1. From the Balcony
By Rosie Wheen, CEO Peter Cullen Trust
This edition of Bridging invites readers to explore leadership through the lens of the “Hope Gap” — the widening distance between growing complexity and our capacity as leaders to inspire belief in a better future.
That’s an uncomfortable lens. This is your invitation to welcome and sit in that discomfort as that is where the magic happens. This lens challenges leaders to move beyond information and intent, and instead cultivate authenticity, “moral imagination” and compelling narratives that mobilise action. Spend time with Dr Kath Broderick’s masterful response to the Hope Gap, and listen deeply to Sheryl Hedges’ wisdom on working at the pace of trust.
Across these and other thought pieces from Fellows, Friends and sector leaders, a consistent message emerges: effective leadership is not about having all the answers, but about bridging divides — between evidence and action, institutions and communities, and competing values — with courage, integrity and connection.
This theme came vividly to life during Adelaide’s Graduation Week in May. The two Professional Development Days exemplified leadership in practice, inviting us to engage deeply with complex systems, First Nations perspectives, and the realities of trade-offs. Through shared reflection and dialogue, we explored what it means to listen, what it takes to build trust, and how we can lead collectively in the face of uncertainty.
Inspired by Adelaide, Darryl Day and Karlene Maywald invite us to revisit Peter Cullen’s 2004 public lecture, “Making Waves: Water Challenges for Adelaide in the 21st Century”. This speech, which has been missing from the public domain for some time, was attended by 1200 people and is still remarkable to read today.
Looking ahead, the Trust offers rich opportunities to learn, grow and contribute — from leadership programs and experiences to national conversations shaping water governance.
Together, these opportunities call on leaders to step forward, connect, and help close the Hope Gap.
Go well.
Rosie
Image: Connection to Country participants and facilitators at Burrima in the Macquarie Marshes; courtesy Natasha Davis
2. In This Issue: The Hope Gap
Image: Lake Tyrell; image courtesy Paul Feikema
In April this year, Forbes Magazine published a remarkable article describing the “Hope Gap” as the growing distance between the complexity of the world and the ability of leaders to provide a compelling, hopeful vision for the future. (27 April 2026: Forbes; “The Hope Gap: Why The Most Informed Leaders In History Are Inspiring The Least Belief”)
The author identifies the “hope gap” as the defining leadership challenge of this decade and declares: “It isn’t a morale problem, though it looks like one. It isn’t a communication problem, though better communication would help. It is something more fundamental: a growing distance between the complexity of the world leaders are navigating and their capacity to tell a story about it that makes people feel the future is worth showing up for.”
Wikipedia defines hope as an optimistic state of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes, combining a desire for something with the belief that it is possible. Unlike passive wishing, hope is an action-oriented, psychological strength involving the motivation and strategy to reach goals.
In this edition of Bridging, we invited Fellows and Friends to share their thoughts on the importance of hope for today’s leaders – read on, with hope.
THE RIVER TOLD ME FIRST
By Dr Kathleen Broderick (Fellow, 2014), Principal, Broderick and Associates
A consultant and natural resource scientist with four decades of experience in south-west Western Australia’s river systems, Dr Kathleen Broderick bridges the “Hope Gap” — the distance between ecological reality and institutional action.
Drawing on PhD research in the Collie catchment and deep community partnerships, she connects grassroots environmental stewardship with the funding bodies, governments, and corporate stakeholders that can scale it.
Her call to the consulting profession: stop optimising broken systems, apply Moral Imagination, and work on timescales in which landscapes — not quarterly reports — actually operate.
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, the southwest area of Western Australia, the many peoples of the Noongar Nation. I acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to this region. I acknowledge the continuing relationship to the bilya- the rivers of the region. This is the land where I live and base my work
What four decades of watching rivers decline — and communities fight back — taught me about filling the Hope Gap.
There is a particular grief that comes from loving a river.
Image: Kayak on the Blackwood River – Goorbiliyup
Not the abstract grief of reading reports, though I have read many. I mean the embodied kind — the moment you push a paddle into water you have known since childhood and feel, in your arms, that something has changed. The current is different. The banks have shifted. The reeds are thinner. The clarity that once let you see a metre down is gone, replaced by a turbid, salt-laden weight that tells you the catchment above has been under pressure you did not prevent.
I grew up paddling and hiking the rivers of south-west Western Australia and watched them change over a lifetime. Salinisation crept in as land clearing altered the water table. Dams interrupted flows that fish and communities had relied on for generations.
The rivers did not collapse overnight. They declined slowly enough that each year’s loss felt almost normal, until the cumulative picture was devastating. That picture became the centre of my professional life.
The Gap Has a Name Now
Afdhel Aziz, the purpose strategist and Forbes columnist, calls it the Hope Gap: the distance between the world as it is and the world as it could be. He argues our greatest sustainability failures are not failures of science or technology — they are failures of storytelling. We have the data. We often have the solutions. What we lack are stories powerful enough to move people from awareness to action, to catalyse change.
I understood this gap instinctively long before I had language for it — in the disconnect between government policy and farming families watching their paddocks go white with salt; in the chasm between corporate environmental commitments and extraction rates approved just upstream. That gap is where I have chosen to work, and where I believe consultants can do their most important work.
Evidence, Community, and the Bridge Between
Image: Margaret River- Wooditchup (with fish ladder); courtesy Kath Broderick
My PhD research in the Collie River catchment gave me something theoretical training could not: a rigorous understanding of how human decisions accumulate in a landscape. Catchments are honest. They do not respond to policy announcements. They respond to what actually happens on the ground — to every land-use decision, every cleared hectare, every mine, every groundwater bore.
But evidence alone does not fill the Hope Gap. Data without narrative sits on a shelf. The bridge I have spent my career building is between natural resource science and how organisations and communities actually make decisions — between what a catchment needs and what is politically, financially, and socially achievable. That bridge is not glamorous. It rarely makes headlines. But it is the work that actually moves things.
The People Already Closing the Gap
The Hope Gap in south-west WA’s catchments is not only being widened by mining approvals and development decisions. It is also, quietly and persistently, being narrowed by people who love their piece of country and refuse to give up on it. Farmers who have fenced their waterways and shifted their practices. Community groups that have monitored local waterways for years, building datasets formal institutions never had resources to collect.
These are Aziz’s ‘Solutionaries’, even if they’ve never heard the term. My role, at its best, has been to connect their knowledge to the systems — funding bodies, local governments, corporate stakeholders — that can amplify what they are already doing. To translate between community stewardship and institutional decision-making.
What Consulting Owes the Environment
Management consulting has a mixed record on environmental outcomes. We are skilled at optimising systems — but optimising a system misaligned with ecological reality just makes the damage more efficient. We build business cases that externalise environmental costs. We run engagement processes that create the appearance of consultation without genuine community influence.
Filling the Hope Gap requires what Aziz calls Moral Imagination: treating the gap not as someone else’s problem, but as a personal design brief. For consultants working in water and environmental strategy, that means presenting evidence even when it complicates the preferred outcome, building genuine community voice into processes, and designing recommendations on timescales in which landscapes actually operate.
An Invitation
I am writing this because there are more people in consulting, in public service, and natural resource management who feel this gap than currently talk about it openly. People who went into this work because they cared about rivers and wildlife and the bush and communities, and who navigate the tension between that original motivation and institutional realities.
I am particularly interested in connecting with organisations — in government, industry, the not-for-profit sector — who are serious about the practical work of catchment stewardship and community-led environmental management. Not serious in the sense of having a policy document. Serious in the sense of being willing to follow the evidence, engage communities as genuine partners, and make decisions on those timescales in which landscapes operate.
The Hope Gap in south-west WA’s catchments is real. The communities with the knowledge and commitment to act are there. What has always been needed is better bridges between them and the systems that control resources and decisions.
That is the work I do. I would be glad to do it with you.
If this resonates, I’d welcome a conversation.
Dr Kathleen Broderick
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-broderick-46a24627
kathleen@broderickandassociates.com.au
PCT Fellow 2014
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3532-6539
AI attribution: I have used AI to suggest edits from a much longer text to enable this article to comply with guidelines for contributors. The suggested changes were mostly accepted and I have no doubt they helped me remove repetition and obfuscation and present a clearer structured, more readable text.
Image: On the bank of the Swan River Estuary – Derbarl Yerrigan; image by Neil Wallace
Bridging the Hope Gap with Authenticity
By Fleur Coaker (Fellow, 2018), Director – Water Regulation – DWER (WA)
I see “hope” as the internal drive to change or create something for the better. It’s fuelled by purpose, passion, commitment and motivation from the belief that we can actually make a difference.
Importantly it’s also trust. Trust that consistent and daily actions, both big and small, all contribute to whatever the vision is you are trying to create, even if you can’t yet see the results.
As leaders, the key to our effectiveness to bridge the hope gap is our authenticity. Whether that be through our daily interactions with others, when sharing the monthly performance report or leading our teams through the quarterly strategic workshop.
As PCT Fellows, we know the importance and power of authenticity. To be authentic we first have to feel it, believe it and own it, whatever “it” is for each of us. Finding hope ourselves is key and in itself can be challenging in an increasingly complex and uncertain world where our own belief systems are being challenged.
I find spending time reflecting and finding alignment in myself helpful. Contemplating the various views from upwards, downwards and sideways in the organisation, what am I hearing from stakeholders, what am I seeing in the external environment, and then asking a few questions of myself – what does this mean for us as an organisation, what feels true for me, how does this align with my values, how can I influence most effectively, what do I need and what do my people need right now?
Consciously considering our own truth will naturally create the authenticity that we can then deliver through actions and words in every interaction and at every level.
In my view, this is at the heart of leadership and it’s where leadership needs to connect to our heart. It’s connection with oneself first that allows for the connection with others.
As the article (27 April 2026: Forbes;“The Hope Gap: Why The Most Informed Leaders In History Are Inspiring The Least Belief”) suggests, and as we also know as Fellows, storytelling is a powerful way to build connections because effective storytelling comes from the heart. The Five-Step Framework for Closing The Hope Gap that’s presented within the article has merit, but to actually be effective each step needs to be grounded firmly in authenticity and doused with passion, purpose and commitment.
Image: “Hope”; open source
3. On Leadership
LEADERSHIP THOUGHT PIECE #1
We Are Connected by Water, But Are We Acting Like It?
By Sheryl Hedges, Branch Head, First Nations Water Branch, Water Policy Division, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
In this opinion piece, Sheryl Hedges reflects on her keynote at the 2026 Connected by WaterConference, challenging the sector to move beyond rhetoric to action. While water connects all aspects of society, current systems exclude First Nations peoples, who hold less than 0.2% of water entitlements despite significant land ownership. With the Water Act and Basin Plan under review, she advocates for structural reform that embeds First Nations governance, cultural flows, and shared decision-making. Emphasising the need to work at the pace of trust, Hedges urges leaders—especially emerging ones—to take responsibility and drive meaningful, lasting change in Australia’s water future.
Walawaani.
In my Dhurga language, we do not have a word for hello or goodbye. Instead, we speak to the journey I hope you travelled safely here, and I hope you travel safely home.
Because what matters is not the greeting. It is the journey.
That is something I have been reflecting on since speaking at the Australian Water Association’s Connected by Water Conference this year. The theme is powerful. It is true. Water does connect us across landscapes, across systems, across communities.
But I left with a question that I believe we must all sit with:
If we are connected by water, are we acting like it?
Water connects sky to earth.
Upstream to downstream.
Rural to urban.
Environment to economy.
And for First Nations peoples, water connects something even deeper. It connects identity, Law, story, and obligation. It is not a resource. It is a living being. It carries memory. It carries knowledge.
Yet the way governments control water in this country does not reflect that understanding.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold rights to around 40% of Australia’s land. But we control less than 0.2% of surface water entitlements.
We can do better
When this country was colonised under the legal fiction of terra nullius, that thinking extended to water, what is often describe as aqua nullius. It ignored our governance systems, our cultural obligations, and our relationships with water that have existed for tens of thousands of years.
So, when we talk about reform, we need to be honest about what we are trying to change.
This is not about tweaking policy settings.
This is about redesigning systems.
In the Murray–Darling Basin, the Australian Government starting to see what that can look like. Through the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program, we are increasing First Nations ownership of water.
We have also worked with Basin Nations over several years to co-design an enduring, First Nations-led governance model. Not consultation. Not engagement. Shared authorship.
Because real change does not come from fitting First Nations peoples into existing structures. It comes from building new structures together.
This matters now more than ever.
With the Water Act under review and the Basin Plan continuing to evolve, we are in a moment of opportunity. These are not just legislative processes. They are opportunities to embed First Nations rights, knowledge, and governance into the foundations of how water is managed in this country.
And that requires all of us to think differently about our roles.
For government, this includes the importance of considering both outcomes and process. It encourages decision-making approaches that recognise cultural governance, and a broader understanding of water value that includes cultural, environmental and intergenerational outcomes, not only economic return.
And if you are a leader like the Peter Cullen Trust Fellows you have a particular responsibility.
You understand systems. You understand complexity. And you have influence.
Use it to ask better questions.
Whose voices are shaping decisions?
Whose knowledge is recognised?
Who holds power and who does not?
And most importantly, what are you doing to change that?
One concept I spoke about at the conference is working at the pace of trust.
Trust cannot be rushed.
Communities measure progress in generations. Governments measure it in reporting cycles. When those rhythms do not align, reform stalls.
Working at the pace of trust means listening before designing. Sharing decisions, not just seeking advice. Staying engaged beyond announcements.
It is not the fastest way to work, but it is the only way to achieve outcomes that last.
Because water reform that excludes First Nations knowledge is incomplete.
Water governance that excludes First Nations decision-making is unstable.
If we truly believe we are connected by water, then our systems must reflect that connection.
Not just in words, but in structure.
Not just in intent, but in action.
First Nations water reform remains unfinished. Advancing this work means supporting First Nations peoples to have a stronger role, authority and ownership in water management, consistent with the Australian Government’s commitments to shared decision-making, self-determination and Closing the Gap.
That means securing water rights.
Embedding governance.
Recognising cultural flows.
Building capability.
Restoring trust.
If we get this right, the benefits extend far beyond First Nations communities.
We strengthen river health.
We strengthen communities.
We strengthen economic resilience.
We strengthen our response to climate change.
And we strengthen the integrity of our institutions.
Water connects us.
Connection implies responsibility.
So I leave you with the same question I asked at the conference:
We are connected by water,
but are we willing to act like it?
Walawaani.
Travel safely on your journey.
LEADERSHIP THOUGHT PIECE #2
Making Waves Revisited: Peter Cullen’s Vision and Its Lasting Legacy
By Darryl Day, Friend of the Trust
Twenty-two years ago, Professor Peter Cullen AO stood before a packed Adelaide Town Hall audience of 1,200 people and delivered a public lecture titled Making Waves: Water Challenges for Adelaide in the 21st Century.
As Adelaide’s Thinker in Residence, Peter challenged South Australians to think differently about water. His message was not that drought was coming. The Millennium Drought was already underway. Rather, Peter argued that South Australia should use the emerging crisis as a catalyst for long-term reform and innovation.
The speech is remarkable to read today.
At a time when many Australians still viewed drought as a temporary interruption to normal conditions, Peter urged governments, water utilities and communities to prepare for a future in which water scarcity, climate uncertainty and environmental limits would become enduring realities.
He outlined ten practical actions to secure Adelaide’s water future. These included protecting the River Murray and Adelaide Hills catchments, improving water literacy, reducing urban water demand, expanding water recycling, harvesting stormwater, encouraging desalination and fostering innovation in water management.
Many of these ideas would later become central elements of South Australia’s response to the Millennium Drought. Water conservation programs, stormwater harvesting schemes, managed aquifer recharge, water recycling initiatives and ultimately the Adelaide Desalination Plant all reflected principles Peter advocated in 2004.
The influence of Peter’s work was recognised by the Hon. Karlene Maywald, South Australia’s Minister for Water Security and the River Murray from 2004 to 2010 (and past Chair of the Peter Cullen Trust), who reflected on reading this article:
“What an historic speech. I joined the Cabinet a couple of months later in July 2004. Peter and the recommendations in his report were highly influential in my Ministerial career and, interestingly, we delivered on his recommendations over the following six years during my term.
It’s why I am so strongly committed to continuing his legacy”
This observation is particularly significant. It confirms that Peter’s influence extended well beyond ideas and recommendations. His vision helped shape policy, investment and reform during one of the most challenging periods in South Australia’s water history.
Yet perhaps the most important message in the speech was not technical. It was cultural.
Peter challenged South Australians to stop looking upstream for solutions and instead take responsibility for their own water future. He saw an opportunity for South Australia to become an international leader in living sustainably in a dry climate and to demonstrate how innovation, science and community leadership could work together to create resilience.
His closing message remains as relevant today as it was in 2004. Communities can either hope conditions return to the way they once were, or they can embrace change and shape a different future.
For those who knew Peter, this combination of practical wisdom, scientific rigour and optimism was quintessentially Cullen. He believed that water challenges could be solved, but only through leadership, collaboration and a willingness to act before crises became emergencies.
More than two decades later, Making Waves remains a powerful reminder that Peter Cullen’s greatest contribution was not predicting the future. It was helping Australia prepare for it.
SUBMISSIONS TO THE BASIN PLAN REVIEW PROCESS
Many PCT Fellows and Friends contributed to a deeply thoughtful and courageous process to inform the Peter Cullen Trust’s submission to the 2026 Murray–Darling Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper, lodged on 29 April. Not many were privy to the final drafting of that submission and our first National Webinar for 2026 (see your invitation to attend and full details later in Bridging) is an opportunity for us to share the details of that submission and also the valuable process lessons we learnt along the way.
In addition, when we embarked on the Basin Plan Review, we undertook to support and amplify others who were making their own submissions to the process. We would be pleased to publish your submission alongside ours on our website. If you would like your submission shared on the PCT Website, email lesley@petercullentrust.com.au who will be pleased to assist.
In the meantime, we are pleased to share three important submissions to the Basin Plan Review.
PCT Submission – From Contest to Stewardship: leadership for the future of the Murray–Darling Basin
Bringing water back, governance, landscape finance, and leadership
By Professor Emerita Cynthia Mitchell, AO, Chair of the Peter Cullen Trust
My submission focuses on three interrelated topics which taken together, offer great promise:
1. bringing water back into the Basin,
2. governance as if outcomes matter, and
3. accessing landscape scale finance.
The final part of my submission speaks to the qualities of leadership required to deliver on the promise of the puzzle pieces above.
Re-membering Local Water Cycles – A Collective Submission
From Professor Emerita Cynthia Mitchell, AO, Chair of the Peter Cullen Trust, and Dr Katie Ross
This submission is from a collective of 65 leading organisations and individuals who signed on to a synthesis of the science of the landscape and water leg of climate, and its holistic application to the Basin.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
Fellows and Friends of the PCT are widely acknowledged for their individual achievements and contributions on many fronts, including:
Dr Anne Poelina (2011)
Our congratulations to Peter Cullen Fellow, Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council Executive Chair and Professor & Chair Indigenous Knowledges – Nulungu Research, University of Notre Dame (Broome) Anne Poelina, who has been appointed as Global Commissioner (Australia) to The Lancet Commission on Sea-level Rise, Health and Justice.
Image: Dr Anne Poelina; image courtesy Anne Poelina
The Lancet Commission brings together a global group of 26 experts to examine the health impacts of sea-level rise and advance equitable, evidence-based responses.
Professor Emeritus Mike Young, Friend of the Trust
In the recent King’s Birthday Honours, Professor Emeritus Mike Young was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division for his distinguished service to conservation and the environment, to water resource management, and to tertiary education.
Mike is one of the Founding Friends of the Trust, a group of 60 that includes those who gathered at the Boat House on 26 June 2008, and those who were appointed in 2010, shortly after the Trust was established. We were delighted to have Mike join us for the recent Graduation Dinner in Adelaide, where a – we think – record number of Friends were in attendance.
Congratulations Mike, fitting recognition for a lifetime of service.
Image: PCT Friends gathered in number at the 2026 Adelaide Graduation event – Professor Emeritus Mike Young, AO, front row centre.
4. PCT Leadership Programs 2026/27
By Natasha Davis, Programs Director and Lesley Ryall, Fellows Network Coordinator
2026 LEADERSHIP PROGRAM GRADUATION – ADELAIDE
Congratulations to the newest graduates from the 2026 Leadership Program, Round 1.
This dynamic and diverse group was warmly welcomed into the PCT Fellows Network where their skills and their commitment to act as authentic, courageous leaders were on full display through a lively Q&A session at the conclusion of their presentation.
The Project:
An integral part of the PCT Leadership Program is the group project. This project normally comprises a number of components, each designed to provide participants with ‘real world’ challenges from water and environmental governance, policy and practice. They invite participants to broaden their perspectives and grapple with complex multi-disciplinary challenges.
Image: 2026 Group Presentation, Adelaide; image PCT
Peter Cullen posed the question “When water is scarce, what will we prioritise”? The recent cohort of Program participants had this question at the centre of their project; they were asked to articulate their approach to developing a new Water Allocation Plan for the Limestone Coast in South Australia. This is a landscape, like many in Australia, that holds multiple histories and stories and is facing a dramatic decline in the fragile, interconnected water resources that characterise this region.
The group communicated with conviction and clarity why the multiple tensions and competing interests must all be heard… and held. They articulated a principles-based approach towards water planning based on equal voices for the diverse range of stakeholders and community members representing cultural, social, industry and environmental interests, bringing wisdom from traditional knowledge and contemporary ecological science together with local experience. Rather than bombarding community members and stakeholders with information, start with deep listening.
Building trust and shared responsibility and accountability are the other core principles they identified as essential for creating conditions where all the tensions and competing interests could be explored openly and transparently. This is essential work before moving to designing scenarios, unpacking risks and trade-offs and ultimately developing a shared vision of what needs to be protected and for whom.
This patient, bottom up, reflective planning approach requires courageous and skilful leadership…just the kind that the PCT Leadership Program is cultivating.
Congratulations to this cohort; we can’t wait to see how you bring these principles to life.
Image: 2026 Group Presentation, Adelaide; image PCT
Introducing the Class of ‘26
Eleven new Fellows from South Australia, Victoria and the ACT earned their right to be visible within the Fellows Network. Here they are, together:
Dr Darren Giling
Team Leader, Aquatic Ecology, CSIRO
Dr Darren Giling is a freshwater scientist with broad research interests in ecosystem, community, and food-web ecology. His work bridges field ecology and quantitative modelling to examine the functioning of rivers and lakes, including fundamental processes such as productivity and organic matter cycling.
Darren applies this knowledge to understand how biodiversity and ecosystem services can be managed sustainably under environmental change. He has a proven track record of collaborating with scientists and resource managers to assess the ecological outcomes of management strategies, notably riparian restoration and environmental flow delivery. He has also led the development of approaches to measure trends in the health of Australia’s freshwaters for national-scale environmental reporting, working closely with end users to ensure impact. Darren has published more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, authored technical reports, and supervised PhD and Honours students. He is a mentor to early-career researchers in his current role as Team Leader.
Samantha Grover
Associate Professor, Environmental Science, RMIT
Soil scientist, connector, creator; seeking sustainable solutions to social ecological challenges by combining technical innovation with deep stakeholder engagement.
Sam leads the Soil-Atmosphere-Anthroposphere Lab at RMIT University. Their research explores the interconnections between food, climate change and people. They collaborate with farmers, NGOs, industry, government and other researchers around the world to more sustainably manage landscapes. The Lab focuses on high carbon systems such as peatlands, regenerative agriculture and composting. As a soil scientist, Sam applies techniques from soil physics, soil chemistry and soil microbiology with micrometeorology to explore the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Sam collaborates with economists, social scientists, policy analysist as well as other biological and physical scientists to generate whole-of-system knowledge.
Sam aspires to make a nationally and internationally significant contribution to reversing climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Darrell Hamlyn
Senior Assets Engineer, Murray-Darling Basin Authority
Darrell Hamlyn is a civil and environmental engineer with extensive experience in asset management, infrastructure planning, and dam safety. He has led major dam safety programs and developed long-term asset management plans, including multi-million-dollar dam upgrade projects, with expertise spanning risk assessment, lifecycle planning, and regulatory assurance. He currently applies this experience at the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, delivering asset planning, budget development, and dam safety oversight across the Basin’s assets.
Outside of work he is a father to 2 teenagers and is passionate about sustainability having recently built an 8-star energy efficient home. He also enjoys spending time outdoors and keeping fit!
Andrea Molteno
Policy Officer, NSW Irrigators’ Council (John Langford Scholar)
Andrea is a natural resource management professional specialising in water policy, with experience advising on statewide and coastal reform initiatives across New South Wales. Her work focuses on supporting productive and sustainable water planning and management outcomes through practical, evidence-based policy development.
Andrea holds a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management and Sustainability, with a focus on translating complex natural resource challenges into implementable policy solutions. She also holds a Master’s degree in Science Teaching, specialising in the effective communication of scientific theory and its real-world application. This foundation has supported her ability to link together policy, science, and stakeholders.
In 2024, Andrea completed the National Agricultural Leaders Program through the National Farmers’ Federation, further developing her advocacy capability and cross-sector perspective. She is committed to strengthening her leadership and policy development skills and is grateful for the opportunity for further growth through the 2026 Peter Cullen Trust Leadership Program.
Raman Pattabiraman
Head of Operational Technology, Yarra Valley Water
Raman is a collaborative, purpose driven, adaptive technology leader with over two decades of experience bridging business and technology domains. Known for his strong communication, coaching mindset, and focus on culture, he is passionate about mentoring others, fostering cross functional collaboration, and delivering lasting value through technology enabled services.
Raman currently serves as Head of Operational Technology at Yarra Valley Water, where he leads a five-year capability uplift to improve the reliability and resilience of enabling technologies that support critical water, sewer, and treatment plant operations. Previously, he has held senior roles across ICT services, corporate technology, and service delivery, building high performing teams, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and driving data informed decision making.
Outside of work, he is an avid hiker, cyclist, and badminton enthusiast who also loves photography.
Luisa Perez Mujica
Senior Social Analyst, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Luisa is a social environmental scientist whose work has focused on generating knowledge that informs meaningful change, particularly in the face of complex social and environmental challenges. As a keen systems thinker, Luisa believes that lasting solutions emerge from collaboration, shared learning, and transdisciplinary practice. She brings together diverse perspectives, across sectors, disciplines, and communities, to address complex environmental issues with nuance and care.
As a public servant, Luisa is deeply committed to advancing equity and justice while faithfully representing the communities she serves. She is a dedicated advocate for minorities and marginalised groups, championing inclusive approaches that amplify underrepresented voices and place lived experience in policy and decision-making front and centre. Luisa’s work is guided by the belief that sustainable transformation must be participatory, context-responsive, and grounded in solidarity. Through her leadership, she strives to cultivate collaborative spaces where research, practice, and community knowledge meet, creating the conditions for meaningful and lasting systemic change.
Melanie Scerri
Client Relationship and Delivery Manager, Jacobs
Melanie Scerri is a civil engineer by background and throughout her career has enjoyed the complexity of large, multi-layered challenges. She brings a blend of technical grounding and human-centred leadership, approaching situations with curiosity, clarity, and a deep respect for the people behind the work. Melanie is energised by understanding where the sector is heading and by bringing together diverse teams to navigate challenges with confidence and cohesion.
Motivated by delivering positive outcomes for clients, communities, and the environment, she combines strategic thinking with calm, structured direction that turns ambitious visions into grounded outcomes. Melanie is deeply committed to mentoring and supporting her teams to deliver outcomes that they can be proud of and fostering environments where creativity, accountability and growth can thrive.
Mel Swale
Director First Nations Water, Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action
Mel is a proud Wiradjuri woman with strong connections to the Healesville (Wurundjeri) and Dandenong (Bunurong) communities. She is a mother of two who enjoys being back on her Wiradjuri Country, staying active through netball, tennis and running, and embracing opportunities to keep learning.
With over 20 years’ experience across government, not-for-profit and corporate sectors, Mel has dedicated her career to embedding Aboriginal voices, knowledge systems and self-determination into policy and program delivery.
Career highlights include reconnecting VicHealth to Aboriginal communities through the creation and delivery of the Strong Young Mob initiative, leading the Aboriginal Business Investment Grant Program at DJSIR to drive Aboriginal economic development, and removing barriers for communities to deliver justice programs across Victoria through her work with the Koori Justice Unit.
Tim Vale
Program Leader, Department for Environment and Water, SA
Tim is a conservation professional with more than 30 years’ experience in biodiversity management, ecological restoration and community engagement across South Australia. His career spans roles with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, the Conservation Council of SA, and the Department for Environment and Water, where he currently lead the Flows for the Future program.
Tim has worked on threatened species recovery, Fleurieu Peninsula Swamps, fire management policy, and landscape-scale conservation through strong partnerships with landholders, agencies and community groups.
Outside of work, he is a partner of 30 years, father of 2, obsessive cyclist and snorkeler who finds inspiration in Australia’s unique flora and fauna.
Craig Watson
Manager, First Nations Engagement and Senior Advisor to the CEO, VicGrid (Vicky Cullen Scholar)
Craig is a strategic First Nations executive leader with extensive experience across governance, legal systems, environmental policy, and energy transition. His career spans senior roles in government and Indigenous organisations, including VicGrid, First Nations Legal and Research Services, National Native Title Council, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority, the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, and national partnerships with CSIRO and DCCEEW. Craig is recognised for strengthening organisational performance, embedding cultural authority into statutory processes, and leading multidisciplinary teams through complex reform.
Craig brings deep expertise in Traditional Owner rights, native title, cultural heritage, and the evolving treaty landscape in Victoria. His leadership is values driven, culturally grounded, and focused on building high performing, culturally safe workplaces that support long term community outcomes. Craig is committed to advancing self-determination, knowledge sovereignty, and community led decision making, ensuring organisations deliver trusted, high-quality services that uphold the aspirations of First Peoples.
Tarni Wilson
Senior Policy Officer, Department for Environment and Water, SA
Tarni is a stakeholder engagement lead with a background in psychology and strategic communications, specialising in the design and delivery of inclusive engagement approaches across complex policy and environmental contexts. Her work focuses on translating technical and scientific information into clear, accessible narratives that build trust, support collaboration, and enable informed decision-making.
Tarni is driven by the pursuit of social justice and a strong belief that equitable, participatory processes lead to better outcomes for both communities and the environment. She is particularly interested in leadership that bridges disciplines, values lived experience alongside technical expertise and strengthens water and environmental governance through meaningful participation. Through her professional practice, she seeks to contribute to resilient, inclusive, and sustainable futures for people and ecosystems.
2026 Graduation Address – David Ryan, Chief Executive of SA Water, Friend of the Trust
The 2026 Graduation Address was delivered by David Ryan, Chief Executive of SA Water. David leads one of the country’s largest integrated water utilities, serving more than 1.8 million customers across South Australia.
