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Thwaites appointed chair of Monash Sustainability Institute

27 February 2008

Former Victorian Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Water and Climate Change, John Thwaites, is the new Chairman of the Monash Sustainability Institute.

A high-profile community leader who spearheaded initiatives to reduce the water and energy consumption habits of millions of people as well as big business has joined Monash University.

Former Victorian Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Water and Climate Change, John Thwaites, is the new Chairman of the Monash Sustainability Institute (MSI). A law and science graduate of the University, he will be a Professorial Fellow.

Monash Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Larkins, announced the appointment today.

"The recruitment of John Thwaites is a great coup for us. His passion and knowledge for the environment, water and climate change will be a driving force for positive change," Professor Larkins said.

"Monash staff have enormous expertise in water, energy, transport, biodiversity and climate change. This appointment means the University is ideally placed to provide more practical solutions that have a positive impact on communities in Victoria, Australia and across the world."

MSI is the University's key facilitating body fostering collaborative, cross-disciplinary research in sustainability. It will cut across a range of fields and disciplines: climate change, energy, water, biodiversity and transport. It will look at industry, urban and rural issues, and consider social, political and institutional issues as well as science and technology.

While Minister for Water, Professor Thwaites led the most successful water conservation program in Australia, reducing water use throughout Melbourne by 22 per cent. He also lead the Victorian Government's climate change program including five-star energy and water efficiency for all new homes, renewable energy and energy efficiency targets, and state based work on a national emissions trading scheme.

"This is an exciting move for me after fifteen years in politics and it is great to be back at Monash where I studied, and had a pretty enjoyable time, in the late 1970s," Mr Thwaites said.

"Top class researchers have the ability to provide new knowledge and new solutions to our most difficult problems.

"MSI will help answer some key questions, such as how can Victoria's massive brown coal resource be used for clean energy, what role can biofuels play in both electricity and transport, and how can we harness the potential of stormwater to overcome water shortages," Mr Thwaites said.