Committee Members
The committee represents the interests of community, industry and the environment.
Chair
John Tate
Mr Tate is the proprietor of a local automotive industry company and has extensive experience in small business. John served as a Councillor for the City of Newcastle from 1980 and was popularly elected as Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 1999, to his retirement in 2012. John served as Chair of the Hunter Economic Development Corporation, and as the Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia - Hunter. He has been a Director of the Regional Land Management Corporation, the Newcastle Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, Honeysuckle Development Corporation and Hunter Development Corporation.
Community representatives
Keith Craig
Mr Craig has a degree in Chemical Engineering and Master of Environmental Science and works in the water industry. He has represented the local community on various committees and industry community reference groups, such as the Stockton Community Action Group, for many years. He received the 2014 Newcastle Volunteer Service Award for his contribution to the Newcastle Community. He was an original member of the NCCCE when it was first formed in 2011. He is passionate about the environment, the need for continued improvement and for effective communication on environmental issues and performance with the community from the regulators and industry.
Chris Tola
Chris is community focused, having held a range of positions in a diversity of organisations, with the highlight of this involvement so far being National Chair for Surfrider Foundation Australia, being the Community Representative on the Nuclear Safety Committee with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, along with being a founding member of National Surfing Reserves, Take 3 and the Australian Coastal Society. Chris maintains networks across a broad range of sectors and uses these networks to receive and distribute information.
Ministers Community representative
Rick Banyard
Mr Banyard has a background in agriculture, mechanics and as a teacher of technical education. Rick is a long-term resident of Newcastle and the Hunter and has a long term association with action on environmental issues including air quality and water quality management. Rick is an active member of a wide variety of Newcastle organisations and is recognised for his research skills.
Environment representative
Steven Crick
Steve has qualifications in science and environmental management and over 20 years’ experience working as an environmental scientist. He has extensive experience working with and within community groups around Newcastle and across NSW. Steve has been a committee member of the Hunter Environmental Institute since 2014 and from 2015-19 held the position of chair.
Industry representatives
Nathan Robinson
Mr Robinson has 25 years’ experience across the Steel, Aviation and Chemical Manufacturing sectors in environmental, risk and safety management. He has a broad knowledge of environmental matters relating to water quality, air quality, air emissions, waste management, noise management, remediation and environmental management systems. He believes that engagement between industry, EPA and the community is essential to ensure that there is shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities to improve the environmental performance of industry.
Trudie Larnach
Ms Larnach is the Sustainability an d Corporate Affairs Manager at Port Waratah Coal Services. She leads a dedicated team responsible for Port Waratah’s sustainability strategy, including community, government and stakeholder communication and engagement, the community investment programme, and all aspects of environmental management. She is looking forward to again being an Industry representative on this committee as it provides an avenue for key stakeholder groups to come together and have an open dialogue about matters concerning the environment across the Newcastle Local Government Area.
Leah Cook
Ms Cook is the Principal Advisor Environment & Community with the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). ARTC is responsible for selling access to train operators and coal customers, capital investment and maintenance across the network. Ms Cook has a strong understanding of the environmental legislative framework and practical experience implementing environmental mitigation measures. She also has demonstrated capacity to engage with community to resolve their concerns and appreciates the inter-relationship of industry in the broader Newcastle and Hunter regions.
Newcastle City Council representative
Kristy Anderson
Ms Anderson is a Senior Strategist, Environment at the City of Newcastle. She has over 15 years’ experience in environmental planning and has been an Environmental Strategist with the City of Newcastle for the past 12 years.
