Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council
The Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council (the Council) is a ministerial advisory committee that provides independent and strategic advice to the Minister for Agriculture on how the agriculture sector can prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change and inform the government’s broader climate action agenda as it relates to the agriculture sector.
The Council supports the Victorian Government’s commitment to deliver strong and lasting action on climate change for the agriculture sector, which is already experiencing the impacts of an increasingly variable and extreme climate. This includes working in partnership with the agriculture sector to take climate action, build resilience and reduce emissions while maintaining the sector’s productivity and profitability.
The Council plays a key role in this work by:
- providing independent advice about the challenges and opportunities the Victorian agriculture sector faces from climate change
- supporting the Minister for Agriculture to develop actions that respond to climate change, reduce emissions and build sector resilience
- identifying networks and approaches to engage and manage key stakeholders
- providing advice on other strategic components of government’s climate action responses for the agriculture sector.
The Council meets formally up to four times a year, and its members represent a diverse set of skills and experience in agriculture, climate change, regional and rural development, water management and finance.
Members
Chairperson – Alexandra Gartmann
Ms Gartmann is an experienced leader of rural, agriculture and community development focused organisations and is the former CEO of the Rural Bank, a division of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
Ms Gartmann has served previously as CEO of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal and the Birchip Cropping Group. She contributes to a number of boards across agriculture, banking and the environment, including the Australian Farm Institute and the Helen MacPherson Smith Trust.
Deputy Chairperson – Mark Wootton AO
Mr Wootton is a beef and wool farmer who is well-known in the Australian agriculture industry as a pioneer in carbon-neutral farming, having achieved carbon neutrality on his property – Jigsaw Farms.
Mr Wootton has also held a number of national and state-based roles including Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel for the Victorian Government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan, as well as being instrumental in the creation of the Climate Institute, a not-for-profit organisation focused on climate science and policy in Australia.
An appointment process for the second term of the Council is currently underway
Fiona Conroy, Lisa Dwyer, Professor Richard Eckard, Gillian Hayman, Jack Holden, Tim McCartney, Professor Lauren Rickards, and Caroline Welsh served during the first term of the Council.
A recruitment process for the second term is currently underway and members will be appointed in line with the Victorian Government's Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines. Information about the new Council membership will be published once available.
Reporting
As part of the Council’s reporting commitments under its Terms of Reference, the Council, with the support of Agriculture Victoria develops an annual report for each year of operation. All reports can be found here:
- Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council - 2022 Annual Report (PDF - 3.2 MB)
- Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council - 2022 Annual Report (WORD - 11.2 MB)
- Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council - 2021 Annual Report (PDF - 1.2 MB)
- Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council - 2021 Annual Report (WORD - 449.9 KB)
More information
For more information about the Council please submit your enquiry below: