60 Years of Planning Education
Alumni

If you are a Planning Graduate of the University of South Australia, The SA Institute of Technology or the SA School of Mines and Industries and would like to add your profile to this site, please email a biography of no more than 500 words and a photograph (jpeg) to Sally Scott.

David Altmann
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1989
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1992

David Altmann is Chief Executive Officer of the Rural City of Murray Bridge and formerly CEO of the Murraylands Regional Development Board. David has 20 years experience within the fields of local government management, town planning and economic development.

David has also been Director of Planning and Development at the City of Mitcham and has worked for various other local government authorities. He has also worked in the private sector as a consultant working on projects such as the second Sydney Airport EIS and the Holdfast Shores redevelopment. In his early years, David worked for the State Government at the former Lands Department, assisting with property valuations.

David and his family have travelled widely around the world and have now ‘resettled’ at Murray Bridge on a property overlooking the River Murray.

David’s role at the Rural City of Murray Bridge has been most exciting and challenging, managing high growth scenarios, major economic development, flood events, community needs and expectations. During his time there the Rural City of Murray Bridge has been awarded with many State and National Awards for Excellence and the 2008 SA LGMA Award for Excellence for Regional Councils.

Cate Atkinson (nee Ehmcke)
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1988

Cate’s interest in planning and the ability to influence the urban landscape started whilst she was in her final year of high school. As a planner, she has had a passion for working in urban areas, and her keen interest in environmental sustainability underpins her working and private life.

Cate undertook the undergraduate degree in Planning at the Institute of Technology and graduated in 1981. She headed to Sydney because of a lack of employment opportunities in Adelaide, and soon gained a position working for a mid-size consultancy based in the centre of the city. There she principally worked on liquor licensing applications, and travelled throughout NSW investigating the impact of additional liquor outlets on town centres and their communities. In the early 1980’s the economy forced the downsizing of many consultancies, and she sought employment in local government.

In 1982, Cate took a position of Town Planning Clerk for Woollahra Council, situated in Double Bay. This afforded an opportunity to learn from the ground up about the extensive issues facing a community grappling with escalating infill development and huge investments in harbourside mansions. She soon moved into a planning assessment position and looked after areas such as Watsons Bay and Vaucluse and the gentrification of Paddington.

Returning to South Australia in 1985, the City of Tea Tree Gully provided Cate with an opportunity to work on policy issues for what was then a fringe Council. While at Tea Tree Gully, Cate commenced the post graduate course in Regional and Urban Planning at Uni SA. In 1986, she moved from local government to consulting, gaining a position with Doug Wallace and Associates, which was later incorporated into PPK Environment and Infrastructure (now Parsons Brinckerhoff) where she stayed for 11 years. This provided extensive opportunities to work on planning policy projects for local government, including projects in the Riverland and South East regions of the State, being principal consultant to Councils such as Waikerie, Northern Areas, Mount Gambier and Beachport. She also managed a range of community consultation and strategic planning projects across metropolitan Adelaide and represented clients as an expert witness in the (now) Environment Resources and Development Court.

In 1997, with a family move to the Barossa and change in direction, Cate commenced with the City of Playford as Environmental Planner, where she investigated and established Council’s inaugural Environmental Management Plan. She championed environmental sustainability within the organisation and the community, being recognised at the State and National level for this work through the Planning Institute of Australia and the Local Government Awards for Excellence.

Since then, she has held a number of different roles within the City of Playford, and achieved the position of General Manager in 2003. With a focus on building sustainable communities, she has a passion for working in partnership with the State and Commonwealth governments around community well being. Cate enjoys the political environment and diversity that her role offers, and understands the pivotal function Council has in shaping an urban fringe environment in a wholly sustainable way, encompassing community, environmental, economic and corporate perspectives.

David Bailey
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1990
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1998

Since graduating in 1988, David has worked mainly at the ‘coal face’ of local government, encompassing strategic planning, planning policy, and development assessment.

David’s planning career started with social planner Wendy Sarkissian. This was followed by three years at the City of Adelaide with Suzie Herzberg, Shelagh Noble, Doug Hayes, David Snoswell and John Hodgson, working on topics like townscape, heritage and urban design.

David learnt ‘bread and butter’ planning at the City of Charles Sturt from 1994 to 2004. He learnt about property from Alan Faunt, policy and strategy from Chris Bennett, and development assessment from Bill Stefanopoulos, as well as some law from Norman Waterhouse. These 10 years covered just about every aspect of urban planning, particularly in terms of policy and consultation. Housing choice, industrial conflict, contamination, heritage, historic character, coastal and retail planning. The longest change to the Development Plan took 10 years and the shortest 15 months. There were also 3 or 4 appeals and 1 major project.

David’s second “ tour of duty” at Adelaide City Council commenced in mid 2004, with Stuart Moseley, Don Donaldson, and a fine range of planners such as Amanda McConnell, Marina Rositano, Michele Williams, Nicole Rolfe and Rick Hutchins. A lot of good outcomes have been achieved, including increased population capacity, a more vibrant Capital City, airport height policy, mixing pubs and housing, encouraging outdoor dining, adjusted planning controls for that site in North Adelaide and more heritage listing. All done with close political and community input. It has been a pleasure to have been part of two projects winning Planning Institute SA Awards – the new Development Plan and Airport Operations. These demonstrate that clarity of thought, a clear focus on outcomes and collaboration make a difference. David has now taken on management functions at the Adelaide City Council and describes the challenge for the future as to continue to adapt to changing circumstances, and especially how to make inner City living popular, enjoyable, and accessible to a wider population.

Melissa Bailey
Master of Urban and Regional Planning 2008

Melissa chose a career in urban planning because its essence is to seek to improve the way people live. She was also attracted by its potential to address the significant challenges of our time. Climate change, environmental sustainability, population growth, an ageing community, social disadvantage and housing affordability are all issues she feels strongly about.

Prior to becoming a planner Melissa gained an arts degree with honours urban geography and her career path took a diverse turn that includes roles as a researcher, union organiser and ministerial adviser.

She began the Master of Urban and Regional Planning in 2005 after the birth of her daughter Lucinda. While she was studying Melissa coordinated the third year planning student Field Placements where she learned a significant amount about the planning system from reading the students’ journals and listening to presentations about their work experiences. She also worked occasionally with Natalie Fuller on large community consultation exercises as a group facilitator.

Melissa completed the Master of Urban and Regional Planning in 2008 and will take up a position in the Department of Planning and Local Government as a Health in All Planning policy officer. The role has arisen out of the recommendations of Thinker-in-Residence Ilona Kickbusch who advocated taking a ‘health lens’ into agencies whose activities have a population health impact. The role will involve identifying and seeking to exploit synergies between population health outcomes and planning policy goals.

Geoffrey Lloyd Bone
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1975

Geof Bone graduated in 1975 with a Diploma in Technology in Planning from the then SA Institute of Technology. Following a short period of graduation employment with the SA Housing Trust Geof commenced as an assistant planner to consultant Brian Turner at valuation and real estate services company Richard Ellis Sallmann and Seward. In 1981 he then partnered Brian Turner in his own consultancy until Brian was appointed to the Planning Appeals Tribunal in 1984.

On Brian’s retirement Geof continued the planning consultancy under the name Bone & Tonkin Planners and then joined by co-director Simon Tonkin, together built a local planning consultancy practice that has provided professional planning services throughout South Australia, including advising Local Government clientele from the West Coast to the South East of the State and across the metropolitan area of Adelaide. The practice has grown to a large independent town planning practice contributing to the training of graduates, employing qualified planners and providing a career path for local planning graduates undertaking a wide range of rural and urban planning and land use projects. Recognising a widening breadth and growth of town planning in this State and the fundamental need for promoting co-ordinated development, the name of the practice was changed to Master Plan SA to reflect the consultancies, and the professions, strategic or master planning role in the community.

Geof has enjoyed a rewarding and challenging career. He has participated in a wide range of planning work, drafting development plan amendments, environmental impact statements and reports, undertaking development assessment for local Government and preparing planning assessments for private clients including partnering in multi disciplinary teams with related architectural, engineering, building and legal practices. He has an interest in urban design preparing concepts for medium density residential development projects and providing urban design services for infill and broad hectare master planned land divisions. In his role as co-director and senior partner he provided specialist advisory and strategic advice representing many major South Australian development, commercial, retail and industrial enterprises.

He has appeared on many occasions before State and Local Government planning committees and development assessment panels and appeared as an expert witness in development reviews before both the Environment Resources and Development Court and the Licensing Court, and participated in various planning committees of enquiry and professional and industry organisations. In this manner he has contributed in over 30 years of private planning practice to the growth and development of this State.

In 2006 Geof retired from general consultancy with Master Plan SA to undertake major projects for a selected clientele, maintaining an active involvement in professional work, and in order to pursue his own development interests.

Jamie Botten
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1997

Jamie is a partner in the Adelaide-based specialist town planning and environmental law firm, Botten Levinson. Throughout his 30 years legal experience, Jamie has specialized in property development, town planning, environmental and local government law. He has advised on an extensive array of development proposals ranging from detailed matters of town planning, architecture and urban design through to large-scale waste management facilities and subdivisions.

Jamie has acted for individual developers and large development companies, the agricultural and viticultural industries, the water management industry, local government authorities, the health industry, the education sector and many others. He has considerable experience representing clients in the Environment, Resources and Development Court (and its predecessors) and the Supreme Court. In working with clients, Jamie regularly works in conjunction with town planning consultants and other related professionals. In addition he regularly liaises with State and local government town planning officers concerning specific development applications. Jamie also regularly represents clients at Council and Development Assessment Commission meetings and in negotiations with other government bodies, such as the Environment protection Authority and the SA Heritage Council.

Jamie has held executive positions with professional bodies, including a period as President of the National Environmental Law Association (SA Division). He has also been chair of the Civic Trust of SA. he is currently on the executive of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (SA) and is chair of UDIA’s planning committee. Most recently, Jamie has been a member of the Steering Committee appointed by the South Australian Government to review the SA Planning and Development system which reported in mid-2008.

Rosanne Calabrese
Master of Regional and Urban Planning 1997

Upon completion of the Masters course, Rosanne was awarded the Royal Australian Planning Institute (RAPI) Post Graduate Prize and Medal. Rosanne joined Calabrese Partners as a planning consultant adding an urban and regional planning arm to the existing environmental science and engineering practice located in North Adelaide. The masters qualification allowed Rosanne to build on her science background and on her work experience in social policy and social analysis to other areas of urban planning.

Over the last ten years Rosanne has worked for both the private and public sectors on an array of commercial, industrial and residential projects. Projects have included small to large scale residential developments including the $30M remediation and residential redevelopment of a former landfill in the western suburbs, multimillion dollar redevelopment and establishment of large industrial premises of key players within the waste recycling industry including the Wingfield precinct, UniSA City West campus redevelopment, and a range of other industrial and commercial projects. Over the years Rosanne as a certified planner and corporate member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) has provided independent planning advice, project management and coordination, social analysis and policy development, and has acted as an expert witness in the Environment Resources and Development Court.

Des Commerford
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1988

A career in town planning was the furthest thing from Des Commerford’s mind when hr moved to Adelaide from Sydney in the early 1970’s. Inspired by the ethos of South Australia under Premier Don Dunstan, Des enrolled to study part time at the South Australian Institute of Technology in 1980 whilst working as a land-use technician. Little did he realise at the time, that after some 9 years of part-time study, he would cement a career in Local Government as the first town planner for the District Council of Port Elliot and Goolwa and would embark on an incredible journey working across the regions of the Lower River Murray and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Regional planning has become one of the great challenges in South Australia as we experience the “sea-change” and “tree change” phenomena which increasingly impact on regional coastal towns and rural areas. Des has relished the experience of challenging the often ‘city-centric’ focus of town planning.

He has always endeavoured to ensure the voice of the regions is heard. The personal approach to problem solving that comes with working in regional areas, without the constraints of bureaucracy of legislation and policy, allows for involved collaboration at the street level. Des has enjoyed the interaction with local communities and the opportunities to introduce local culture and themes to public spaces.

Country towns are often the quintessential image of Australia and their protection and enhancement is so important to defining the Australian culture. Town planning is vital to this goal and allows for the integration of history, local culture and contemporary ideas to be interpreted. Des has indeed been fortunate throughout his career to be able to bring the various expectations of people’s lifestyles together in rural areas.

