Who is Peter Cullen?

"Peter Cullen was provocative, constructive, brave … always grounded in good science"
(Andrew Campbell of Triple Helix).

Peter Wray Cullen, AO (1943-2008) made an enormous contribution to the management of natural resources in Australia, most of all around water.  Among many influential roles he was the founding National Water Commissioner, a leading member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Chief Executive of the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, Chairman of the Victorian Water Trust Advisory Council, Director of Land & Water Australia, President of the Federation of Australian Science and Technological Societies and a member of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council.  He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 for service to freshwater ecology, and was awarded the Prime Minister's Prize for Environmentalist of the Year in 2001 for his work on the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.   Internationally, he was a Member of the International Water Academy and the International Ecology Institute, and was awarded the Naumann-Thienemann Medal of the International Limnology Society.

As Tim Flannery wrote in Peter’s obituary in The Age on 18 March,

“he was someone to whom prime ministers looked for leadership.”

Peter Cullen had a rare gift for conveying complex concepts in clear, simple language, with a knack for metaphors that lay people could understand and find illuminating.  He was as comfortable in dealing with politicians, senior policy makers, the media or industry groups as he was with scientists.  His candor, courtesy, credibility and discretion earned him respect at all levels, and an unusual level of access to the highest levels of power, which he used judiciously.  He was highly influential in Australian government decisions to invest at unprecedented levels in the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, the National Water Initiative, and the National Plan for Water Security.  He was also a wonderful mentor and sounding board for young scientists, he cultivated bright young policy makers whom he thought might go places, and he was a great advocate for developing leadership and communication skills.

...the champion of the rivers who led the debate on the national water crisis and helped revolutionise how Australians think about it.”
(Marion Wilkinson in The Sydney Morning Herald)

This quote from an article by Marion Wilkinson in The Sydney Morning Herald on 15 March crystallises key aspects of Peter Cullen’s unique contribution.  Peter was an instigator and an active participant in the national debate about water.  He was passionate about finding solutions, and adamant that they should be based on the best available knowledge.