WWF Australia

WWF Australia is an Australian environmental organization. It is the Australian branch of the WWF International Network.

History
WWF Australia was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and World Wide Fund For Nature. With the help of a Commonwealth Government grant and private donations, WWF Australia was first established on 29 June 1978. It had less than 10 staff and a conservation budget of around $80,000 in its first year. In the year to June 30 2006 WWF Australia had total income of $17.72 million. 

WWF Australia is a company limited by guarantee. Governors form its membership and are appointed for a maximum of two four-year terms. 

WWF on Clean Coal
Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne accused the Climate Institute Australia and WWF Australia of abandoning "any remaining pretence of being part of the mainstream environment movement", by supporting Clean Coal in an alliance with mining companies and unions.

WWF on Forests
In 2004, in the lead up to the federal election, WWF Australia produced a report entitled "Blueprint for Tasmanian Forests". the report was heavily criticised by environmental groups in Tasmania, who wrote that "The document is incredibly damaging to the cause of forest conservation in Tasmania. We believe it will do irreparable harm to the reputation of WWF in Australia and internationally." 

As a result of the report, a number of wilderness photographers withdrew their photos from a WWF publication in protest. 

At a 2004 forest industry conference, WWF's Senior Policy Officer Michael Rae shared the podium with the then head of the forest industry lobby group National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) Kate Carnell. Carnell was quoted at the conference as saying "I think Michael Rae and WWF are doing an absolutely stunning job [at attempting to negotiate with the forest industry]." 

WWF on Uranium
In May 2006, WWF Australia became the first Australian environment group to suport uranium mining in Australia. WWF CEO, Greg Bourne, told The Australian that "we have been mining uranium and exporting it for many years and we're doing more because demand is going up, whether people like it or not," he said. "The key issues are if we're going to be a nation exporting uranium, we have to know absolutely it's only being used for peaceful purposes and waste products are being stored safely." WWF Australia's stance on uranium mining has been particularly controversial because WWF has received significant funding from uranium mining companies (see "corporate funding" below).

Government Funding
WWF has been criticised by the Australia Institute for being too close to the Howard Government. WWF receieved a five-fold funding boost from the federal government between 1996 and 2004, at the same time as government funding to almost every other environment group has been slashed. 

Corporate Funding
WWF Australia receives funding from a number of large corporations. Controversially, it received $1.2million from uranium mining company Rio Tinto, prior to publicly taking a strong pro-uranium mining stance. 

In November 2006, WWF Australia announced a 3-year, $1.5 million alliance with ANZ Bank, under which WWF Australia will reportedly provide advice to ANZ on incorporating environmental principles into its operations

Foundation Funding
According to the 2005 Annual Report support from foundations only comprises 3% of their revenue: "WWF has also been fortunate for the continuing support of the Tony and Lisette Lewis Foundation, in support of our work on threatened marine turtles in the Arafura and Ningaloo region and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in support of sustainable fisheries management in the Oceania region."

Executive Team

 * Greg Bourne (CEO)
 * Deirdre Moor (Deputy CEO)
 * Ray Nias (Director of Conservation)
 * Philippa Walsh (Director of Conservation)
 * Tracey Campbell (National Marketing Manager)
 * Andy Ridley (National Marketing Manager)

Directors
Source: http://wwf.org.au/about/structure/directors/


 * Dr Denis Saunders President, AM, Member of the Board of Directors since 2002. Australian Heritage Council; Director of Earthwatch Institute Australia; previously Assistant Chief and Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology.
 * Dr Andrew Burbidge, Director and Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee
 * Anthony Fitzwilliams Hyde, Member of the Board of Directors since 2005. Chairman, Abercrombie & Kent (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Board Member of Recreational Tourism Pty Ltd. Management Committee Member of The Gutsy Group Foundation.
 * Peter Kingston, Director
 * Diccon Loxton, Member of the Board of Directors since 2004. Partner, Allens Arthur Robinson, solicitors, since 1984, Director, Banking and Financial Services Law Association, Governor, Ascham School Limited.
 * Assoc Prof Daniella Tilbury, Director and Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
 * Brent Wallace, Director
 * Brian Wills-Johnson, Member of the Board of Directors since 2003. Previously Corporate Relations Manager, Alcoa. Chairman of St George's College Council.
 * Susan Young, Member of the Board of Directors since 2002. Director, Spencer Stuart Australia and Head of Financial Officers Practice. Previously President SITEL Asia-Pacific.

Former President

 * Robert Purves, President - Member of the Board of Directors from 1993. President WWF from 1999 - 2006. Company director and investor. Chairman, DCA Group Limited. Trustee, Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation. Council Member, State Library of NSW.

Contact Details
Head Office - Sydney Level 13, 235 Jones St ULTIMO NSW 2007 Phone: +61 2 9281 5515 Fax: +61 2 9281 1060 Web: http://www.wwf.org.au/

Publications

 * WWF Australia 2005 Annual Report

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Don Henry - former Director (1989-92)
 * Ian Higgins - former CEO
 * Building Bridges and Splitting Greens
 * Earth Hour
 * Marine Stewardship Council
 * Professor Tim Flannery
 * Southern Cross Group
 * The Australian Coal Association's Proposed Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce
 * WWF New Zealand
 * Richard Leck - Staff
 * Richard Cassels

External Resources

 * Bob Burton, WWF signs $1.2m partnership with Rio Tinto, Mining Monitor, Volume 5 Number 1, March 2000, page 9.]
 * Frogs! A conservation partnership between Rio Tinto and WWF Australia
 * Clive Hamilton & Andrew Macintosh, Taming the Panda: The Relationship between WWF Australia and the Howard Government, Australia Institute, July 2004.
 * Stephanie Peatling, "The panda that's not wild enough", Sydney Morning Herald, July 28, 2004.
 * Andrew Darby, "Photographers oppose green group forest plan", The Age, September 9, 2004.
 * Clive Hamilton, "It's not easy, being a green panda", New Matilda, September 21, 2004.
 * Deirdre Moor, "The panda strikes back", New Matilda, October 6, 2004.
 * Amanda Hodge, "Green group accepts uranium mines", The Australian, May 4, 2006.
 * Clive Hamilton, "A trump card in the nuclear power play", Opinion, Sydney Morning Herald, August 8, 2006.
 * Richard Gluyas, ANZ goes green with WWF, The Australian, November 22, 2006.
 * Leon Gettler, Greenward ho! ANZ looks to the environment, The Age, November 23, 2006.