As a Director with Alexandrina Council today, Des Commerford’s responsibilities encompass a variety of portfolios including town planning, environment management and community services. He is a past President of the SA Division of the Planning Institute and now a Fellow of the Institute. Des is looking forward to retirement in the near future with enormous satisfaction, particularly with regard to the career opportunities that planning education in South Australia has given him.

Aaron Curtis
Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning 2006

Since graduating in November 2006, Aaron has worked as a consultant and Council planner in both South Australia and Queensland. Between November 2006 and June 2007, he worked for South Australian consultancy firm, URPS as a Research Planner. In June 2007, Aaron moved to Queensland and was appointed as Planner – Development Assessment at the Caboolture Shire Council. He held this position until December 2007, at which time he returned to South Australia and was appointed again at URPS in January 2008 in the position of Associate.

Aaron's main interest since graduating has focused predominantly on development assessment. He has been exposed to a wide variety of complex applications in both an urban and rural context. Aaron's work in South Australia and Queensland has also exposed him to different planning systems having worked under the Development Act 1993 and Integrated Planning Act 1997.

While at URPS in 2008, Aaron has shown a keen interest in development assessment having worked as a consultant for Kangaroo Island Council and Walkerville. In this role, he has prepared various Development Assessment Panel reports and also presented to Panel members.While his main focus has been predominantly on development assessment, he has also been involved in various retail studies in partnership with Alistair Tutte. These studies focused on a review of existing retail centres in Salisbury and Tea Tree Gully to evaluate their viability.

Brian Delaney
Master of Urban and Regional Planning 2005

Late in 2002 Brian decided it was time for a career change and planning appealed as an interesting profession that explored the very important issues of how societies decide to live together and share the world’s resources. He graduated with a Master of Urban and Regional Planning in 2005 after a stimulating time of study and the opportunity to collaborate and debate with some insightful and talented fellow students and lecturers.

In November 2003 Brian began working in the Strategic Planning branch of Planning SA as a project officer with specific responsibilities of providing project support on the Hills Face Zone Review and conducting strategic site assessments for surplus government land. The Hills face Zone Review was a great introduction to planning which included strategic planning leading to policy and structural outcomes through collaboration between state and local government. The assessment of surplus government land enabled him to become familiar with many council Development Plans whilst keeping in mind key strategic objectives of the State Government. It was also beneficial to form networks with other government agencies and develop some GIS skills.

In January 2005 Brian had the opportunity to follow a passion for promoting sustainable travel when he began his role as Planner at the Office for Cycling and Walking, within the Department for Transport and Urban Planning, now DTEI. This role has allowed him to integrate planning skills with transport planning, traffic engineering and road safety knowledge. One of the key components of this role involves providing cycling and walking policy advice for Development Plan Amendments and other strategic planning and master planning processes. Brian has also been involved in developing policy that promotes cycling and walking through the Better Development Plan Modules. A significant ongoing role is to manage the State Bicycle Fund and State Black Spot cycling projects. These are funding programs to promote planning for and improvement of cycling facilities and networks; this includes developing application processes, evaluating projects and liaising with councils so that projects are constructed according to appropriate engineering standards.

One of the joys of Brian’s current work is involvement in the ‘Active Living Coalition’. The coalition explores how our neighborhoods can encourage active living and is a collaboration of the Department of Health, the Office of Recreation and Sport, the Department for Transport Energy and Infrastructure, the Heart Foundation, the Planning Institute of Australia (SA Division) and the Cancer Council of South Australia.

Rob Donaldson
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981 Graduate Diploma in Environmental Planning 1983

Rob commenced the Diploma in Technology in Planning in 1977, one of very few students selecting “town planning” as a first-choice tertiary option! In 1978 the erudite and passionate Ray Bunker arrived to lead the School and establish the four year Degree course.

As a City of Adelaide Planning Cadet, Rob ‘upgraded’ to the BA Planning and Graduate Diploma in Environmental Planning, and at the earliest opportunity went in search of “real cities and place making” in Europe.

Michael Llewellyn-Smith was City Planner in the early 1980’s and led a talented team guided by the innovative “Red Book” City of Adelaide Plan. Rob held a range of urban planning and ‘senior planner’ roles covering the full scope of planning in the City, including two Plan Reviews, major heritage listing and policy initiatives, ‘movement systems’ strategies, and development assessment during the 1980’s boom.

In 1987 Rob went east to the then City of Kensington and Norwood and by 1989 was the City Planner of this small, intense, culturally diverse and proud inner-ring Council. Amongst the constant flow of infill and brownfields DA’s, the Norwood planning team undertook a “comprehensive SDP”, re-writing the City’s entire Development Plan, and later introducing South Australia’s first Historic Conservation Zones. The Norwood Parade demanded attention to car parking strategies, streetscape upgrade and an early but short-lived Mainstreet traders group. Meanwhile the Council’s management team took on the challenges of the City’s first strategic plan and sustainable financial and asset management.

Rob joined the City of Glenelg in 1994, anticipating the amalgamation with Brighton Council. A major streetscape project at Jetty Road and a series of strategic and urban planning issues were the early focus, supported by a dedicated small departmental team. Life at the Bay was very busy, but unique in this period was the first PAR to integrate crime prevention principles into the Development Plan.

In 1996 attention turned to the creation of the City of Holdfast Bay. From January 1997 Rob held leadership positions encompassing urban planning, strategic planning and the unique tourism and events portfolio. Around this time the Glenelg-West Beach Building Better Cities project gained momentum, with Glenelg’s Holdfast Shores development the most controversial element. What followed was a period of enormous change for the Glenelg and the local community, applauded by some, still anathema to others.

While core business continued, Rob became increasingly involved in the Holdfast Shores project, playing key roles in DAC assessment advice and the delivery of public realm projects to integrate the revitalised foreshore with the existing Glenelg. The last piece of the puzzle was the major upgrade of Moseley Square, completed in 2006.

With this urban and strategic planning track record, and over a decade of management experience, Rob accepted the new challenge of the City of Holdfast Bay CEO role in 2004. Wider responsibilities mean that the ‘town planning’ is left to capable successors, as governance, financial sustainability, asset management and climate change have presented themselves as the big ticket issues of the 2000’s. Rob will conclude his CEO contract at Holdfast Bay in mid 2009, but still retains the original energy and passion of the 1980 Planning Cadet to “make it happen”.

June D'Rozario
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1970

I was privileged to receive my undergraduate planning education at the SA Institute of Technology. It is the best investment I ever made. In the late 1960s, our education was very hands-on. There was a healthy share of theory, but also a strong emphasis on understanding how places and their components worked, and on building practical skills. We did a lot of studio work. After graduation, I worked for 4 years at the State Planning Office. There was a reformist government, committed to metropolitan planning, regional development and social equity, and I was given great opportunities in major programs in all of these.

Tom McKenna was responsible for my being in Darwin. I mentioned to him that I wanted to live in the tropics, and he put me in touch with the Department of Northern Territory, which was trying to fill a position that had been vacant for some time. I found myself in Darwin with the title of Assistant Regional Planner, and discovered that the “regional” in the title referred to the whole of the Northern Territory.

The Territory was like another country. It was not well understood by the rest of Australia, and its resourceful, youthful and optimistic people revelled in its vastness and potential. There were severe growth pressures, and unmet demands for urban infrastructure and housing, and very few planners to do the work. Consequently, anyone prepared to roll up their sleeves was given a relatively free rein. The practical no-nonsense education imparted at SAIT came into its own; it suited the times and the job I was doing, and I gained great depth of experience in a very short period.

Nothing could prepare us for the destruction caused by Cyclone Tracy in December 1974. Whereas we had spent the previous years building up the place, we were now faced with devastation, and the results of our work lay in piles of debris. Darwin soon emptied as the population was evacuated down to 10,000 people, because water and sanitation systems were not functioning and there were fears of disease outbreaks. There were pressures on me to leave Darwin. Its future was said to be uncertain, a large part of my department relocated to Brisbane, and living conditions were very difficult. I refused to leave, thinking that planners were needed more than ever before.

After Gough Whitlam pledged that Darwin would be rebuilt and set up the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, I was seconded to the Commission, along with other planners who also refused to leave. Rebuilding the place that had taken hold of us consumed us for the next few years, until I left the team in 1977 to contest a seat in the Legislative Assembly general election. The population had recovered to its pre-cyclone level, and stirrings about constitutional reform in the Territory, which had abated a little in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, were resurfacing. I wanted a part in the Territory’s political development. I spent the next 6 years as a Labor member of the Assembly.

Although Labor was the parliamentary opposition, there was bi-partisan commitment for self-government, which was granted in 1978. The first parliamentary term was immensely exciting as we set about establishing all the institutions necessary for the functioning of a democratic civil society, as well as those needed to facilitate our economic development. My electoral defeat in 1983 was not entirely unexpected. A snap election called to protest the hand-back of Uluru to its traditional owners sealed the fate of all but one of Labor’s urban seats. Never mind; I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve the electorate and felt privileged to be a witness to the Territory’s constitutional history.

There was no question about what to do next. Many people had invested in my education and training. I had never looked on it as “something to fall back on”, but as something to build on and serve me for the rest of my life. I had completed a degree in economics from Adelaide University, and kept abreast of developments in planning practice. So I set up as a consultant in planning and economic research, and resumed the activities of place-making, which I continue to this day. The practice became a company in 1988, and along the way it employed some impressive young people who also enjoyed the challenges of working in the Territory. We designed whole neighbourhoods, industrial estates and sporting complexes, and had great fun doing it.

There were other things to do as well. In 1986, I was appointed to the Board of Management of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and served until 1996. This gave me the opportunity to contribute to the park’s inscription on the World Heritage List both in 1987 for its natural values, and in 1994 as a cultural landscape. UNESCO recognised the work of the board in setting new international standards for the management of a world heritage area in 1995 by awarding us its highest honour, the Picasso Gold Medal.

An appointment as a Commissioner of the Australian Heritage Commission followed, where my interests were in built and indigenous heritage and in regional forest agreements. I also served on the National Population Council, and later on the Board of the Australia-India Council, where I participated in promoting Australian expertise in urban planning as part of a strategy to widen the bilateral relationship.

Colleagues have generously recognised some of my work. The Planning Institute elevated me to Fellow in 1994, and a Centenary Medal for services to urban planning and city development followed in 2001. I am sometimes asked whether I would recommend planning as a career to young people. The answer is an emphatic yes! There is endless variety, your skills are highly transferable, and there is a real chance to affect people’s lives for the better. You need to have an enquiring and receptive mind, but a good planning education will see to that.

Sharon Fitzpatrick
Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning 2008

Sharon had the good fortune of becoming by the City of Playford after her third year placement. Since completing the course and graduating from the University of South Australia in 2008, she has experienced quite an exciting career to date. Sharon’s role at the City of Playford is split between Development Officer – Planning (2 days) and Environment Officer (3 days). Although she often has to double check which hat she is wearing, she finds the opportunity to carry out two different but complementary roles very exciting.

Primarily, Sharon’s role in Local Government is development assessment. Although it may not be the ‘sexiest’ job for a town planner, it certainly provides a great basis for understanding how the system works. Her plans for the future involve taking on policy and strategic work and she believes that her time in development assessment will provide the confidence required to make strong policy and strategic decisions.

Sharon’s involvement with the Planning Institute of Australia (SA Division) has also supported her career on various levels and she would encourage any current students to become involved. Whether from a mentoring perspective or networking opportunities, it has helped her to make many valuable contacts and friends in the town planning profession. In 2008, Sharon became the co-chair of the South Australian Young Planners and Vice-President of PIA (SA), roles that she will be continuing in 2009.

The highlight of 2008 and her short but illustrious planning career was Sharon’s success as winner of the SA Young Planner of the Year award – “to be recognised by your peers, work colleagues and friends for the work you have done is an awesome feeling”.

Sharon also adds, “I must confess I did not find town planning instead it found me and I would not change that for the world. It is a profession that I would not hesitate in recommending to anyone because there is something for everyone”.

Mike Flehr
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1978

Mike graduated from “the Institute” in 1977, and worked as a planner for both local and state government before heading overseas in 1980. He visited over 200 cities in 30 countries before settling to do a MA in Geography/Regional Planning at Western Illinois University. Working for a Regional Council during this time provided an interesting contrast to the British/Australian planning systems he had learned in Adelaide.

On returning to Adelaide in 1983, he worked for Hassell (doesn’t everyone), did the Second Generation Parkland Study, then started Flehr Planning in 1986. The Yorke Peninsula Coastal Planning and Mt Lofty Ranges Planning Studies were a fine start to 10 years of consulting to private clients and state and local governments. He dealt mainly in strategic planning and policy development, although the joys of development assessment were never entirely lost.