Our event MC, Simone Stewart (2021), introduced David, and these are her words:
“What stands out about David’s leadership is not just the scale of that responsibility, but how he shows up within it. He is deeply interested in the work his teams do and, just as importantly, in the development of the people behind it. He makes a point of getting out into the field, seeing firsthand the challenges and opportunities across the organisation, and staying genuinely connected to the reality of the work.
He brings a flexible and authentic style—equally comfortable having an informal conversation as he is making the tough decisions when they’re needed. Those who work with him describe a leader who is direct, curious, and unafraid to ask the one question that cuts through complexity and gets to what really matters.
Under David’s leadership, SA Water has placed a strong emphasis on culture – grounded in values that focus on keeping it real, valuing people, and staying future-focused. He also champions clear and accessible communication, ensuring that even the most technical work can be understood and appreciated by the broader community.”
And as those in the room can attest, David is also a highly engaging and skilled speaker. From his personal storytelling – we were all on the ledge with him! – to his insights on leaders, leadership and taking a different road, David’s warmth, authenticity and courage were on full display and we are grateful for the opportunity to share his memorable Graduation Address with our network.
2026 Graduation Week Partners, Sponsors and Collaborators
The Peter Cullen Trust is grateful to many organisations and individuals who supported the many events and activities in Adelaide in May. Please join us in thanking:
Graduation Week Partners
PD Day #1 Field Trip Sponsors
PD Day #2 Fairness Workshop Collaborators
Adelaide PD Day Organising Team of Fellows and Friends
Peta Brettig (2022), Yvette Colton (2023), Alex Cornish (2023), Dr Rebecca Doble (2023), Tamara Jackson (2021), Dan Mollison (2022), Dr Kerri Muller (Friend of the Trust), Brooke Swaffer (2024)
Image: Adelaide PD Organising Committee (minus Tamara Jackson, sadly)
2026 Connection to Country
Courage, Care, Commitment and Creation: A reflection from the second PCT Connection to Country Program
By Natasha Davis, Programs Director
PCT’s 2026 Connection to Country program was woven together with the threads of Courage, Care, Commitment and Creation.
Image: Burrima boardwalk; courtesy Natasha Davis
This physical, emotional and spiritual journey took us across Wiradjuri, Gamilaraay, Wailwan and Yuwaalaraay Country in the Northern Basin of the Murray Darling system. We left with much deeper understanding of how water shapes First Peoples’ identify and culture and a commitment to creating a new, shared story for water management that honours and harnesses their wisdom.
Sixteen participants and our facilitator team of Jason Wilson (2022), Darren Perry (2016), Kirsty Savage (2022), Rosie Wheen and Natasha Davis travelled in convoy to wetlands, rivers, townships, a grazing property and cotton farm – learning about the histories and living cultures of our First Peoples and how these intersect with water management in the 21st century
Image: Brewarrina Fish Traps; courtesy Natasha Davis
Jason Wilson welcomed us wholeheartedly onto his Country and generously shared extensive knowledge about land, sky and water. We were privileged to meet people in his vast network that encompasses farmers, First Peoples and allies who are working tirelessly to find creative and courageous ways of growing awareness and empowering action.
Co-facilitators Darren Perry and Kirsty Savage enriched the experience by providing insights into how to deepen our personal and group reflections. First Peoples participants Vanessa Cook, Shane Adderton and Ellie Robinson also greatly enriched our conversations and we were incredibly grateful for their care and their courageous contributions.
Our follow up online yarns are helping participants integrate what our hearts, minds and hands have experienced and provide space for us each to explore how we will commit to greater courage and care with and towards our First People and Country.
We are already dreaming and planning for a new Connection to Country Program in 2027 so watch this space!
Image: Connection to Country participants and facilitators at Burrima in the Macquarie Marshes; courtesy Natasha Davis
From Connection to Country participants:
“This has lit a fire in me, through supported learning experiences and mentoring by the facilitators. I feel more comfortable to share my experiences and ideas for positive change. The program introduced me to a powerful group of allies and professionals, providing inspiration and impactful ways to embed Aboriginal culture into everything we do.”
Shane Adderton
“I feel I have a much better understanding & respect of indigenous cultural ways and beliefs and am better prepared to speak up, question & challenge the way we do things that do not respect aboriginal culture or ways. Over the week I came to realise and appreciate for just how long these people have been stewards for our land and water – and how their values are just so different to the western culture that has been unjustly imposed on them.”
Michelle Groat
“Connection to Country has changed how I understand collaboration. Aboriginal knowledge of Country including water, seasons, species, and sacred places is not supplementary to technical data; it is irreplaceable alongside it. I now have a clear framework for building genuine partnerships with Aboriginal communities from the earliest stages of a project, ensuring their knowledge shapes outcomes rather than being simply acknowledged and set aside.”
Olish Dany
“It has strengthened my commitment that embedding Aboriginal perspectives into natural resource management can benefit everyone. It has strengthened my commitment to ensure my teams, colleagues and family have more (and deeper) opportunities to learn about Culture.”
Beth Ashworth
2026/27 LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS – APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN
2026 Executive Leadership Immersive – “Confluence”
Image: Lake Connewarre; courtesy Paul Feikema
The leaders who will shape the next decade in water, environment and climate are not those with all the answers. They are the leaders who can bridge the ‘hope gap’ — convening diverse perspectives, leading with integrity, and guiding others through complexity with courage and clarity.
Confluence is PCT’s newest leadership offering for senior leaders already operating at scale who want to deepen and amplify their impact. It creates a rare space for reflection, dialogue and strategic thinking at a time when many leaders are navigating constant disruption, uncertainty and operational pressure.
When: Wednesday, 30th September – Friday, 2nd October, 2026
Where: Lancemore Macedon Ranges., less than 60 mins from Melbourne.
What to expect
Confluence is designed to strengthen systems thinking, decision making and reflective leadership practices.
This experience provides an immersive, high-trust environment to engage deeply with the questions shaping leadership today:
- How do I maintain my leadership power and resilience in challenging times?
- How do we lead in systems that challenge our values?
- What does leading through geopolitical challenges require of us?
- How do we share power and wisdom for lasting impact?
In the evening of Day 2 we will be joined by George Megalogenis – one of Australia’s leading political and economic thinkers.
George is a highly engaging speaker and presenter who deals with big-picture global economic and political trends.
George’s next book, Three Shocks – who we are becoming in the 21st Century will be published in August 2026.
More information and Registration
- Download the Confluence Brochure HERE
- The Application Form can be accessed HERE.
- Applications close Monday, 13th July.
For further information please contact PCT Programs Director Natasha Davis at natasha@petercullentrust.com.au
2027 Leadership Program: March-May 2027
We invite our network to encourage suitable candidates to apply.
The PCT Leadership Program comprises two week-long residential sessions, a substantial group project, formal graduation presentation to peers and a full day’s facilitated Recharge Workshop, face to face, one year after graduation.
Applications are OPEN for the 2027 Leadership Program (March-May 2027):
- Session 1: On Country, 15-19 March 2027
- Session 2: Canberra, 17-21 May 2027
Applications will close on 18 October 2026.
(Please note: our next Leadership Program for women only will be scheduled in the second half of 2027, dependent on demand.)
Please share the following information with candidates and decision-makers in your organisation or network:
The Peter Cullen Trust’s purpose is to foster courageous leadership to tackle big challenges in water and environment. Fuelling this purpose is the Trust’s unique and transformative flagship Leadership Program, held just twice a year for 14-18 outstanding professionals from Australia’s water and environment sector.The Program is remarkable and, for many, life-changing. Within the trusted space of each small cohort, participants uncover their “why”, developing their own leadership styles and strategic capabilities, whilst gaining the clarity, confidence and courage to lead change within their organisations and communities.
“Powerful. Epic. Emotional. Wild. Exhausting. Enlightening. Transformative. With 13 strangers, vulnerability and resilience coexisted, forging instant solidarity. Thirteen extraordinary women created brave, honest connection. Together we redefined strength, learned to pause, sit in discomfort, and discovered resilience and capability within ourselves.”
Kate Berg, Fellow 2025, Manager Environment and Climate Adaptation, Southern Rural Water
Completion of the Leadership Program is the start of an enduring and rich leadership journey. Following graduation, participants enter the supportive and influential Fellows Network, now numbering over 350 people. This powerful Network offers ongoing engagement, development, and opportunities to contribute to and influence issues of national significance within the sector. Over 150 high profile Friends of the Trust further enrich the culture and the potential of the Network.
“Transforming from Fellow to Director over 15 years, I’ve found the Trust’s true power lies beyond the Program. Our network of 300+ Fellows is an engine for impact. Actively stepping forward to serve this community doesn’t just shape Australia’s water leadership, it accelerates your own growth in unexpected, profound ways.”
Chris Arnott, Fellow 2010, Director – ArborAI
Yarra Valley Water is proud of our longstanding partnership with the Peter Cullen Trust. Its leadership programs have a meaningful impact across the sector, including on our own people, who return with an even deeper sense of commitment and courage to drive positive change in Australia’s water and environmental management. We’re honoured to support an organisation that continues to nurture and elevate emerging water leaders.
Natalie Foeng, Managing Director, Yarra Valley Water
If you are actively involved in water, climate or environmental science, systems, policy, advocacy, or management and you have an appetite for change – this is your tribe.
The majority of Leadership Program participants are funded by their organisations (“sponsors”), some are self-funded and the Trust has a small number of scholarships available for suitable and qualified applicants whose circumstances might inhibit their participation; First Nations candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.
What next?
- Listen HERE to an online information session for potential sponsors and applicants
- Visit the WEBSITE for all information for applicants and sponsors, including testimonials, dates and prices.
- Download the Program Brochures here:
- Ready to apply?
- The Application Form can be accessed HERE.
To discuss the benefits of the Program to you or your organisation, or for further information about the application process, please contact Trust CEO Rosie Wheen at ceo@petercullentrust.com.au.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Trust and your personal commitment to ‘paying it forward’.
2026/27 WSAA Young Utility Leaders – Growing the next generation
PCT is proud to partner with the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) to deliver a bespoke leadership program for young utility leaders. The purpose of the Program is to build leadership capability across the WSAA membership community by supporting early career leaders to develop foundational leadership skills and confidence to lead and influence the water services industry.
Applications are now open for the 2026/27 program.
5. Around the Network
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS – ADELAIDE
Hailed by many as “the best ever”, the two successful and sold out PD Days in Adelaide beg the question – why haven’t we done this before?
A River’s Reflection
Collective Decisions, Shared Futures: Reflections from the Peter Cullen Trust Professional Development Days, Adelaide, May 2026
By Yvette Colton (2023) and Peta Brettig (2022)
For thousands of years I, Warriparri (Sturt River), found my own path to the sea, rising and falling with the seasons, nourishing Country along the way. Long before suburbs, roads and drainage schemes, I flooded, dried, meandered and renewed. I shaped Country and was shaped by it.
Then, in a moment measured against my lifetime, I was straightened, confined and concreted to stay in my place. My floodplain disconnected.
Communities became safer from floods. Roads and houses were built on my plains. Homes, businesses and neighbourhoods flourished.
But there were costs. The water I carried was treated as something to dispose of quickly, rather than the lifeblood of a living system.
The wetlands, fish, birds and floodplains that depended on me were diminished or lost. My connection to Country was not seen.
The knowledge of my First Nations stewards, who understood that my health and their own were inseparable, went unheard.
No one asked what I needed. Fewer still asked what had been lost.
Day 1:
Last month, a busload of Peter Cullen Fellows followed me from the Adelaide Hills to the sea.
They stood on the flood control dam built to tame me. They walked beside the concrete channel that carries me swiftly through suburbia. They paused at Warriparringa wetlands, listened to Kaurna stories of connection and responsibility, and imagined what it might mean for me to be more than a drainage asset. They saw what is possible at Purruna Pari, where restoration has brought life back to a once-engineered channel and where lamprey have returned after decades away.
Images: PD Day Field Trip; courtesy Kath Broderick and Lesley Ryall
Corey Turner and the Kaurna team shared stories of connection, custodianship and loss. Government, council, SA Water and Green Adelaide representatives spoke candidly about flood protection, water quality, ecological restoration, community expectations and the realities of working within complex systems.
Image: Corey Turner, PD Day Field Trip; courtesy Rebecca Doble
There were no villains. No simple answers. Only the accumulated consequences of decisions made over generations.
The Fellows saw that many past decisions were made for good reasons.
That flood protection matters. That people need homes, roads and security.
But as they stood beside my concrete banks and reflected on what it might feel like to be me, I sensed something shift.
Some began to see me not as a drain, a floodway or an asset, but as part of a living system of relationships and responsibilities.
The Kaurna people have long understood this. That when I flourish, so too do the plants, animals and people who depend on me. And when I am diminished, we all suffer. Not only through the loss of fish, birds and wetlands, or the sediment and pollution I carry to the sea, but through the loss of connection, beauty, culture and the countless benefits a living river quietly provides.
For much of my recent history, people have stood on my edges as managers, engineers, planners and observers.
On this day, they were invited to stand beside me as a living being. To consider not only what they want from me, but what responsibilities they hold toward me. Corey challenged them to recognise themselves as bystanders when they see my decline, feel concern, but fail to act, assuming responsibility lies elsewhere.
Images: PD Day Field Trip; courtesy Kath Broderick
I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking to be seen as part of a living system that sustains us all. Given an equal voice in decisions that shape my future, I too could be restored, flowing freely from the hills to the coast, supporting thriving ecosystems and creating spaces for connection.
As Karlene Maywald reminded the group at the end of the day, changing that future will require more than people within the water sector working harder. It will require bringing together the people, interests and centres of influence that shape decisions across our communities. The challenge is not simply getting more people around the table, but getting the right voices around the table and creating the conditions for them to work through difficult trade-offs together.
Image: PD Day Field Trip; courtesy Lesley Ryall
Day 2:
The next day, the conversation shifted from my story to the question of fairness.
Guided by Emily Jenke and Watertrust Australia, the Fellows practised a simple but challenging approach: Listen. Bridge. Weave.
I watched as they set aside their own perspectives and stepped into the shoes of others, trying to understand what different people might think, feel and value. Some even stepped into mine.
Images: PD Day Fairness Workshop; courtesy Kath Broderick and Lesley Ryall
They searched for common ground across seemingly different interests and worldviews, finding unexpected connections where they expected disagreement.
Then they explored how those insights could be woven into decision-making, not as an afterthought, but from the very beginning, shaping how problems are framed, options are developed and decisions are made.
Emma Carmody challenged them to confront an uncomfortable truth: we depend entirely on the environment, yet often treat it as expendable. If current trends continue, humans risk becoming active participants in their own decline.
Images: PD Day Fairness Workshop; courtesy Lesley Ryall
Professor Holger Maier reminded them that science alone is not enough. Models can help us understand consequences, but the best solutions need to be framed starting with what people care about and can relate to.
As I listened, I was reminded of something Peter Cullen understood well. The challenge is not simply to find better technical solutions.
It is to create decision-making processes where trade-offs are visible, where diverse knowledge is respected, and where the consequences for future generations are not forgotten. As Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Peter challenged us to confront difficult choices rather than avoid them, recognising that failing to surface competing values is itself a decision.
I left those two days feeling hopeful. Not because everyone agreed.
But because people listened.
And because, before they left, the newest Fellows were each given a small vial of me. A reminder that water is life, that water connects us, and that every action creates ripples beyond where it begins.
