Australian Capital Territory
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Climate Change Council Membership) Appointment 2015 (No 1)
Disallowable instrument DI2015
made under the  
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010, s 20 (Membership)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Overview
The Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010 section 20 (Membership) provides for the appointment to the ACT Climate Change Council (Council) of suitably qualified members of the community to provide advice to the Minister on issues relating to the reduction of greenhouse gases and adaptation to climate change. The appointment for the non-public employee members of the Council is by way of a disallowable instrument which must be notified and tabled in the Legislative Assembly under the Legislation Act 2001.

The instrument takes effect the day after notification. Mr Toby Roxburgh is appointed for a term ending 31 December 2016. Dr Sackett, Professor Norman, Dr Jotzo and Professor Steffen are appointed commencing on the day after the instrument is notified until 1 March 2018. 

Appointments
This instrument, the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Climate Change Council Membership) Appointments 2015 (No 1), appoints five specified people. 

Dr Penny Sackett is appointed to the Council to represent the community’s interest in climate change and climate change science. Dr Sackett is not a public servant.

Dr Sackett is a physicist, astronomer and former Chief Scientist for Australia. Dr Sackett has served on Australian, Dutch, European, and US science and advisory panels, including several committees for Next Generation Telescopes. Dr Sackett was appointed Director of the Australian National University (ANU) Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories in 2002, serving a five year term. In October 2008 she took the post of Chief Scientist for Australia and retained academic status at the ANU to enable continued mentoring of students. As Chief Scientist for Australia (2008-2011), Dr Sackett provided independent advice to the Australian government on matters of science and innovation, and was a vocal champion of evidenced-based decision making. Dr Sackett is currently an Adjunct Professor at the ANU and a private strategic advisor.

Professor Barbara Norman is appointed to the Council to represent the built environment. Professor Norman is not a public servant. 

Professor Norman is the Foundation Chair of Urban and Regional Planning in the Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra. Professor Norman is Director of Canberra Urban and Regional Futures and an Adjunct Professor with the Australian National University. Professor Norman is Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia (ACT), a Life Fellow and past National President of the Planning Institute of Australia and a Life Honorary Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK). Professor Norman advises public and private sectors in Australia and has strong international linkages within Asia, Europe and the United States. She was a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) Working Group 2 (WGII) “Impacts”, 2014, and was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal for her contribution to the community through urban and regional planning.

Dr Frank Jotzo is appointed to the Council to represent climate change science and is an energy specialist. Dr Jotzo is not a public servant. 

Dr Jotzo is an Associate Professor at ANU, Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Crawford School of Public Policy and an ANU Public Policy Fellow. Dr Jotzo has research expertise in the economics and policy of climate change (including mechanisms and policy design for greenhouse gas control), policy frameworks for adaptation to climate change and international climate policy, as well as energy policy and land-use change policy. Dr Jotzo has published widely, advised governments and consulted for international organisations. Dr Jotzo was an advisor to the Garnaut Climate Change Review, advisor to Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance, consultant to international organisations and was a Lead Author of Chapter 3 and the Technical Summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).

Professor Will Steffen is appointed to the Council to represent climate change science. Professor Steffen is not a public servant.

Professor Steffen is a Councillor on the publicly-funded Climate Council of Australia and a global change researcher at the ANU. Professor Steffen is the sustainability theme leader of Canberra Urban and Regional Futures. Previously Professor Steffen served as the Science Adviser to the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Professor Steffen has served as Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, an international network of scientists studying global environmental change based in Stockholm, Sweden and is currently a guest researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. His research spans many fields including climate and Earth System science, with an emphasis on incorporation of human processes in Earth System modelling and analysis; and on sustainability and climate change, with an emphasis on urban areas. Professor Steffen was a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Forth Assessment Report (AR4), Working Group I (WGI).

Mr Toby Roxburgh is appointed to the Council as an energy specialist. Mr Roxburgh is not a public servant. 

Mr Roxburgh is the chair of the Canberra branch of the Australian Institute of Energy and the District energy sector leader for Australia and New Zealand at AECOM. Mr Roxburgh is a Principal Electrical Engineer with over 11 years of experience in sustainable energy projects. He has worked across the energy delivery spectrum: from education and energy policy through to cost benefit analysis, feasibility, design, construction, commissioning and operation. Mr Roxburgh brings passion and experience from his work in the energy sector across fields including: education, policy, planning, sustainable design, energy efficiency, district energy, renewables and peak demand reduction. He has also been involved in light rail and demand management projects for ActewAGL, district energy delivery for the City of Sydney, remote solar PV systems for Indigenous communities through Indigenous Affairs, and energy master planning and delivery for the ANU to reduce carbon emission by 35% from 2006 levels by 2020.

Consultation
The appointment of Dr Penny Sackett and the reappointment of Professor Barbara Norman, Dr Frank Jotzo and Professor Will Steffen to the Council was forwarded to the Standing Committee on Planning, Environment and Territory and Municipal Services as required by section 228 of the Legislation Act 2001. On 8 December 2014 the Minister for the Environment wrote to the Chair of the Standing Committee, Ms Yvette Berry MLA, seeking advice on the appointments. Ms Berry responded on 18 December 2014 indicating that the Standing Committee did not have any recommendations regarding this appointment.

In July 2014 an Expression of Interest was placed in the Canberra Times and on the Council’s webpage. Information regarding the Expression of Interest was also emailed to a range of community stakeholder groups. The Expression of Interest remained open for three weeks. As required in the ACT Government Boards and Committees Handbook the Expressions of Interest was also brought to the attention of the ACT Office for Women and the ACT Office for Multicultural Affairs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. The Expression of Interest closed on 3 August 2014.

The Expression of Interest leading to the appointment of Mr Toby Roxburgh was open for five weeks commencing in March 2013. Mr Toby Roxburgh’s appointment to the Council was also forwarded to the Standing Committee on Planning, Environment and Territory and Municipal Services as required by section 228 of the Legislation Act 2001. The then Chair of the Standing Committee, Mr Mick Gentleman MLA, responded indicating that Committee had no recommendations regarding the appointment.

Revocation
This Disallowable Instrument revokes the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Climate Change Council Membership) Appointment 2013(No 1) (DI2013‑316). DI2013-316 appointed Mr Toby Roxburgh, an expert in renewable energy and Ms Dorte Ekelund, a public employee, as members of the ACT Climate Change Council from 1 January 2014, for a period of three years. The Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety, in undertaking its legislative scrutiny role, commented in Scrutiny Report No.15 that the Legislation Act 2001 requires the instrument of appointment of Mr Toby Roxburgh to be disallowable, but did not require this for the appointment of Ms Dorte Ekelund as a public servant. This instrument responds to the Scrutiny of Bills Committee recommendation.

This Disallowable Instrument does not include the appointment of Ms Ekelund. The appointment of Ms Ekelund has been made through a separate Notifiable Instrument.