In case there was any chance of boredom, Mike also spent part of this time consulting in database design and developing a wine marketing company. A good understanding of the former led to a fine understanding of the place of data management in strategic analysis. A good understanding of the latter lead to a better understanding of the business sector and a remarkably improved attitude.

After a serious illness in 1996, he joined Adelaide City Council as Strategic Analyst. His role included managing and analyzing their definitive Land Use and Employment Surveys, and providing research and analysis to support this Capital City Council as it found its global context. His wider brief included developing an urban intelligence framework to bring relevant experiences from the global urban world into Council’s everyday working life. Mike’s skills in IT and GIS, and wide practical knowledge of urban processes, contributed to projects in planning policy, economic development, social planning, urban design, corporate planning, strategic planning generally, and liaison with the State Government’s Thinkers in Residence Program.

Mike joined the Planning Institute of Australia in 2003 and spent 2 years on the State Executive concentrating on the Institute’s media profile and marketing, and promoting Strategic Planning generally.

In 2005 Mike left ACC to established Urban Strategic Intelligence to specialize in Strategic Planning and globally oriented Urban Intelligence. USI is primarily an online service providing urban intelligence.

Mike’s primary interests include global trends in cities and city planning, and the collection and application of global strategic level information to local planning. He is particularly interested in the future of cities and regions at the societal level, and how to anticipate and plan for that future effectively.

Over recent years he has presented conference papers on the Future of Cities in Australia and Japan, and had a co-authored paper presented in Chicago at the 2002 Digital Cities Conference. He is writing for publication more regularly these days, with regular contributions locally to SA Planner and Place Magazine.

His websites are at www.urban-strategic-intel.com and www.urbanworldnews.net

Roger Freeman
Bachelor of Arts (Planning)

Following the receipt of an Associate Diploma in Engineering and work in the Engineering and Water Supply Department, Roger joined the Coast Protection Board of the Department of Environment as a technical officer. Roger enrolled in the Planning Course at the SAIT in 1979 and studied part time, being awarded his Bachelor of Arts in Planning degree in 1985.

In 1983, while studying for his planning qualifications Roger was appointed to a position in the Country Branch of the Planning Division, Department of Environment and Planning. Roger was responsible for preparing early planning policies for the Flinders Ranges and Out of Council regions which recognised the unique landscape qualities of the region and preserved the significant natural features of the Ranges. The first planning policies for Roxby Downs were prepared by Roger and he was also heavily involved in guiding the first policies for Coober Pedy. Roger is highly regarded by planners working for country councils and the chief executives of the many small country councils throughout the Far North, Mid North and Yorke Peninsula regions of SA because of this willingness to spend time with them providing assistance and advice on development assessment and local planning policy issues. Other achievements during that time include the preparation or guiding the preparation of many Development Plans and the assessment of development applications.

Roger became Manager of Adelaide Region within the Policy Branch of the Planning Division prior to joining the South Australian Tourism Commission in 1993 as a Senior Policy Officer. In this capacity he worked on a variety of planning and policy projects for this growing economic sector. This included strategic planning; development research and advice; sustainable tourism approaches; tourism policy formulation and advice; and evaluation of broader policy initiatives impacting on tourism. Roger was highly regarded and respected by his work colleagues and stakeholders both within the industry and in related areas.

In January 1997 Roger was appointed Principal Planner, Assessment Branch, Planning SA. As Principal Planner Roger is the adviser to and delegate of the South Australian Development Assessment Commission, the State’s peak planning authority. The position also carries the delegated authority of the Minister for Urban Development and Planning for Crown and public infrastructure developments by State Agencies. In this capacity Roger has earned the respect and admiration of Commissioners, planning staff, developers, representors, consultants, lawyers, and just about everybody that has dealings with the Commission. He is noted for diligence, integrity, intelligence, the clarity of his advice and the ability to broker the best possible planning outcomes for even the most complex and controversial development applications.

As the Commission and the Minister’s delegate, Roger oversees and controls the output of the Assessment Branch, either through delegated decisions that he makes or through reports and recommendations to the Commission and the Minister which he reviews to ensure all applications are properly assessed against the relevant planning policies and all legislative processes have been properly undertaken.

Sue Giles
Graduate Diploma in Town Planning 1978

After graduating with an Economics degree ( Urban Geography major) Sue did her Post Grad course while working full time for PG Pak-Poy and Associates; projects included working on the first Adelaide Metropolitan Coastal Strategy, interface issues between an (existing) quarry and a (newly developed) public housing estate in Tasmania, and six months in Malaysia on an AusAid project.

In 1975 flushes of Federal funds offered an attractive opportunity to work at SACEPR (South Australian Council for Educational Planning and Research) an entity integrating the spectrum from pre-school to University education sectors. Sue focussed on the impact of education and the concept of rural disadvantage.

Winning a position as South East Sector Manager in the Department of Housing Urban and Regional Affairs in 1979 was the start of a strong commitment to the planning profession in the state public sector. Sue worked under many Ministers of both political persuasions and in the various departmental iterations of the now Department of Planning and Local Government and with well known planners such as Stuart Hart, Stan McCabe, Doug Speechley, Alan Hutchings, John Mant, Ivan Holliday and Stephen Hains.

Her public sector career has included development assessment, policy and strategic planning in rural and metropolitan areas. She now focuses on statutory planning policy. She has really enjoyed the experience of negotiating with councils, state agencies and developers to achieve an agreed balance between state strategic goals, local development ambitions and clear guidance for development assessment. She has contributed to council and Ministerial Development Plan Amendments.

Her policy focus has lead to her current rewarding role managing the preparation of the first policy modules for the Better Development Plans project and managing the regular updating of those modules – now known as the state’s Planning Policy Library: the success story recognised by a PIA President’s award and mandated by the Government’s recent planning reforms. Sue is responsible for implementing the planning reform to further streamline policy by reducing the number of zone modules within the Library.

Interspersed with her state public sector employment Sue has taken leave to work in Sydney for 12 months (Leichhardt Council: inner city development assessment), as Executive officer of the Planning Education Foundation for 3 years as well as periods of parenting leave for 3 children. For many years she worked part time - assisting in the tricky work/family balance.

For Sue, the planning profession has provided a challenging, stimulating and satisfying career in which one is able to contribute to the ‘community good’. She has seen the profession become truly dual gender; starting as the only female planning student in first year of the Post Grad course to working in an institution where a high proportion of the planners are women. Sue won the Stuart Hart Award in 2007 and travelled in 2008 to Canada and the UK to explore the concept of ‘Character’ in statutory planning and to attend an Urban Design Course at Urban Design London.

Andrew Grear
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1988

Andrew received his degree in Planning in 1981 but, even before qualifying, began a short term contract with the City of Mitcham, undertaking a research project for the Town Clerk on the laneways of Colonel Light Gardens.

This led to a role as a draftsman and surveyor’s assistant in the engineering section where he designed and managed the construction of a car park (which still exists today) before working as a planning inspector and then a planning officer until late 1985.

At this time the Aberfoyle Park area was booming and Andrew started work as a planning officer with the Happy Valley Council. He then moved into supervisory roles and was involved in organisational reviews and land information systems computing.

From 1992 until 2000, Andrew worked with the District Council of Mount Barker, a peri-urban growth area with a myriad of urban and rural issues. Along with managing a department of planners, builders, health professionals and being part of the senior management team, he was involved in everything a local government planning career has to offer—day and night! Most rewarding during this time was the development of a spatial strategic plan for the council area, which involved a significant number of community consultation sessions. He saw a lot of bowling, football and netball clubs in that time! At the core of the plan were policies to manage the sustainable growth of Mount Barker, which are still in use today.

In the middle of August 2000 an opportunity to work with an inner council arose, and for the next 3 years Andrew worked with the City of Burnside as the General Manager of Planning & Environmental Services. During this time, development matters of all shapes and sizes were scrutinised by a body of elected members who were passionate about the form their council area should take into the future. It was a very challenging environment.

In late 2003 Andrew was one of three directors leading the Local Government Association of South Australia, with a particular focus on planning matters, as planning legislation was being contemplated by Parliament at the time.

In July 2004 he was seconded to the State Government–Planning SA–to lead the Better Development Plans project. His relationship with Local Government was invaluable in this work and helped ensure that the piloting and then implementation of the program were relatively smooth. The planning policy library is now up and running with over 40 Development Plans in the state well underway.

In October 2007 Andrew took on the role of Director of Policy in Planning SA. This role involved progressing the Government’s policies in the Planning Strategy by overseeing the establishment and review of Development Plans and development policies, while still ensuring the Better Development Plans program continued to evolve and was adopted.

In April 2008 that all changed and now, as the Director of Strategic Development in Planning SA, Andrew provides executive leadership on the development and management of plans, policies and strategies for urban development and major development throughout the entire state. Andrew also collaborates with all levels of government across a myriad of diverse tasks to ensure that, ultimately, the ongoing development of the state is well planned.

Richard Green
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1975
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

Richard commenced work with the then SA State Planning Office in 1974 on an undergraduate training scheme whilst completing his qualifications. He was then appointed Planning Officer, Senior Planning Officer and Acting Sector Manager in the Department of Housing, Urban and Regional Affairs.

He undertook development assessment and provided advice affecting many country towns and settlements and rural areas of the State including the Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and Barossa Valley regions. He also prepared rural living concepts and policy documents, provided expert town planning evidence in many planning appeals and prepared the first planning regulations (zoning) for the District Council of Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.

From 1978, as the first District Planner at the District Council of Stirling he was able to follow through with the implementation and administration of the first zoning regulations for the Council area and he also undertook various studies, policy reviews and Development Plan amendments, together with a continuation of providing expert town planning evidence before Courts and Tribunals.

Having experienced the first Ash Wednesday fire in the Adelaide Hills, he then took up a posting in 1982 as Deputy (then Acting) City Planner with the Townsville City Council, Queensland, where he was involved in departmental management of the planning functions, prepared the first Strategic Plan and two local Development Control Plans for tourism and medium density housing developments, had on-going involvement in all development assessment matters including expert planning evidence in the District Court for a wide range and number of development types and advice on Council projects such as the pedestrian mall development at Picnic Bay, Magnetic Island; flood detention and recreation area development.

Responding to family needs and the call of long time friend and early mentor Doug Wallace, Richard returned to Adelaide in 1984 to accept a position as Senior Associate with Doug Wallace & Associates, Urban and Rural Planning Consultants. He was involved in a range of urban and regional development assessments, policy reviews, studies and streetscape concept planning, and was regularly engaged to provide independent expert planning evidence in planning appeals and other legal matters.

Becoming more interested in the commercial property world and the role a town planner could play to influence and assist in development outcomes, Richard took up a position in 1986 with Colliers Jardine Ltd (Adelaide Office) as the Principal Planner and Manager of Colliers Jardine Planning Consultants. He became involved and advised on a wide range of urban and rural development projects, studies (retail, urban design, demographic, master planning) and policy reviews across the State, acting for developers, owners/investors, institutions, Corporations, organisations, individuals and Local and State government authorities. He continued to be engaged as an expert planner in numerous planning appeals, liquor licensing, motor fuel licensing and other land related legal matters appearing before various Courts and Tribunals.

In 1994, Multi Function Polis Ltd (MFP) Australia, came knocking and as something of a career direction change, Richard responded by taking up a position as Project Manager, Urban Design and Development Division. He became closely involved with such projects as the New Haven Village (an innovative medium density residential project in partnership with the SA Housing Trust, selected builders and the Council), the Mawson Lakes joint venture development with the Delfin Lend Lease Consortium (coordinating the various interests of Federal, State and Local Governments, the University of SA and Technology Park in master planning, Development Plan amendments and individual building projects such as those of Motorola and Australis), and internal reviews of the development and future of Science Park, Sturt and other aspects of the original project concept at Gillman – Dry Creek.

With the writing on the wall (so to speak) as to the diminished future role and direction of the MFP, Richard returned to Local Government in 1996 as General Manager, Planning & Environmental Services at the City of Burnside. He was responsible for managing the strategic and planning policy reviews, development assessment (planning and building); inspectorial (parking, by-laws, urban animal management, flammable undergrowth, fire prevention); environmental health management in conjunction with EMRHA Inc., environmental policy and programs (such as Local Agenda 21 Plan development and review, Cities for Climate Protection, Living Neighbourhoods Pilot); and local business and economic development (Board Member of Eastside BEC), functions of the Council.