As those vials changed hands, I sensed something else being passed on as well: a shared responsibility to care for the systems that sustain us all.
CANBERRA PD DAY ORGANISING COMMITTEE – SEEKING INTERESTED FELLOWS – NOVEMBER 2026
The next Fellows PD Day will be delivered in Canberra on Thursday 12 November. The Fellows Committee is inviting Expressions of Interest from Fellows, local and interstate, who are keen to contribute to a small, energetic organising committee (the OC) which is led by Committee members Emma Collins (2025) and Baihua Fu (2024).
The OC has licence to develop the theme, scope and key deliverables for PD Day, with support from the Fellows Committee, the Fellows Network Coordinator (Lesley Ryall) and previous PD Day organising teams.
Typically, the role entails 6-8 x 1 hour planning and preparation meetings commencing in early July, with individual actions followed up in between meetings and reported back. Active participation, including hosting and session facilitation, at the PD Day is welcome and encouraged but not essential.
The return, according to those who’ve organised these days in the past, is enormous – skills development, stretch opportunities, great collaboration and network development.
Fellows with interest in joining the team are invited to email
lesley@petercullentrust.com.au by Monday 22 June.
NATIONAL WEBINAR SERIES
From Contest to Stewardship: leadership for the future of the Murray–Darling Basin
Date: Wednesday 24th June
Time: 12.30-2.00pm AEST
Where: Free and online via Teams (the link to join will be shared when you register)
Note: We will record the presentation of our submission and share it with those unable to attend; discussion thereafter under Chatham House rule and not recorded.
Over the past 20+ weeks, many of you have contributed to a deeply thoughtful and courageous process to inform the Peter Cullen Trust’s submission to the 2026 Murray–Darling Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper, lodged on 29 April (shared elsewhere in this edition of Bridging). Not many of you were privy to the final drafting of that submission and – in a full circle moment – we’d like to share that work with you.
Join Trust CEO, Rosie Wheen, and some of the key contributors to the Submission, online later this month.
In 2026, the PCT national webinar series, “Courageous Conversations” is sponsored by Arup.
LUNCH – AND OTHER GATHERINGS
Brisbane Lunch with a Leader – Dr Andrew O’Neill (2017), Chief Science & Sustainability Officer, Healthy Land and Water
By Alberta Guadagnini (2025)
Image: Dr Andrew O’Neill and fellow Fellows at Lunch with a Leader; image courtesy Alberta Guadagnini
Queensland Fellows gathered for a Lunch with a Leader with PCT Board member and Chief Science & Sustainability Officer at Healthy Land & Water, Dr Andrew O’Neill. Conversation ranged from navigating competing commitments and setting boundaries to the importance of truly listening to those we disagree with. Taking the time to understand where others are coming from can shift the outcome of entire conversations and break down walls that would otherwise stay standing.
Andrew also spoke about the value of knowing when to step back. Not every situation deserves our energy, and directing effort away from what we cannot control is not defeat. It is wisdom.
Fellows also asked how they can best support PCT’s work, with Andrew encouraging everyone to get involved and contribute, even in small ways, because every piece matters.
Andrew also reminded us of something easy to forget: that believing something is possible is one of the most powerful drivers of change. The moment we believe or decide something cannot be done, we have already stopped ourselves from trying.
That is where one of PCT’s greatest opportunities lies. Helping people see what is possible is how we begin to shift the baseline.
Busselton Regional Trip
By Dr Stacey Hamilton (2018), General Manager – Operations and Planning, Busselton Water
Image: Fellows and Friends are joined by Busselton Water CEO; image courtesy Stacey Hamilton
Back in February at the Connected by Water Conference in Perth, several WA Fellows and Friends of the Trust had dinner with PCT Chair, Cynthia Mitchell. During that dinner we discussed doing something a bit different and the idea of a regional trip was born. After working out a date to align with a long weekend, a small group of Friends and Fellows made the 2.5 hour trip south of Perth to Busselton (where Kath Lynch, 2012 Fellow and myself are based).
First stop after the drive was a casual chat over coffee before we headed on a site tour of Busselton Water’s largest water treatment plant, followed by a trip down memory lane for a few Fellows to discuss the significance of the Vasse Diversion drain which is a major piece of flood-mitigation infrastructure around town.
Image: Fellows and Friends at the first PCT Regional Trip to Busselton; image courtesy Stacey Hamilton
The challenges in water security and environmental complexities in the region led to some great conversations which continued over lunch with the Busselton Water CEO at the foreshore.
Conversations continued over a coffee catch up the next day, as well as trying to organise our next catch up in Perth in a few months before everyone went off to explore the region over the long weekend.
Looking forward to doing more events of this nature with the WA cohort!
Australian Water Partnership Partners Workshop 2026
By Dr Andrew O’Neill (2017), PCT Board member and COO, Healthy Land & Water
Image: Fellows Nicola Nelson, Andrew O’Neill, Eric Vanweydeveld and Kathryn Silvester; image courtesy Andrew O’Neill
Fellows Kathryn Silvester (2022), Eric Vanweydeveld (2022), Nicola Nelson (2025) and Andrew O’Neill (2017) joined around 100 water sector colleagues at the Australian Water Partnership Partners Workshop 2026, held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre following OzWater ’26. Also in the room were many friends of the Trust, including former PCT Chair the Hon. Karlene Maywald.
The day was built around an immersive simulation facilitated by Mary-Claire McDonald of the Centre for Collective Leadership, role-playing our way through escalating climate challenges to explore how communities and government can work better together across a diverse range of real-world contexts.
Stepping into unfamiliar roles doesn’t just build empathy, it sparks surprisingly powerful and energetic conversations. While there’s a particular frustration in playing someone with immense potential to drive change but no real authority to act on it, there’s an equally uncomfortable mirror in playing the powerful figure who isn’t really listening to what matters. Both are instructive.
With participants drawn from across the Indo-Pacific, it was a rich and varied room and a fantastic opportunity to put “speaking truth to power” to the actual test. Turns out, it’s also a lot of fun.
OZWATER UPDATE
Carrying the momentum of Graduation Week into OzWater 2026
By Rosie Wheen, CEO, Peter Cullen Trust
Image: Facilitators and storytellers from our Fostering Courageous Leadership for Our Water. Our Tomorrow workshop; courtesy Rosie Wheen
OzWater 2026 arrived immediately after an intense and deeply generative week of Professional Development and our first Graduation in Adelaide. It felt less like a new beginning and more like a continuation — a chance to carry forward the collaboration, questions, provocations and courage that had been stirred so powerfully the week before.
One question in particular travelled with me: What does the river need from us? Offered by the Living Warripari Partnership, it invites a profound shift — from seeing rivers as systems to be managed, to living entities with agency, history and voice. At OzWater, that framing surfaced again as we heard from Margaret Cook about Maiwar “A River with City Problem”. This is something Peter Cullen championed and is not new to First Peoples. As leaders such as Dr Anne Poelina (2011) remind us.
Image: Natalie Foeng, Managing Director at Yarra Valley Water, talks to Rosie Wheen about the Commitments to reconciliation; courtesy Rosie Wheen
Against this backdrop, the Peter Cullen Trust’s engagement at OzWater created spaces to pause, reflect and practise courageous leadership in real time. Our Fostering Courageous Leadership for Our Water, Our Tomorrow workshop, cofacilitated with Benny Callaghan, offered something rare in a busy conference program: permission to slow down and think together. Rather than reacting to complexity, participants explored how to respond with intention, drawing on the Trust’s core principles — speaking truth to power, using knowledge wisely, being led by Country, leading together and forging new paths.
Through honest conversation, practical tools and shared stories from Nina Braid (2024), Dr Lisa Ehrenfried (2014) and Annalisa Contos (2024), the room shifted. It was, as one participant observed, a space where the Trust’s principles landed with real weight because they were not just discussed — they were experienced.
That spirit of courage and connection continued at Aurecon’s OzWater event, Leading with Purpose: Redefining Courage and Leadership in our Water Future. The panel conversation centred First Nations leadership, the importance of deep listening, and the urgent need to move beyond transactional engagement toward long‑term, respectful partnerships with Traditional Custodians. There was honesty about how far the sector has come, and equal honesty about how far we still have to go.
Finally, OzWater was a powerful reminder that the Peter Cullen Trust is not “a program”, but a living and evolving network. A real highlight was to see the many and varied presentations by Fellows and Friends across the conference, each bringing different perspectives, places and provocations into the water conversation. It was also a joy to reconnect with so many colleagues from our more than 300 partner organisations — relationships that continue to strengthen the Trust’s impact well beyond any single event.
These connections were brought into sharp focus as we celebrated the sector’s leaders, including the recognition of Tom Mollenkopf, Friend of the Trust, and a 2026 recipient of the AWA Lifetime Achievement Award. We also celebrated Winsome MacLaurin’s (2023) contributions that led to the Kep Katitjin – Gabi Kaadadjan Waterwise Perth Action Plan 2 winning the Organisational Excellence award— a reminder that courageous, values‑led leadership leaves a legacy that ripples outward, much like the rivers and waterways we are all working to care for.
AI attribution: In line with the Trust’s commitment to using knowledge wisely, AI was used as a tool to enhance clarity and accessibility, not to replace human insight, accountability or authorship.
PCT Fellows at OzWater
From Dr Lisa Ehrenfried (2014), Climate Strategy Manager, Yarra Valley Water
Image: Fellows get together at OzWater in Brisbane; image courtesy Lisa Ehrenfried
Fellows Matthew Fullerton (2014) and Dr Lisa Ehrenfried (2014) coordinated a catchup of PCT Fellows alongside the OzWater conference in Brisbane in May.
A good turnout (despite a number of other events competing for people!) and fun evening of connecting across the years and fields of work.
WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
Help us to stay connected. Have you had a career change recently?
This is an invitation for all Fellows to update us on your current roles, titles, preferred emails, contact details etc. Please share your details with Lesley Ryall, Fellows Network Coordinator, at lesley@petercullentrust.com.au.
6. What’s on
PCT EVENTS
- 24 June – National Webinar #1 – From Contest to Stewardship
- 19 August – National Webinar #2 – Rewilding
- 21 October – National Webinar #3 – Fairness
- 9-13 November – Graduation Week in Canberra:
- 11 November – Recharge Workshop
- 12 November – PD Day
- 12 November – Leadership Program Graduation and Graduation Dinner
PCT PROGRAMS
- 30 June – WSAA YUL Graduation
- 7-11 September – Leadership Program Session 1
- 30 September – 2 October – Executive Leadership Immersive – Confluence
- 18 October – Applications CLOSE for 2027 Leadership Program (March-May)
PCT GOVERNANCE
- 17 August – Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
- 26 August – PCT Board meeting
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
- 17 June – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
- 6-13 July – NAIDOC Week
- 3-9 August – Landcare Week
- 9 August – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
CALLS TO ACTION
Rethinking Leadership – Navigating complexity in a changing climate
From Dr Annalisa Contos (2024), Principal, Atom Consulting
In a time when the climate crisis affects us all, water has emerged as both our most precious and most undervalued resource.
As pressures intensify across ecosystems, communities, and economies, the question arises; what kind of leadership will guide us toward a resilient tomorrow?
Join Rosie Wheen, CEO of the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust, for a conversation on what it takes to lead with courage, humility, and adaptability in uncertain times.
Enjoy a thought-provoking evening, drinks and networking with industry colleagues.
When: Thursday 2 July, 5.30-7.00pm
Where: Atom Consulting, Suite 401, 71-73 Archer Street, Chatswood (5 minutes from Chatswood station)
Cost: Free to attend but please register for catering
2026 Water Act Review
By Emma Collins (2025), Principal Advisor, Natural Resources Commission
Fellows and Friends of the Trust might be interested in the 2026 Water Act review which commenced in May. I am hopeful that this review brings positive change and better outcomes, particularly for First Nations people.
The review will report on:
- Commonwealth institutional and governance arrangements to facilitate accountable, efficient and transparent decision making,
- opportunities to deliver First Nations economic, environmental, social, spiritual and cultural outcomes
- how the use of environmental water could be optimised to achieve environmental outcomes
- appropriateness of arrangements to ensure resilient communities and provide water security
- opportunities to align the Water Act with the objectives set out in the National Water Agreement
- the role and administration of water resource plans.
Further details regarding the review can be found here:
THE RIPPLE EFFECT – 2026 NATIONAL TAX APPEAL
Throughout June we are inviting our network to pay it forward through our annual Tax-time Appeal.
We’re not yet at the mid-point of 2026, but the year has already presented many challenges, locally and globally, economically and environmentally, personally and professionally.
Those challenges require us to be authentic and brave. To nurture leaders and to support them to be the catalysts for change that Peter modelled. To be the allies that our First Nations colleagues deserve; to hold the space for tough conversations; to hear all the voices; to keep going and growing and staying the course.
Our Leadership Programs fund themselves – they continue to provide the pathway to the bigger purpose and the bigger opportunity that the network provides. This month, we’re calling on our network of Fellows and Friends, a mature, diverse, values-driven and generous network, to support us and to grow the capacity and influence of the Peter Cullen Trust.
If you align with our purpose – to foster courageous leadership to tackle big challenges in water and environment – then please consider a tax-deductible donation.
The Peter Cullen Trust is an independent, self-funding, not for profit organisation with charitable status.
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Voices from the Bush | 16-17 September, Alice Springs
Voices from the Bush 2026 is a space for honest dialogue and practical solutions, with a focus on what’s changed, what’s working, and what’s next for water security, equity, and sustainability in rural, remote, and very remote Australia.
With First Nations leadership at the heart of the program, delegates will hear from Traditional Owners, community leaders, researchers, and industry partners. We will share lessons, outcomes, and innovative approaches shaping communities today.
7. Recommended Readings
ARTICLES, PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Martuwarra Fitzroy River Catchment – sustainable lifeways and livelihoods
By Dr Anne Poelina (2011), delivered as the 2025 Munro Oration
Each year at the Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium (HWRS), a recognised expert in hydrology and water resources presents the Munro Oration. On 26 November 2025, PCT Fellow Dr Anne Poelina (2011) delivered the Oration, an event that honours the distinguished water leader Crawford Munro.Aqua Nullius – First Nations Water Rights in Australia
From Melissa Pepper (2023), Ranger Program Manager, Karlka Nyiyaparli
Aqua Nullius – First Nations Water Rights in Australia has just recently published. An insightful book with lots of storytelling/case studies and I thought it was worth sharing.
Insight: Why do some nations thrive while others do not?
By Professor Nick Schofield, Friend of the Trust
The latest “Insight” publication from Global Future Research is quite topical in the current geopolitical environment.
In these globally tumultuous times, it is valuable to reflect on why some countries are achieving high levels of prosperity while others are failing dismally. Insight 11 evaluates and ranks the prosperity of 150 countries that have sufficient data for analysis.
Time poor? You can also Download the Summary of this Insight HERE.
Living and knowing sacred groundwater: Entangled knowledge in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Region, Kimberley, Western Australia
By Rosie Mulligan, Lucy Walgarie, Madeline Yamera, Grace Mulligan, and Anne Poelina (2011)
Abstract: An alternative conception to scientific hydrogeological knowledge and approaches that informs extractive and exploitative interests is presented for the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Region, Western Australia. In this alternative view, developed on a foundation of ancestral personhood, the entangled skeins of Martuwarra knowledges, languages, deep histories, and stories are traced to propose a just and equitable approach to co-governance of the region. This paper highlights the critical role of the intergenerational transfer of ancient cultural knowledges and practices between generations in shaping understandings of the River ecosystem.