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Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia
Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund

Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund

Fund Advisory Panel

Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Advisory Panel Members

The Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Advisory Panel has been established to oversee the fund. Members are:

  • The Hon Pat McNamara (Chair)
  • Professor Glyn Davis AC (Vice Chancellor, University of Melbourne)
  • Cr Lyn Gunter (Mayor of Murrindindi Shire Council)
  • The Hon Robert Tickner (Chief Executive of Australian Red Cross and former Commonwealth Minister)
  • Christine Nixon, APM (Chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority)
  • Kerry Murphy, PSM, ASFM (Chairman, Country Fire Authority)

Panel Members volunteer their time. 

Hon Pat J McNamara

Pat McNamara is a former Deputy Premier who served as a Member of the Victorian Parliament from 1982 to 2000, with portfolios including Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Tourism and the Grand Prix, Minister for Agriculture and Resources.

Pat began farming in 1970 and has since worked in real estate and wine production, as well as local government. 

He has a Diploma of Business Studies from RMIT and is a licensed Real Estate Agent and Auctioneer. He and his wife run a vineyard, orchard and cropping property at Nagambie. He serves on the boards of several companies, giving strategic advice to public and private companies.

For the past nine years Pat has been President of Rowing Australia, which is currently ranked second in the world, and is a Trustee of the MCG.

Professor Glyn Davis AC

Professor Glyn Davis is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Melbourne.

Glyn teaches and researches in the field of public policy. His public sector service includes working as the Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Queensland, and Foundation Chair of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).

Cr Lyn Gunter 

Cr Lyn Gunter is in her fifth term as the Mayor of Murrindindi Shire Council and has been involved in local government for the past 15 years.

Lyn is a Board Member of the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and has been involved in two Stream Flow Management Plans, for the Yea River and King Parrot Creek. She is a member of the Goulburn Murray Water, Water Quality Reference Group; the Irrigation Futures Group; and was previously a member of the Goulburn Drought Recovery Committee. 

Her past experience also includes being involved for nearly 10 years as a Victorian State Emergency Services (SES) controller and she is heavily involved in emergency management planning and recovery. 

Hon Robert Tickner

Robert Tickner is the chief executive officer of Australian Red Cross.

He served as Federal Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs from 1990 to 1996, and is Australias longest serving Minister for this portfolio. Before being elected to the Federal Parliament, he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the Institute of Technology and the Faculty of Business Studies. He later served as Principal Solicitor to the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service and as councillor on the Sydney City Council. 

He holds Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Economics degrees and has undertaken the first stage of an Executive MBA. 

Christine Nixon, APM

Christine Nixon is the Head of the new Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, and former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. 

She was Victorias 19th Chief Commissioner from 2001 to 2009 and the first woman to lead a police force in Australia. She had an extensive career in the New South Wales police force 30 years prior to that.

Christine studied politics at Macquarie University and attended Sydney University (Dip.Lab.Law.) and Harvard University (MPA). She also has a Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Wollongong University. 

The Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority will be responsible for coordinating activities of all local, state and commonwealth government agencies, and the many community organisations involved, aimed at helping communities to recover and rebuild.

Kerry Murphy, PSM, ASFM

Kerry Murphy has been Chairman of the Country Fire Authority since April 2007 and been a member of the Board since 2006. He is also a member of the Rural Finance Board and on the Board Committees for Remuneration and Appointments and Industrial Relations.

Mr Murphy is a former joint Executive Director of Business Victoria, a retired Chief Executive of Regional Development and a former Chairman of Albury Wodonga (Victoria) Development Corporation. In 2002, he was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) for service to business in regional Victoria and an Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM).

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