In 2000, Richard returned to the consulting world, initially with Planache and Damien Brown (then taken over by Urbis JHD), as an Associate Director involved in a broad range of urban development studies, development assessment systems policy review, urban and regional planning strategies and policies, development planning and statutory planning advice, Development Plan Amendment Reports, and independent expert planning evidence in the Courts.

In September 2001, Richard was appointed as a full-time Commissioner with the Environment, Resources & Development Court (SA) and is involved in pre-trial conferences, appeal hearings and judgements both alone or as part of a Full Bench of the Court. He has thus been a practising planner for some 35 years and has loved almost every minute of it.

Cathryn Hamilton
Masters in Urban and Regional Planning 2007

Cathryn commenced her studies part-time in March 2005 after more than 20 years working for the South Australian Government - mainly in environmental management and research related to environmental issues relevant to the water industry. Her previous qualifications included a Bachelor Degree in Applied Science from the South Australian Institute of Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Management from UniSA. While working for SA Water, Cathryn had also partially completed a Masters in Infrastructure Management through the Australian National University.

Early in 2007, Cathryn’s interest was sparked by the advertisement of a scholarship to undertake a PhD in Urban Planning as part of a project called Carbon Neutral Communities – Making the Transition funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. This project is undertaking research into the barriers that communities experience in making the transition to Carbon Neutrality. This project is being led by RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria and has a number of industry partners; one each from Local Government in South Australia and Victoria, various community based energy organisations, ICLEI CCP Australia and Consumer Affairs Victoria. Cathryn applied for this scholarship and after being selected, commenced her PhD research at the end of March in 2007.

The research Cathryn has undertaken to date includes reviewing methods for the carbon profiling of communities at local government level and developing methods to undertake renewable resource assessments across local government areas. The latter includes assessing the solar resource of rooftops in the built environment through the application of Geospatial Information Systems. Cathryn has worked with a student from China and there is potential for the methodology to be applied across areas of China in the future. For her PhD, Cathryn is researching the attitudes and behaviours of key staff and elected members of local government towards actions that local government can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within households in their community, including their own household.

In addition to her research, Cathryn has tutored undergraduates in Social and Community Planning and postgraduates in Environmental Impact Assessment and has supervised a final year Planning Student undertaking their major project. She has also been the Postgraduate Research Student Representative for the School of Natural and Built Environments in 2008 arranging the Inaugural Postgraduate Research Gathering in April and the Inaugural Postgraduate Research Colloquium in November. The latter was a two day event where postgraduate research students could share their research interests with each other and with academic staff, fostering a greater understanding of the breadth of research being undertaken within the School and preparing the ground for collaborative research opportunities in the future.

During 2008 Cathryn presented papers at the 3rd International Solar Cities Congress and at the 3rd International Solar Energy Society Conference for the Asia Pacific Region. She is also presenting a paper at the 5th International Conference for Environmental, Economic, Social and Cultural Sustainability in Mauritius in January 2009. Cathryn is establishing networks across universities and research institutions both in Australia and overseas and anticipates continuing research beyond her PhD.

Angela Hazebroek
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1990
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1992

Angela Hazebroek commenced the Planning Course at the Institute of Technology in 1985 at the “mature” age of 31, so old then in the eyes of the 17 and 18 year old (mostly male) first year students. In July that year she gave birth to her second daughter less than a week after one of Bruno Rodrigue's graphic design exams where the bump getting in the way of the drawing board was only one of the reasons for an average pass mark.

Studying part time Angela got her first vacational job in the SA Planning Commission on the princely salary of $5.50 an hour in December 1986. It was a great introduction to the planning world as was the World Planning and Housing Congress held in Adelaide that year.

Angela was instrumental in establishing OOPS, the Organization of Planning Students. She also represented student members on the then RAPI SA Division Committee and the Planning Course Advisory Committee. During her studies Angela worked part time as a Community Planner for the City of Salisbury and with Wendy Bell Planning. During the last year of her Graduate Diploma Angela worked part time as the Executive Officer for the Planning Education Foundation and with the South Australian Urban Land Trust on the Northfield Human Services Plan.

In 1991, on the day she handed in her last assignment, Angela joined HASSELL as a Senior Planner. After 2 years working on a range of projects including an Urban Design Framework for North Terrace and a 50 year Master Plan for Alcoa at Pinjarra in Western Australia, Angela took on a new challenge working for the Northern Adelaide Regional Organisation of Councils to prepare and implement the Northern Adelaide Plan.

In 1998 she returned to HASSELL to assist with the preparation of the Parklands Management Strategy. Over the next five and a half years Angela took on the role of Principal, Planning and the National Discipline Leader for the Planning Team comprising over 35 planners. The highlights of her time at HASSELL include 5 visits over 12 months to East Timor to work with a local team to develop a Strategic Planning Framework for Dili and Tourism Plans for Townsville to Cairns and Eyre Peninsula.

In mid 2003 Angela and Grazio Maiorano started their own planning consultancy – Urban and Regional Planning Solutions or URPS as it is now known. So the wheel has come full circle as Grazio was one of those 18 year olds who started the course in 1985. Together they are building a highly respected planning firm and Angela continues to have a strong involvement in tourism, ageing strategies and strategic planning. At the start of 2009, Angela will become President of the Planning Institute of South Australia (SA Division).

Georgina House (nee Dutton)
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1986
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1988

Georgina is a Director of QED and a Strategic and Social Planner with 23 years experience in consulting in the areas of urban and regional planning, infrastructure planning, environmental management, social and community, planning, and design and implementation of consultation strategies. She has extensive experience working with local, state and federal governments and the private sector.

Georgina’s focus is on QED delivering leading edge professional services in the areas of Planning, Design, Environment and Community. She is a Certified Practicing Planner and a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and a member of the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2). She enjoys delivering new ideas and creative approaches to address the planning and environmental issues
facing our society. She strives to design and deliver processes which are enjoyable, integrated, successful and leave a positive legacy.

Georgina has been responsible for the design and implementation of a wide range of infrastructure and major development projects, as well as strategies, including the University of Adelaide - North Terrace Campus Master Plan, Murray Bridge Urban Growth Plan, Strathalbyn Town Plan, Northern Expressway Environment Report and Community Engagement, Port Wakefield Road Upgrade, Victor Harbor Urban Design Strategy and various energy related infrastructure projects.

Peter Houston
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1982

Peter Houston has 25 years experience in rural planning and resource management, working mainly at the interface between agriculture and land use policy, and in various capacities including research, teaching, policy development and consultancy.

He currently holds the position of Strategic Planner with the Development Planning and Policy Unit of Primary Industries and Resources SA, where he has a lead role in the Designated Primary Production Areas project; a State-level project to identify and give special status to key production assets across SA. Before joining PIRSA he undertook post-graduate research into the public policy treatment of peri-urban agriculture at the University of Melbourne and, prior to that, taught full-time in the Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of South Australia.

Peter has qualifications in Urban and Regional Planning and in Natural Resource Management and has published a number of articles, separately and jointly, on aspects of peri-urban development in Australia and planning for agriculture.

Alan Hutchings
Graduate Diploma in Town Planning 1970

Alan Hutchings was awarded the Graduate Diploma in Town Planning in 1970. He was then a Senior Planning Officer in the State Planning Office that served the State Planning Authority established by the Planning and Development Act, 1967. His duties involved the preparation of the first regional plans for the country areas of the State. Later, he was promoted to Principal Planning Officer responsible for metropolitan Adelaide strategies, infrastructure co-ordination and the like.

These were the years when urban and regional planning was front and centre in the Dunstan Government and to ease Adelaide’s burgeoning growth, the new city of Monarto was proposed. In 1974, Alan was appointed as its Director of Town Planning responsible for overall physical planning including landscape architecture. Inter alia, he was able to apply lessons learnt when he was an Anzac Fellow in New Zealand in 1971 about the importance of ‘designing with nature’. He was also appointed to the Tourist Development Advisory Committee of South Australia, forerunner of the South Australian Tourism Commission,

In 1977, the Monarto Development Commission was reconstituted as a consultancy. As a Director, Alan was responsible for briefs such as the first Port Adelaide Centre redevelopment and the Leigh Creek new town.

Dramatic falls in the State’s growth rate led to the shelving of the Monarto project. Alan was transferred via the Premiers Department to the Department of Urban and Regional Affairs (later Environment and Planning) as a senior management trouble-shooter.

1982 saw the Planning and Development Act replaced by the Planning Act and the State Planning Authority by the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Planning and the South Australian Planning Commission. Alan was appointed as Executive Planner to both of these bodies to support the Chairman and members, particularly in policy advice to the Minister on metropolitan strategies and urban design and by membership of the Commission’s statutory development control committees such as Noarlunga Centre, Aquaculture etc. He also chaired an inquiry into the control of outdoor advertisements.

In these years Alan again returned to academia part time, gaining a Master of Planning by research at the University of Adelaide. Consequently, he was awarded the silver medal for research by the Royal Australian Planning Institute (now PIA). These studies led to the joint editing and part authoring of ‘With Conscious Purpose: A History of Town Planning in South Australia’ published by the RAPI (PIA) as part of the State’s 150^th celebrations in 1986. He also spent part of 1987 as a Visiting Fellow at the Joint Centre for Urban Design at the Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University) in the UK.

In 1989, he was appointed by the Governor as a Commissioner of the Planning Appeals Tribunal, which became, by the passage of the Development Act in 1983, the Environment, Resources and Development Court. In 2001 he retired from the Court.

He was re-appointed as a part time Commissioner. Also, he was appointed as Adjunct Senior Research Fellow to the urban and regional planning discipline at the University of South Australia where he has continued his research and academic publishing and the mentoring of future members of the Profession. Throughout his career, he has been involved with the affairs of the Profession including as State President, Federal Councillor and as author of the Division’s 50^th year history in 2001.

Iris Iwanicki
Graduate Diploma in Town Planning 1982

Iris Iwanicki obtained the Graduate Diploma in Town Planning from the then SA Institute of Technology in 1982 after obtaining an Arts degree majoring in Classical Studies and English from the University of Adelaide as a mature age student while working part time and raising a family of four young children with husband Wally. She was awarded the 1982 RAPI award for the best post graduate student and, after a stint as Register Historian with the State Heritage Branch, worked as a planner with the Marion, Adelaide City and Willunga Councils until 1997. During those years her positions included statutory planner, heritage planner, senior, principal and chief planner of development assessment with the City of Adelaide between 1985 -1993 and as Manager of Environmental Services with the DC of Willunga 1993-1997. The latter position involved managing planning, building, community services, environmental health and authorised officer staff as well as strategic planning for the Willunga Basin, leading to the formulation of policy that linked sustainable water use with urban design and proposed a different type of future urban development.

In 1994 she presented a paper on sustainable planning for the urban-rural fringe of Adelaide at the Global Forum in Manchester. After leaving local government in 1997 to complete a Master of Environmental Law with ACEL, Iris combined coordinating the courses Issues in Urban and Landscape Sustainability at Adelaide University School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Design with consulting work with PPK and Janet Gould & Associates as well as privately for heritage and planning projects. Teaching with David Jones at the school, she assisted in organising the ICOMOS conference in Adelaide in 2002. In 1999 the course Issues in Landscape Sustainability won the State RAPI award for the best student planning course, followed by the RAPI national award. Other activities have included being the Honorary Secretary of the Conservation Council of SA, membership of the Civic Trust Jury, National Trust of SA, founding secretary of the SA Environmental Law Association (later NELA), membership of the State Heritage Authority, SA Pastoral Board, and Deputy Presiding Member of the Development Assessment Commission.

In 2004 the Edmund Wright Award for heritage management was given to Historical Research Pty Ltd, Justin McCarthy of Austral Archaeology, Lyn Leader-Elliott and Iris for the heritage survey of the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracks. After caring for her husband of 43 years during a terminal illness at home, Iris presently is a PhD candidate at UniSA and chairs two development assessment panels. Professional affiliations include membership of PIA and ICOMOS Australia. Her passions are painting, art appreciation, cycling in France, writing, poetry, babysitting grandchildren, gardening and hiking.

Paul Johnson
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981

In 1980 Paul was successful in being offered his first position at the South Australian Department of Urban and Regional Affairs (a predecessor to Planning SA) as a Project Officer working in the Northern Metropolitan and Western Metropolitan sectors doing a variety of policy and development assessment work.

Paul left the Department later the same year when he accepted a position working at the City of Tea Tree Gully as a Planning Officer initially doing development assessment work and then progressing to do policy work on several Supplementary Development Plans (the fore-runner to Plan Amendment Reports and Development Plan Amendments). Paul was fortunate to work with the late Mike Green who was City Planner at Tea Tree Gully before Mike moved to Delfin as one of the first Planners on Golden Grove. The Council was going through a rapid growth phase and saw the early days of the Golden Grove Development.

In 1986 Paul moved to the City of Salisbury as Senior Planner and eventually progressed to a position as Manager Strategic Planning. These were very interesting times with Salisbury also growing rapidly and facing a wide array of issues (working most of the time under Terry Mosel as City Planner). Paul and other members of the policy team prepared a large number of Plan Amendment Reports and tackled difficult issues such as a controversial centres hierarchy, aircraft noise issues related to Edinburgh Air Base and the conversion of the former SAMCOR stock paddocks to urban use and the first Council strategic plan in the state.

Paul also studied project management and graduated in 1996 with a Graduate Diploma from University of SA.

After about 10 years at Salisbury Paul moved to Rust PPK (now PB) as a senior planner in 1996 and worked on an interesting variety of projects from EISs to community consultation projects and planning policy, before moving to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1997 just before it became Planning SA. As Manager of the Plan Amendment Branch responsible for overseeing Plan Amendment Reports and Section 30 Development Reviews he was responsible for zoning through out the State.

While at Planning SA Paul under the direction of Neil Savery was also responsible for initiating and developing the Better Development Plan concept in its early stages and also had a role in developing the significant urban tree policies working as Executive Officer to a working group set up by Dianna Laidlaw. Paul also developed the brief for the current Water Sensitive Urban Design project which received $300 thousand funding from the Federal Government.

In 2007 (in a career highlight) Paul worked at the National Physical Planning Department in Sri Lanka as a volunteer planner with the PIA on a Tsunami Relief Program on a project (funded by AusAid and the Australian Red Cross).

After over ten years with Planning SA, Paul has recently moved to Maunsell AECOM as Principal Planner responsible for urban planning functions in South Australia. He also plays a significant role with the Planning Institute of Australia as SA’s representative on the National Policy Committee and lectures part time in planning policy at Uni SA.

Kirsty Kelly (nee Veitch)
Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning 2000

A keen interest in geography, people and the environment lead me to commence study in Urban and Regional Planning at the Queensland University of Technology. It was a time of major planning debate in Queensland regarding plans of major infrastructure projects and continued urban consolidation, which fuelled my passion for planning and working with the community. Following the completion of the Bachelor of Built Environment (Urban and Regional Planning) I moved to the Northern Territory and spent my first year as a planner working for a planning consultant and the Territory Government.

Life as a planner in the Territory “frontier land” is always exciting and challenging. The experience allowed me to work on a broad range of proposals and projects across urban and regional areas ranging from high-rise development and major residential subdivisions to aquaculture proposals and recreation reserve designs. The design skills that I had gained during my undergraduate degree enabled me to work both as a planner and urban designer; an experience which has continued throughout much of my career to date.

In 1998 I moved to Adelaide to undertake the Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning at the University of South Australia in order to gain the appropriate qualifications to become a corporate member of the Planning Institute of Australia (then RAPI). While studying part-time I worked as a Development Officer at the City of Unley, where in the course of four years I built a solid knowledge and experience base on the South Australian planning system, particularly development assessment and policy. While working at Unley I was given the opportunity to work on cross-organisational projects using my urban design skills and interest in the environment.

After four years in Local Government I took up a position as Senior Planning Officer in the Strategic Planning Team at Planning SA. During my time in the role I was one of a small team working on the Metropolitan Planning Strategy, and in particular, I was one of the key drivers of the development of the Metropolitan Spatial Plan component of the Strategy. After nearly two years in that role I joined Jensen Planning & Design as a Senior Urban & Regional Planner, a position that I held for three years and that exposed me to a broad range of planning and urban design projects across the State, working with the public and private sector.

Running parallel to my professional planning experience has been my long term involvement as a volunteer for the Planning Institute since 1997, filling various State and National roles including National Young Planner Convenor and State President. The combination of volunteer and professional planning experience culminated in me becoming the State Manager of the South Australian Division of the Planning Institute in 2007. This role involves the development of policy and advocacy on behalf of the planning profession, including the promotion of planning to the community through the media – an exciting and challenging position that has been the highlight of my career to date.

In 2009 I am taking some time away from employment to start a family, however I will be using the time to undertake the Masters of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of South Australia, while also maintaining my role as the Deputy Presiding Member of the City of Marion Development Assessment Panel.

Julie Lewis
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1994
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1996

While completing her Graduate Diploma Julie was lucky enough to be employed as a planning consultant with Planning Advisory Services which was based in Gawler. Apart from work within the Adelaide Metropolitan area, she was exposed to a wide variety of planning work from urban residential and Aboriginal homelands (group housing) development to aquaculture and tourism and over the next six years the firm attracted clients from across the state, providing travel opportunities to most regional areas between the Riverland and the Eyre Peninsula.

Julie then progressed to the position of Senior Planner with a multi-award winning Adelaide based urban design and planning consultancy, Jensen Planning and Design. This provided further experience in urban residential development from infill to greenfield sites for private land owners and larger clients groups such as the South Australian Housing Trust and private sector housing developers throughout the metropolitan area. The firm’s involvement in many large projects provided the opportunity to work with larger multi-disciplinary teams for a wide variety of private sector clients including shopping centre, oil and telecommunications corporations in addition to State and Local government clients.

This broad experience in planning policy, strategic planning and development assessment also led to Julie providing expert evidence in the Environment, Resources and Development Court and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Board.

In early 2006 Julie worked in the position of Senior Planner in Mid Murray Council while commuting from Adelaide. This proved to be very valuable experience and culminated in a renewed appreciation of the breadth of issues faced by rural local government planners who are often constrained by limited budgets for improving strategic planning and policy development and limited staff resources. Overseeing two young planners who recently graduated from the University of South Australia, it was interesting to note their impression that their planning studies were often “city” focussed with very little rural related content or promotion of planning careers in country areas. Julie’s experience is that regional planning should be embraced as an equally valuable and rewarding professional experience.

Julie has recently returned to private practice as a Senior Associate with Urban and Regional Planning Solutions, an Adelaide based consultancy with an equally diverse range of professional opportunities and experienced personnel to learn from. The firm’s encouragement to balance work and life commitments means Julie can continue her favourite pastime of international travel to supplement the planning “lessons” experienced at home in Australia every day!

Andrew Lothian
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1970

Dr Andrew Lothian has had a lifelong involvement in environmental policy and environmental management. He has worked at a senior level in the South Australian Department of Environment for several decades and has made significant contributions in advancing ecological sustainability, addressing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, developing state of environment reporting, advancing environmental valuation studies and the development of environmental industry. Many of these involved participation at the national level.

He has contributed to the development of policy covering a diverse range of areas including site contamination, zero waste, housing energy rating, and greenhouse. He has also played a significant role in advancing urban enhancement through the undergrounding of powerlines in Adelaide and rural towns.

Originally trained in Town Planning, he graduated MSc (Environmental Resources) in the UK, and in 2001 completed a PhD on landscape quality assessment of South Australia. In late 2002 he established Environmental Policy Solutions, a consultancy providing services in environmental policy. Later he established Scenic Solutions, a consultancy providing services in landscape quality assessment. He completed a number of consultancy projects including:

• Assessing the impact of windfarms in coastal and inland locations
• Assessing the scenic amenity value of large remnant trees
• Measuring and mapping the landscape quality of the South Australian coast (4800 km),
• Assessing the impact on scenic quality of coastal developments including housing, marinas and aquaculture and advising on coastal planning policy
• Measuring and mapping the scenic quality of the Barossa region and advising on planning policy
• Measuring and mapping the landscape quality of the River Murray, Lakes and the Coorong, assessing the impact on scenic quality of riverside developments, and advising on planning policy
• Assessing the landscape quality of the Victor Harbor council area and advising on planning policy.

He has been appointed an Adjunct Lecturer at Flinders University in Adelaide where he lectures post-graduate environmental courses. He has also lectured at the University of Adelaide’s environmental master’s course at the Ngee Ann - Adelaide Education Centre in Singapore. He has been appointed a Visiting Lecturer at the School of Social Sciences in the University of Adelaide.

In 2003 Dr Lothian was appointed by the Governor as a part-time Native Vegetation Commissioner of the Environment, Resources and Development Court.

Dr Lothian has published on a wide variety of environmental subjects. He is a past President and Secretary of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (South Australian Division) and has served as a councilor on local government.

In May 2006, the Planning Institute of Australia awarded Dr Lothian its annual National Award for Planning Excellence in the category of Environmental Planning or Conservation for his report: Coastal Viewscapes of South Australia. This followed his win for the same report at the South Australian Divisional awards in November 2005.

Dr Lothian has established a website, www.scenicsolutions.com.au which contains reports of his landscape studies.

Peter Maddern
Master of Regional and Urban Planning 2002

Peter Maddern graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from a predecessor of the University of South Australia in 1974. His early years were spent in Industry. In 1980, he established a practice specialising in the technically challenging fields of acoustics and special purpose machinery design.

In the early 1980’s, he gave acoustic evidence in his first planning appeal working with South Australian Consulting Planner, and later Commissioner, the late Brian Turner.

Over the ensuing years, Peter was to give acoustic evidence on many occasions. His exposure to, and interest, in planning was to evolve over the next few decades.Remarkably, but illustrative of the professional divide that had existed between acoustic engineering and planning personnel, despite lengthy experience with environmental acoustics, Peter was to rather suddenly come to a realisation that changed his professional direction. Despite government emphasis on punitive noise legislation, and the association of the acoustic engineering profession with that ineffectual legislation, Peter came to realise the substantive environmental results were being quietly achieved by Planners, and had been since Colonel Light. This was principally because of the zone based separation of land use planning, the influence of development legislation, and the relatively large professional body of planners.

Peter’s interest in planning was fuelled by enjoyment of Court related work and a recognition that, whilst many planning matters ended in the Court room, less than one per cent of common law actions did so. In an attempt to improve his ability as a witness, he obtained Master’s qualifications in Environmental Law in 1998, and Urban and Regional Planning in 2002. PIA membership followed.

As a relative latecomer to formal planning education, Peter lists three challenges as most significant to his professional work as a specialist Engineer/Planner: the evolution of a 100 million dollar high rise city residential development on both sides and over an acoustically weak, heritage listed theatre, long used for amplified purposes for which it was never designed; the task of breaking down the unhelpful divides between planning related specialists and planning generalists; and a concern to further encourage ownership of the issue of environmental noise by the Planning profession.

Gary Mavrinac
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1995

Gary Mavrinac completed the Graduate Diploma following previous undergraduate studies in natural resource management. Since graduating in 1995 he has worked in various areas of environmental management and planning. His areas of specialisation are in urban and regional planning, strategic and policy planning and resource management.

Initially Gary worked in the strategic and policy areas of what is now Planning SA, assisting in area planning for Southern Adelaide and the Willunga Basin. Between 1996 and 1998 he took the opportunity to move across to the environment department as a water resources policy planner. Here he worked with the new Catchment Management Boards and was responsible for ensuring linkages between water resource management and land use planning. From 1998 to 2000 Gary provided environmental input to the reviews of the metropolitan and outer metropolitan planning strategies. In 2000 he returned to Planning SA as Team Leader – Country within the Development Plan Amendment area, following the changes introduced by the Systems Improvement Bill. Two years on, he returned to the environment portfolio as Principal Planner with the Department of Water Resources. With the change to the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, Gary became Manager, Development Planning, and was involved, amongst other things, with the establishment of the River Murray Act and the development of the Natural Resource Management Act.

In 2004 Gary moved to the private sector with Parsons Brinckerhoff and worked on a variety of resource management, mining, wind energy and transport projects. In 2006 Gary joined the City of West Torrens where today he is Manager, City Strategy, responsible for the Council’s corporate, community and policy planning. Since the 1990s Gary has been a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and a member of the Division Committee since 2000. He became State President in 2006.

Kathryn Mitchell
Bachelor of Arts (Planning)

Kathy Mitchell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Planning from South Australia Institute of Technology in 1980, following which she was employed as a Planning Consultant with Urban and Environmental Planning Group in Adelaide. Following her desire to pursue additional studies that focussed on social planning, Kathy moved to Melbourne and gained a Graduate Diploma in Urban Sociology from Swinburne University in 1983. At the same time she was working with Architectural and Planning consulting firm Perrott Lyon Mathieson. Upon completion of her Graduate Diploma, Kathy decided to stay in Melbourne to continue her career.

Over the next few years (and while bringing up her three children), Kathy worked in private practice, Local Government, as an academic at Victoria University and then commenced as a sessional member of the Ministerial Panels. During this time, she completed a Master of Arts in Planning (Research) at Victoria University, with her research thesis “Dual Occupancy and its Impact on Metropolitan Growth in Melbourne (1986 – 1992)” completing the requirements for the Masters and being awarded in 1999.

More recently, Kathy was appointed as Chief Panel Member with Planning Panels Victoria in 2004. The Planning and Environment Act 1987 provides for the appointment of Planning Panels to give independent and expert advice to a planning authority (Local Government or the Minister for Planning) on amendments to Planning Schemes. Panel Members are involved in Advisory Committees, permit application call-ins and other matters as necessary, including consideration of EESs (through the Environment Effects Act 1978).

Kathy was the Interim Chair of the Minister for Planning’s Priority Development Panel from November 2004 to July 2005. Prior to these appointments, Kathy was a full time Senior Panel Member with Planning Panels Victoria since its inception in 1996, and was an occasional sessional member with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) from 1999 to 2004.

Kathy is currently the President and a Fellow of the Victoria Planning and Environmental Law Association (VPELA), and has been a State Judge for the Urban Development Industry Association - Victorian Chapter (UDIA) Awards of Excellence since 2003. In July 2008, Kathy was awarded the prestigious Raymond J Peck Award from the Victoria Chapter of the UDIA for Service to Industry.

Kathy has held positions on the Inner Urban Regional Planning Committee; the Editorial Committee - “Urban Policy and Research”; Executive Committee - Australian Association of Planning Consultants; the Executive Committee and Secretary - Town and Country Planning Association; the (Inaugural) Academic Board - Victoria University of Technology; the City of Glen Eira Strategic Planning Advisory Committee; and the Victorian Women’s Planning Network.

In addition, Kathryn was President of the Murrumbeena Primary School Council from 1994 to 2005, and a member of McKinnon Secondary College School Council from 2005 to 2008.

Kathy is a regular speaker and participant at various professional development seminars and conferences on planning and related matters, both in Victoria and overseas.

She has led two overseas study tours (to Dubai and Europe in 2006, and the West Coast of Canada and USA in 2008) on behalf of VPELA and the UDIA.

Terry Mosel
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1979

In the early years of his working life Terry developed a long association with the antecedent institutions of the University of South Australia. He first started studying for the certificate in mechanical drafting at the South Australian School Of Mines and Industries. In the late 1960’s he completed the survey technicians certificate and successfully completed the first year of the advanced course in photogrammetry, both of which were offered by the South Australian Institute of Technology. His employer at that time offered to support his interest in and transfer to the Diploma in Technology in Planning. He completed the Diploma in 1978. By 1985 Terry had also received the degree of Bachelor of Economics from the University of Adelaide.

Terry’s career in planning started in local government. His career commenced at the then City of Woodville after first being employed in its Engineering Department in 1971 as a senior draftsman. The challenges to planners and decision makers were derived mainly from the residential and industrial development at West Lakes, the development of what is now the AAMI stadium, the piecemeal residential growth of former market gardens in Fulham Gardens, Findon and Kidman Park, the first attempts at higher density living and the emergence of industrial estates within old established residential areas.

Between 1985 and 1995 he held various positions at the City of Salisbury, eventually being appointed as its city planner at the point in time where its planning responsibilities were separated from its engineering functions. The major planning issues during that period included the reform of its development assessment functions, the development of centres policies, the transition of the Levels area from green space to what is now Mawson Lakes and the Greenfields wetlands, the privatisation of the Parafield airport and the impacts of the intensification of RAAF Edinburgh.

Terry next moved into private practice at Hassell. Apart from the wide range of planning work he undertook locally, interstate and a small stint in Indonesia, he was responsible for professional development, quality assurance, integration with the other skills of the firm, financial performance and the development of the skills and resource base of the national practice.

Terry has held the positions of Vice President of the South Australian division of the (then) RAPI and National Vice President of that institute. He was appointed as a Commissioner of the Environment, Resources and Development Court in 2000.

Stuart Moseley
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1989
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1991

Stuart’s career path initially took him into consulting in northern Adelaide and then in Canberra before moving to Sydney to work for the New South Wales Government, where he had a key role in preparing the first planning strategy to encompass greater metropolitan Sydney.

Stuart moved to the Commonwealth Government in 1995 to manage Better Cities Mark II and other programs in the western Sydney region. When the Commonwealth terminated its urban programs immediately following the 1996 elections, Stuart returned to Adelaide to take up a senior role with Planning SA, where he was responsible for Development Plans and planning legislation. Highlights included the introduction of the first Development Assessment Panels and new tree-protection regulations.

Since 2001 Stuart has worked for the Adelaide City Council, first heading up the Council’s land use and built form planning and development assessment functions, before being promoted to the position of General Manager Policy and Strategy. In this role, Stuart was responsible for the full range of Council’s strategic planning advice and programs spanning corporate, environmental, economic, social and land use planning and progressing a broad portfolio of strategic property projects.

The primary focus of Stuart’s roles with Council was the reinvigoration of the central area of the City of Adelaide. Key initiatives included the review of the City’s planning scheme – the most comprehensive update since the original City of Adelaide Plan, recognised by the Planning Institute with an Award for Excellence in 2006 – and the preparation and delivery of plans to boost the City’s resident, worker, student and visitor populations. This work placed the City of Adelaide on a considerably more proactive footing in terms of capturing and harnessing inbound investment, and culminated in Council being awarded the Property Council of Australia’s 2007 National Award for Local Government Leadership.

In 2006 Stuart was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the City of Adelaide and took oversight of the review of the Council’s structure and the transition to office of a new and enlarged elected Council body.

In September 2008 Stuart left the Council to take up a role as a Principal in the leading Adelaide development consulting firm Connor Holmes. He is looking forward to shaping development outcomes from the private sector perspective in this new role.

Bryan Moulds
Bachelor of Arts (Planning) 1985

Bryan graduated in 1985 as a mature age student, and is currently the Chief Development Officer of Masonic Homes Limited in SA and NT. In that role he provides leadership, management and strategic direction to Masonic Homes’ major property and development asset portfolio that includes over 600 independent living units, and aged care homes spread over eight sites in Adelaide and Darwin, with an asset value approaching $200M, and housing over 1 000 residents, and containing an expanding development and acquisition pipeline.

Prior to joining Masonic Homes in 2007, Bryan was the National Executive Director of Sustainable Growth and SA Executive Director of the nation’s peak property industry body, the Property Council of Australia. In that capacity over 11 years from 1996-2007, Bryan was responsible for managing and coordinating the Property Council’s national advocacy campaigns on integrated strategic urban policy for Australia’s cities, regions and towns. Bryan provided the local and national leadership within the Property Council for developing its campaigns on better planning policy and development assessment, integrated economic development and infrastructure policies, governance reform, and its focus on sustainability and liveability outcomes from the built environment.

Previously Bryan spent 26 years in a variety of government agencies holding senior and executive positions in central agencies, such as Premier and Cabinet and Treasury, and was particularly involved in complex planning and facilitation of major urban projects. From 1994-96 Bryan was the Project Director for the Port Adelaide Waterfront Redevelopment Project, responsible for the project’s management and development, in particular for the drafting of a the master planning strategy for the waterfront redevelopment. That master plan became the foundation of the later development occurring within the inner harbour.

From 1992-94 Bryan was seconded by the Premier and Treasurer as a Chief Project Officer to the collapsed State Bank as part of the government rescue actions, having had the oversight for development and implementation of work-out strategies for non-performing assets within the portfolio. This included the provision of an in-house specialist resource providing advice and services on planning and development issues and opportunities across the range of GAMD exposures; and the direct management responsibility for a range of specific property based assets legally controlled (ranging from minimum $5m to $200m) with complex commercial property exposures and a diversity of planning and development issues and potentials.

From 1986 to 1992 Bryan was the Executive Officer, State Development Executive and Principal Project Officer, Special Projects Unit Department of Premier and Cabinet. In those roles he coordinated a wide series of major and complex private and public projects, ranging from marina and resort projects through urban renewal and commercial investment attraction throughout the state. Bryan also provided detailed comment to Cabinet and the Premier on complex projects and planning and environmental policy.

From 1984 to 1986 Bryan was the Executive Secretary, to the then City of Adelaide Planning Commission, where he provided direct advice on policy to Ministers and executive staff of Government Departments, and representatives of the Adelaide City Council on policy and planning strategies and development assessment on major projects in the CBD.

Bryan is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the History Trust of South Australia, and is, or has been, a member of a number of public advisory bodies around Australia particularly focussed on urban policy and development and sustainability. He also has wide experience of providing lectures at tertiary institutions and public speaking engagements. Bryan also owns a specialist private consultancy practice - strategies@bm, and has tertiary technical qualifications civil engineering.

Mark Parnell
Master of Regional and Urban Planning 1998

When I completed my Masters degree I had no clear idea where it would lead. I was working at the time as a lawyer with the Environmental Defenders Office – a free Community Legal Centre specialising in public interest environmental law. A majority of the clients who came to the EDO sought help with planning issues. Often, they only needed pretty basic advice. “Who makes the decision; on what grounds; and what can I do if I don’t like the result?” Other clients needed help with representation on matters such as halting land clearing or preventing pollution.

Unlike my colleagues in private legal practice, I only took on the clients whose cases (or causes) had a public interest element. Best of all, when the case was finished, there was no account to collect – just the warm inner glow of helping. Unlike most planners, I didn’t have to grapple with the tedium of carports, retaining walls or front set-backs.

After ten years of very limited success in trying to apply the law to protect the environment, I decided to seek a role in the place where they make the laws. One catalyst for this was the fact that whenever we had a win in Court on planning grounds, the government would simply step in and change the law. This is what happened in 1999 when I led the EDO team to win SA’s then longest ever planning case – over tuna feed lots in the sea near Port Lincoln. Our win lasted only a week before the Government passed special Regulations to prevent public participation (including appeals) over most aquaculture.

So, I put my hand up for party pre-selection and in March 2006, I took my spot as the first Green elected to the SA Parliament.

What I’ve found in Parliament is that most MPs have only a very limited understanding of planning. That means that whenever the Development Act comes up for debate (as it has about 5 times in the last 3 years), I’m generally the one with the most to say and the most amendments to propose. Usually, Labor and Liberal combine to defeat any measures aimed at opening up the planning system to greater scrutiny, accountability or public participation. Then, the very MPs who voted against me come to me privately to complain about how their constituents have no rights to challenge inappropriate development. Ho Hum.

As far as I know, I’m the only State MP with any formal qualifications in planning. This has also proved useful in my role on the Parliamentary Environment Resources and Development Committee. This is the standing committee that has oversight of the planning system and has the power to recommend disallowance of Development Plan Amendments. Unfortunately, this is another case of illusory powers, since the Committee only gets involved after planning changes have already been gazetted and come into effect. Nevertheless, I continue to put the case for the environment to get equal billing with the economy.

Overall, I’d like to think that my education in planning adds to the quality of the debate in Parliament, but so far, as a party of one, it hasn’t necessarily improved the quality of decision-making. That may have to wait for the next election or two.

Barry Parsons
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1976
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980
Graduate Diploma in Environmental Planning 1983

Barry Parsons commenced his career in planning in April 1974, taking a position in the City Planner’s Department of the Adelaide City Council while completing his third year of undergraduate studies on a part time basis. His duties during almost four years at Adelaide City included development assessment, and assisting with the implementation of specific projects identified in the City of Adelaide Plan.

In late 1977 Barry moved to the District Council (later the City of) Munno Para. At that time Munno Para was the largest Council in metropolitan Adelaide, containing a diverse mix of rural and urban land uses. Initially the senior planner, Barry was promoted in 1984 to the Council’s senior management team as Development Services Manager. In this role he managed a diverse department carrying out planning, community service, library, health, building and inspectorial functions. During this time he received the inaugural Local Government Planners Association award for a significant contribution to planning, after he represented that organisation on the Premier’s ‘2020 Vision’ reference group.

