Services and the Water Authority of Western Australia. Appointed on 1 July 2007 as a Water Corporation Non Executive Director, his current term expires on 31 December 2011.

Ross Young commenced as the Executive Director of the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) in December, 2003. WSAA is the peak body for the urban water industry and its members provide water services to 16 million Australians (75% of the population).

Ross has extensive experience in urban water management at a senior level. Previously he was Melbourne Water's Group Manager, System Planning reporting directly to the Managing Director.

 In this role he was responsible for planning and management of the wholesale water supply system, the planning of the sewerage transfer system and the two major treatment plants, and the planning of the stormwater system. In 2002 he was the Chair of the Project Management Group which oversaw the development of a 50 year Water Resources Strategy for the greater Melbourne area.

Whilst at WSAA, Ross has authored two position papers “Testing the Water – Urban water in our growing cities: the risks, challenges, innovation and planning” and “Refilling the Glass – exploring the issues surrounding water recycling in Australia”.  Ross also prepares an annual report card on the issues and challenges confronted by the urban water industry.

WSAA is a national organisation and this gives Ross a national perspective on water issues.  He is regularly requested to advise governments on water policy and governance issues and he is a regular commentator in the mainstream media on water issues across Australia. 

Ross is a Board member of the Global Water Research Coalition, the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment and WaterAid Australia.  Ross has a Diploma of Horticultural Science, a Bachelor of Applied Science, an MBA and a Graduate Diploma in Natural Resources Law from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Tom Hatton directs the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Research Program on behalf of CSIRO and over 140 research and development (R&D) partners.  The Flagship is Australia’s largest water R&D effort, with an annual budget of $87M employing 400 scientists across the nation.

Tom has 25 years of research experience in ecohydrology and catchment hydrology, and has led major research projects for the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, the Grains R&D Corporation, Land & Water Australia and the State Governments of South Australia and Western Australia. 

Tom's contributions significantly redefined the role of trees in landscape water balance, influencing Landcare and remediation strategies and policies, and raised national awareness of the salinisation issue and significantly redefined expectations for salinity control among NRM groups and policy makers.  He put a polarised and emotional debate on Wheatbelt river engineering (saline drainage) on a more objective and scientific basis, and was awarded Inaugural National W.E. Wood Award for Scientific Excellence in Salinity R&D in 1999. Tom also provided the first comprehensive national overview of groundwater dependent ecosystems, underpinning enhanced guidelines and procedures for allocating water to the environment across Australia.

As Flagship Director, he has shown national leadership in building research partnerships with Universities, Australian governments and industry to address the national water crisis.  Most recently, Tom has led the delivery of the Murray-Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Assessment.

John has extensive experience in providing both strategic and detailed advice to water and other utilities on economic regulation, governance, pricing, property rights and environmental and natural resource economics.

John has extensive experience in providing both strategic and detailed advice to water and other utilities on economic regulation, governance, pricing, property rights and environmental and natural resource economics.

 He has particular skills in the areas of:

- regulatory pricing principles and their application
- risk and cost of capital
- property right and entitlement definition
- trade and registry arrangements for natural resource-based assets
- institutional arrangements for utility and natural resource management
- project integration, particularly of multidisciplinary issues.

John was appointed to the Australian Competition Tribunal for a five year term in 2003.

Jenny has recently completed her PhD which examined the evolution of sustainability assessment processes for project approvals in Western Australia, and explored the potential for this emerging tool to make positive contributions to sustainability.

Jenny established her consulting business in 1999 and has worked closely with the Water Corporation since that time, providing advice on environmental management systems, environmental planning and sustainability decision-making. She maintains links with Murdoch University and continues to research and publish in the area of sustainability decision-making.