer and Operations Manager before being appointed to his current position as Manager, Customer Services, for the department in South East Queensland in 2004.

Steve Dann

A 38-year veteran of NRW, Steve Dann is widely recognised as an expert in the field of land titling. He is a key facilitator for the Queensland Government’s five year land administration training initiative being delivered to senior officials of the People’s Republic of China.

Minister Wallace congratulated the five recipients and thanked them for their outstanding service to the NRW Department and to the state of Queensland. The Minister also took the opportunity to thank all NRW staff across the state for their hard work.

“Australia Day is a great opportunity to thank those deserving staff who work hard all year. All staff, including those in are regional offices, whether it be in the outback or on the coast, are working hard to protect the natural resources of Queensland and Australia. “

Media inquiries: Minister’s Office, 3896 3688.