Barry was appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of Munno Para Council in late 1996, and oversaw the Council’s operations in the lead up to amalgamation with the City of Elizabeth in 1997. Following the amalgamation he left Local Government for a short time, working as a planning consultant with Masterplan SA Pty Ltd.

In mid-1998 Barry was invited to return to Local Government as the Manager of City Development at the City of Tea Tree Gully. During his six years with that Council he was responsible for the delivery of development assessment and other statutory services, plus the development of policy on a range of issues including the environment, planning, and economic development. He was also executive officer of the Council’s Development Assessment Panel.

In 2004 Barry was seconded to the Local Government Association for 12 months, to work on Local Government’s response to South Australia’s Strategic Plan. At the end of this secondment he took up a position as the LGA’s Manager of Member Services and Strategic Projects. In this position his responsibilities include working as executive officer to the Metropolitan Local Government Group, comprising the Mayors and CEO’s of all metropolitan Councils.

Greg Perkin
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1971
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

In January 1971,the year Greg graduated with a Diploma in Technology in Planning, He was advised by telegram of a job offer from the State Plumbing Office. The position was in fact in the State Planning Office (SASPO) under the leadership of Stuart Hart, the Director of Planning. Greg’s introduction to work as a Planner included assisting Councils to prepare planning regulations, planning for the Heysen Trail, preparing regional plans, removing billboards from state highways and preparing plans for parks.

After two and a half years he was poached by the City of Adelaide. Within a year he advanced to a Senior Planner role and was managing the Development Assessment function of the Capital City. He became a Corporate Member of RAPI and was elected to the RAPI (SA Division) Board but declined because he was moving to New Zealand to work as a Planning Consultant.

Working in a different planning system enabled Greg to gain greater insight into the nature and possibilities of planning. In NZ he prepared district planning schemes, structure plans for urban growth, and was involved in planning for waste, preparing environmental impact studies for hydro-electric schemes and catchment schemes and developing planning proposals for private developers and councils. He became a Member of the NZ Planning Institute

On returning to SA Greg worked for a short term with the late Brian Turner as a planning consultant and then took on the role of City Planner for the City of Whyalla. He prepared the city’s first strategic and corporate plans and he appeared before the Planning Appeal Board as both an advocate and expert witness. His New Zealand experience was used in developing the City of Whyalla Planning Regulations-Development Control which were gazetted after he left the Council on 13 May 1982.These were the only council developed planning regulations gazetted in the state.

In 1981 Greg became the first and for some time, only planner at the City of Mitcham where he dealt with all development applications and prepared development plans. He gained a Graduate Diploma in Public Sector Management and served on the RAPI (SA Division) Board. In 1984 Greg accepted a director level role with the City of Tea Tree Gully, overseeing planning and community services and urban growth. Over time he also became involved as project manager for the development of major council facilities. While on leave Greg participated in an AusAid project that developed Construction (Planning and Building) Laws for Vietnam. He completed an MBA and Diploma in Local Government Administration and in 1996 was asked by council to take on the role of Chief Executive Officer. Greg completed a Diploma in Project Management, became a Certified Practicing Planner, a Fellow of Local Government Managers of Australia and served as a Board member of the LGMA (SA Division).

In his role as CEO Greg continued to be involved in Planning and Urban Management issues and recently conceived a City Making Project to holistically review and re-structure the City to address the challenges of the future. He has recently accepted a new challenge as City Manager of the City of Port Augusta.

Zoe Pfeiffer
Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning 2007

I graduated in March 2007 with a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours-Environmental Planning) from the University of South Australia. In 2004, whilst at uni, I was fortunate to be involved in student life on campus through my role as President of the Organisation of Planning Students. This enabled me to work with a diverse range of planning students and staff, as well as the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA)-South Australian Division.

In 2005 I became a committee member of the South Australian Young Planners. This role led to a number of unique opportunities within in the planning industries including organising networking sessions, participating in the state conference and helping organising the ‘building your career’ seminars aimed at aiding young planners enter the workforce with practice skills. During my time at university I was also able to represent the student body as an undergraduate student representative on the Planning Academic Advisory Board.

In my final year of study (2006) I gained employment as a cadet Development Assessment Officer at the Adelaide City Council. In this role I gained experience in how to assess a development application against the Development Plan, how to negotiate with developers, architects and the general public as well as learn how to understand and interpret various state and local policies-whilst trying to achieve high quality developments.

In January 2007 I gained full time employment with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield as a Development Assessment Officer-Planning. Through this role I have been able to deal with a diverse range of issues ranging from residential development to large scale industrial and commercial projects. Working in Development Assessment has enabled me to view, at the ‘grass roots’ level’, how decisions affect a community and how the community functions. It has also led to working with a wide range of social demographics and backgrounds.

My involvement in both the University and the Planning Institute of South Australia opened many doors for me prior to graduating in 2007; this included chairing sessions of PIA state conferences, talking to Rotary and similar organisations as well as school groups about ‘what planning is’ and ‘where planning as a career can lead. I also co-hosted the 2008 South Australian Planning Institute Award Night and was a judge of the student award category.

My career is challenging, interesting and extremely satisfying and I look forward to helping create a more sustainable built environment.

Kirsten Potoczky
Master of Urban and Regional Planning 2008

Kirsten commenced study in town planning after returning from a hiatus overseas during a decade working as a public health professional. Although there had been so many interesting sounding jobs advertised in Europe in ‘urban regeneration’, she didn’t have the correct qualifications so she returned home and transferred her enrolment in architecture to town planning. The reaction of her colleagues at the time was mostly bemusement; however she made her decision based on the fact that legislation governing town planning and public health arose at the same time as a result of the industrial revolution. Town planning legislation augmented public health measures at that time to prevent poor sanitation, overcrowding and vermin which led to large sections of the population falling ill unnecessarily.

Since graduating with a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, Kirsten has been able to turn her attention to the role of town planning and the ‘unnecessary’ epidemics of the 21st Century; chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, often associated with excess weight. Providing a built form which supports physical activity and allows people to swap sedentary time (such as driving) for regular physical activity could help improve health outcomes – particularly in South Australia with its ageing population.

Kirsten is now employed as a project officer for the South Australian Active Living Coalition, a group of government departments with goals towards improving built environment, health and/or physical activity, along with important non-government organisations such as the Heart Foundation, PIA and the Cancer Council. She is participating in a housing development that incorporates the Heart Foundation’s Healthy by Design: a planners’ guide to environments for active living, which is based on best available evidence on urban design principles to support active living.

Since gaining her planning qualification, Kirsten has benefited by expanding the number of career choices she can make and hasn’t had to leave her experience in public health and natural resources management behind – in fact it’s been a great bonus. She recommends a planning qualification to anyone who is passionate about the built environment, even if they’ve been wearing another ‘hat’ for years – chances are there will be some way to combine both backgrounds successfully into a satisfying career.

Bruce Rippin
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1977
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981

Bruce worked in local government for some 10 years after graduation and held various senior planning and management positions with several local government authorities. Thereafter he embarked upon a successful career in the development industry. Bruce spent 14 years with the Delfin Property Group and Delfin Lend Lease in senior positions and was centrally involved in the development of West Lakes, Golden Grove and Mawson Lakes, as well, as national general manager, in major Delfin projects in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

From 2003-2004 Bruce was General Manager (SA) of AV Jennings, having responsibility for the operation of one of South Australia’s most significant housing and development businesses employing in excess of 70 staff and with an annual turnover of $85m and profits in excess of $12m annually. Projects for which he was responsible during this time included the Northgate Stage 2 urban development, the Springbank Waters Joint Venture and numerous smaller infill housing projects. Bruce then joined Multiplex as General Manager/ Director of the South Australian Developments business and was responsible for that company’s involvement in projects including the $1.5billion Newport Quays Redevelopment Project at Port Adelaide and the Balfours/ Bus Station Project in the Adelaide CBD. Recently Bruce had a short stint with Planning SA and is now with Hassell Planners.

Sandy Rix
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1976 Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1983

Sandy Rix is a planner and urban economist from the vintage 1972 year of students. Consequently he has long experience from campaigns in both the private and public sectors. He worked as a consultant for many years in policy and strategic areas with Brian Turner and Geof Bone, Hassell, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Jensen Planning and Design. He values highly the years spent working in local government at Norwood with ‘planner-architects’ Geoff Walker, Alan Faunt and Brian Polomka where his interest in urban design became a passion. He was General Manager of an entrepreneurial vineyard venture for several years. More recently he has led key urban design and development projects including the North Terrace Redevelopment for State and City Council and the Playford North Urban Regeneration Project. He has worked mainly in Adelaide with a 3 year stint in London where he went back to post graduate study in urban planning and economics at the London School of Economics

Currently, Sandy is a General Manager at the Land Management Corporation, responsible for directing the planning and preparation for development of the Clipsal Site and Woodville Station ‘TOD/infill developments’. He also oversees the structure planning and marketing of government residential land releases. He believes that (public sector) planning’s historic pivotal role in South Australia’s future must continue. Sandy also chairs the Planning Programs Advisory Committee at the University of South Australia.

Alan Rumsby
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

Alan first worked as a Planner at the State Planning Office (subsequently the Department of Environment and Planning) as a Project Planner and then as Sector Manager, Northern Metropolitan Adelaide. Between 1984 and 1987 he served as a Senior Planner with the South Australian Housing Trust, working on a number of large housing estate projects at Munno Para, Pooraka and Noarlunga Downs, as well as convening the collaborative State / Local Government Strategic Planning Review of the Smithfield urban areas, and the Mitchell Park urban renewal project.

He has since worked in private practices, firstly as a Senior Planner in the employ of Bone & Tonkin Planners up until 1997, and then as Manager of Colliers Jardine Planning Consultants until 1999 since which time he has been a Principal at Nolan Rumsby Planners.

Alan has worked in a broad range of planning fields including development assessment, expert evidence, concept project site development and land division design work, and policy and strategic planning. He has also worked on various projects from a marina at Sellicks Beach, to wind farms at Port Victoria and Yankalilla, wineries, piggeries, aquaculture, and also major industrial projects, as well as working extensively in the educational fields and for the retirement housing sector for major local and interstate players. Alan has also been employed in major policy and strategic planning for many Council’s notably the Cities of Unley, Victor Harbor and Playford, and throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s in the Riverland, South East and at Port Pirie.

Alan considers his working life to be (mainly) most satisfying and rewarding, particularly the work undertaken in collaboration with, and the support of, valued clients and colleagues/sub-consultants; and in realising creative and good quality design development and policy solutions.

Mark Separovic
Master of Urban and Regional Planning 2004

Mark is an architect and a planner with over 20 years experience in a broad range of urban design, architectural, planning and landscape projects. He has specific skills in master planning, concept design, detailed design, documentation, project management and graphic presentation. He also has specialist skills in sustainable urban design guidelines, medium density and low cost housing, community neighbourhood centres, land divisions and transport orientated developments (TODs).

As demonstrated on a number of recent projects including the Victoria Square Ideas Competition, Glenelg Tramline Extension, Aquacity Masterplan and Cheltenham Racecourse and Environs Precinct Masterplan, Mark has been keen to develop innovative and creative Sustainable Urban Design techniques that promote sustainable community outcomes.

Richard Sliuzas
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1979

In 1979 Richard obtained a fellowship from the Netherlands Ministry of Science and Education that enabled him to participate in a course in Urban Surveys at the International Institute for Geo-Information Sciences and Earth Observation (ITC) in the Netherlands. This course was focused on the use of aerial photography in urban data acquisition for cities in developing countries. It also provided his first introduction to the use of computers in urban geo-data processing and analysis (what is now known as GIS).

Richard’s professional career began in Adelaide, Australia. After returning from studies in the Netherlands he worked in various capacities: at the City of Unley on an inventory of recreation resources and planning for pedestrians and cyclists; at Brian Turner and Associates he was employed as a planning officer involved in various types of land use surveys, a location study for new petrol filling stations and an analysis of car parking at Tea Tree Plaza centre using aerial photographs. In 1981, Richard joined the District Council of Stirling as a town planning officer where his duties were in development control and the preparation of a local heritage survey of properties in the District. Richard left Australia to return to work at ITC in the Netherlands in December 1983. While working as a research assistant, he completed an MSc in Urban Survey and Human Settlements Analysis at ITC in 1988. In 2004 he obtained his PhD from the Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Utrecht University, for his research entitled “Managing Informal Settlements: a study using Geographic Information Technology in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania”.

