North West Transmission Upgrades Assessment Panel

Roger Howlett has over 40 years experience in local government planning in New South Wales, Tasmania and the United Kingdom. From 1979 to 1993 he was the Planner/Director of Planning and Development for the Clarence City Council, and then General Manager of that Council until retirement in 2003.

Roger has extensive experience in strategic land use planning and catchment management. He is a member of the Resource and Planning Stream of Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and a Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Max has an agricultural science degree from Melbourne University and has had a career in natural resource management that spanned 35 years working in Tasmania, Victoria and the Commonwealth. During that time he was the Director of the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, a Deputy Secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage and the Chief Executive of the National Oceans Office.

Since leaving permanent employment he has been Chair of NRM South, Chair of NRM Regions Australia and a Greening Australia board member. He is currently a member of the Resource and Planning Stream of Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Chair of the International Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna and a director of Accounting for Nature Ltd.

Michael holds Bachelor of Arts (Economics & Geography) and Master of Town Planning degrees from the University of Tasmania. Michael has over 30 years of work experience across a range of strategic and statutory planning as well as major project approval areas. Michael has worked with the Tasmanian Government’s central land use planning sections and with Tasmanian City Councils. He led the transport infrastructure planning and policy branch of the Government and has worked as a project development manager with private and state owned companies in the renewable energy/electricity sector.

Kevin Hazell holds a Bachelor of Arts (Planning & Design/Geography), a Postgraduate Diploma in Planning and Design (Urban Planning), an Executive Masters of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Bushfire Planning and Management from the University of Melbourne.

Kevin has more than 25 years’ experience in strategic and statutory planning, including in Tasmania, Victoria and the UK. He has worked for state and local governments across various jurisdictions, as well as working as a consultant planner.

Sarah has 30 years’ experience in research and natural resource management. A focus of her work has been integrating scientific research into policy and management practices in the agricultural and forestry sector. She has contributed to many reviews, research, and monitoring projects of relevance to the management of biodiversity.  She holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of Tasmania, and her particular interests include threatened forest fauna species, management of freshwater habitats, effectiveness monitoring and capacity building. She has been involved in both national and international projects and since retiring from the Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority consults to a variety of local and national organisations on biodiversity and environmental management issues.

Adjunct Senior Researcher, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, and Director on the Board of the Forest Practices Authority.