Since joining ITC he has held various positions in research and education and is currently Associate Professor in Urban Planning within the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geoinformation Management. In addition to teaching and research at the ITC he is involved in numerous international activities, including projects in Egypt, Malawi, Vietnam and Iraq.

John Stimson
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1987

John completed his Graduate Diploma at the SA Institute of Technology in 1987 following a Bachelor of Arts degree at Flinders University. He later completed a Masters of Applied Science in Project Management at the University of South Australia in 1994

Whilst John was completing his post grad planning course he was employed by the City of Enfield as a Planning Inspector and then as a Planning Officer working under Paul Davos. He was involved a development assessment, planning inspectorial duties and some policy work. In 1988 John shifted to the City of Salisbury as a Planning Officer – Policy where he undertook the preparation of Supplementary Development Plans working under Paul Johnson and Terry Mosel. For a 7 month period in 1991 he was seconded to the Community Services Department where he was Community Development Coordinator responsible for services such as aged care working under Frank Wyatt .

In 1992 John moved to the City of Munno Para as a Senior Planner and Economic Development Officer where he was responsible for development assessment and planning policy under Barry Parsons. He project managed the Jo Gapper Building which housed Centrelink and Council staff. Under the direction of the CEO – Joe Collins – he prepared the first Strategic Plan for the Council. John also assisted the CEO with project managing a joint venture land division project in Craigmore. Working in these roles gave John greater exposure to the development industry and strategic planning.

In 1994 John was employed by Hassell Planning Consultants which became Hassell a year later. Projects he was involved with in Adelaide included the planning and implementation design of Regent Gardens (Oakden); Council amalgamation studies on Yorke Peninsula; planning services for Vodafone’s mobile phone infrastructure in SA and NT; and preparation of an economic, environmental and social impact assessment for the Woolworths proposal at Gawler.

In 1996 John commenced working on international projects with the Manila Bay Reclamation Master Plan (850ha) for Renong (Malaysian). In July 1997 John’s family transferred to the Philippines with Hassell primarily working on the Philippine Regional Municipal Development Project (AusAID funded) with SAGRIC. The project involved training local government staff in six cities and overseeing preparation of Strategic Plans for the next 20 years growth of their cities. Work for the private sector included some very substantial sites, including City of Puerto Princesa Strategic Plan; C6 Tollway Route Selection Study; Fort Bonifacio Streetscape and Parks Design (200ha); Veterans Medical Centre Redevelopment Master Plan; Philexcel Industrial Master Plan (50ha); Calamba Master Plan (600ha)

Returning to Adelaide in 2000 John was employed by Connor Holmes and became a Director in 2001. The company has grown from 3 people then to 25 in 2008. Some of the key projects John has undertaken include AAPT mobile phone infrastructure rollout across Australia; Seaford Meadows Master Plan for Land SA; Ten retirement villages for Lifestyle SA; Playford North and Blakeview Master Plans for LMC; The Balconies Estate at Darlington land division for LMC; The Settlement PAR and Master Plan at Golden Grove for Land SA; Salisbury North Nursing Home for Port Adelaide Central Mission (project manager); Industrial Land Strategy for Metropolitan Adelaide for Department of Business Manufacturing and Trade ;Bulky Goods PAR at Mile End for City of West Torrens. John has also been actively involved in committees for the PCA, UDIA, HIA and AIUS and is currently (2008) helping to organise the ACNU conference to be held in Adelaide in 2010.

John Tagliaferri
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1982

Following graduation in 1981 from the then South Australian Institute of Technology John ventured to Sydney where he eventually gained employment as an Assistant Town Planner with Warringah Shire Council, thanks in large part to a reference from his mentor and lecturer, Dr Raymond Bunker. He returned to Adelaide in 1984 and, following a brief stint at Urban and Environmental Planning Group, left Australian shores to travel within Asia and Europe for a year or so.

Upon returning to Australia, and somewhat disenchanted with the planning profession, John pursued a number of other 'careers' including carpentry, furniture restoration, handyman and wooden toy making prior to being enticed back to the consultancy field. For the following 14 years John worked for a variety of planning consultancies including Hames Sharley, Hassell, Planning Advisory Services and Jensen Planning and Design.

During this period John pursued his personal interest in sustainable design and completed an intensive course in Permaculture Design. One of the lecturers was the inspirational David Holmgren who, along with Bill Mollison, developed the concept of Permaculture. Another highlight of this period was his involvement in the research and preparation of the Federal Government funded AMCORD initiatives over a two year period.

Seeking a change from the demands of consultancy work John joined Planning SA in late 1998 where he worked in the State Policy Branch, Urban Design Unit and Urban Projects Unit over a three year period. It was during this period that he returned to northern India to participate as a volunteer under the auspices of the International Society for Ecology and Culture Farm Project in the fairly remote Himalayan region of Ladakh. It was in Ladakh that he gained a deeper understanding of the notions of sustainable living and conserver cultures and the impacts of globalisation.

John left the public sector in 2002 and commenced his own planning and urban design practice until accepting a position with the Adelaide City Council in 2004, where he was primarily responsible for preparing an urban design strategy for the City. He soon returned to his private practice in 2005 and continued to provide planning policy, development and design advice to private and public clients prior to re-joining Jensen Planning and Design in late 2006.

He continues to try and fuse his personal ethics with his professional life and is motivated by the ideas of community, sustainability and public interest.

Debra Taylor
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1987

Debra completed a Bachelor of Social Science in 1983 in New Zealand (Majoring in Sociology and Psychology). An interest in Social Impact Assessment led to a position as a Natural Resource Management Policy Planner with the NZ Government.

In 1986 Debra moved across the Tasman and undertook the Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning and at the same time, set up her own planning consultancy working mainly in the areas of social planning and impact assessment. Her Dissertation for the GDRUP focussed on the Major Project process in Australia and New Zealand and the role of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in planning.

A contract in 1989 with Office of Local Government on a project focusing on economic/employment development arrangements between the three tiers of Government led to her accepting a position as Planner with the South Australian Urban Land Trust. Her role included developing land release programs and community plans for major residential development areas such as Munno Parra and Woodcroft and undertaking research on residential preferences.

In 1993 Debra moved to the Department of Environment and Planning (now Planning SA) and later took a position as Chief Project Officer responsible for preparing Ministerial Plan Amendments for major projects such as; the MFP, East End redevelopment area, Mile End projects, the Gepps Cross site and Colonel Light Gardens State Heritage Area.

Her work has also involved developing planning policy for the whole of the State - to protect the quality of the state’s waters and coastal areas - and policies for the Mount Lofty Ranges to enhance economic development and protect key environmental assets.

In addition she was responsible for preparing Planning Bulletins for Sustainable Tourism (Awarded a Commendation by PIA in 2003) and Planning for Heritage.

In 2003 Debra moved to the Strategic Planning area of Planning SA and worked on all aspects of the Metropolitan Planning Strategy (approved in 2006). This was a comprehensive review to ensure an integrated approach to planning for the Metropolitan area. She is now responsible for the Annual Report on the Planning Strategy, providing input on climate change and sustainability aspects of the 2009 review of the Greater Adelaide Planning Strategy and implementation of the State Government Regions adopted in December 2006 - to enhance the collaborative planning capacity of agencies and the State.

Debra’s main interests now are in furthering strategic planning and she has a keen interest in urban design and planning history.

Raelene Telfer
Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning 2005

The Development Plan Review at Holdfast Bay inspired Raelene to study and complete my Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning. Planning in built form was not a discipline familiar to her when she originally gained my arts, teaching and accounting qualifications. Local governments and community group participation have focused her energies over the last fifteen years. Urban planning decisions have been an intrinsic and an invaluable part of Raelene’s local government and community roles. Over twelve years she sat on Development Assessment Panels of Glenelg, Holdfast Bay and Marion Councils, making decisions against relevant Development Assessment Plans on height, setback, amenity and character of building applications.

Before undertaking her graduate planning studies Raelene and her partner had retrofitted a house to include low energy and water-saving considerations, and had established an endemic, indigenous garden of plants from the neighbourhood. Raelene now chairs the Greater Adelaide Region Murray Darling Association, working towards water sharing and stewardship for the entire Murray Darling Basin.

The South Australian Settlement Planning Committee as representative of local government is currently another focus. Raelene’s prior law subjects assisted her in talking to the Department of Immigration. Her social planning studies led to further understandings in her work with detained refugees at Baxter Detention Centre, and then her energies focused on the settlement in Adelaide of many Iranians with dealings with Housing SA and other agencies.

Having learnt about transit-oriented design in her planning course, Raelene became the Marion Council representative on the Community Consultative Group for the Oaklands Station upgrade. This network then led to her current appointment as State Local Government Representative on the State Level Crossing Rail Safety Committee looking at improving driving behaviours of motorists.

The City of Marion has been planning the State Aquatic Centre over the last fifteen years. Building is now to begin at the Domain in a partnership of Candetti builders, Macquarie Bank, Macquarie Recreation and Leisure, the South Australian Government, with financial support from the City of Marion and the Commonwealth Government. This project has grown to include a GP Plus, proactive Medical Centre and a plaza to create a heart for City of Marion activities. All the built form language and principles that Raelene studied, both environmental and sustainable, transit-oriented and access designs, are now being applied in these developments.

Simon Tonkin
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

Simon Tonkin is the Senior Principal of MasterPlan SA Pty Ltd (formerly Brian Turner and Associates, and Bone and Tonkin Planners Pty Ltd). His experience since graduation has included professional employment with BC Tonkin and Associates, Consulting Engineers, for a short period on land use matters, before joining the Monarto Development Commission as Planning Officer under the guidance of Alan Hutchings, one of Adelaide’s foremost planners. Simon undertook planning research, design projects, including recreation planning, and rural subdivision which incorporated research and preliminary designs for the Monarto Zoo. Further, he assisted in policy formulation and the preparation of management guidelines for Monarto and the adjoining region.

In 1978, Simon was appointed to the then Department of Housing, Urban and Regional Affairs, now Planning SA, assisting the Manager for the Southern Metropolitan Region. In this position he assisted in the preparation, management and integration of State Government, urban and regional development policies in the southern vales and the growth areas of Willunga and Noarlunga, now Onkaparinga. Those were the days when vines were being removed and Darry Osborne played a significant role in the protection of these valuable vales.
In February 1982 Simon was employed as a Planning Consultant by Brian Turner, a pioneer in private planning practice, and became a Director in November 1984. With name changes to Bone & Tonkin Planners then MasterPlan SA Pty Ltd, Simon became the Senior Principal and Director. MasterPlan’s influence continues to expand, and its products and service are acknowledged as exemplary. Simon has a long and successful history providing independent professional advice to a range of clients in the private and public sector. These include Local, State and Federal Governments, and national and international based businesses in the development, manufacturing, retail and service sectors.

Major clients include those providing essential services to our communities, and the longstanding, continuing relationship maintained by Simon is testament to his and the firm’s capabilities. Well recognised clients include Westfield, BP, SA Water and Macquarie Goodman, as well as numerous private sector development clients based in Adelaide.

Development clients currently involved in the establishment of significant new developments include the Cape Jaffa Development Company, Southern Waste, Northcape Marion Bay, together with several major developments in the city and metropolitan area. The Cape Jaffa EIS has been acknowledged as a work of the highest quality and is referred to others as a guide.

Simon has had valuable experience as a mediator and arbiter, and has appeared before the Environment, Resources and Development Court, the Licensing Court and numerous other authorities and decision making bodies as an expert witness and advisor. He is also well known to local authorities and key State agencies, including the Development Assessment Commission, the EPA and SA Water amongst others.

Over the years, Simon has had considerable experience in Strategic Planning and the preparation of major project documentation, Development Plan Amendments and other statutory documentation, and has a significant involvement with industrial land development, residential, multifunction marinas and waste management projects. Simon is also regularly involved with statutory and informal consultation processes as part of Section 30 Reviews, Development Plan Amendments and major developments.

Simon is as passionate today about the business as he has always been and the demand for planners extends beyond South Australia, with services provided interstate and a new office opening in Darwin in January 2009.

Greg Tucker
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1979
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1981
Graduate Diploma in Environmental Planning 1983

Greg commenced his planning employment as the first Planner for the then City of Kensington and Norwood in 1970 whilst studying part-time to gain a Diploma in Technology in Planning. In 1979 he accepted the position as the first Planner for the then District Council of Angaston where he continued his part-time studies to gain a Bachelor of Arts in Planning, a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Planning and a Graduate Diploma in Recreation.

In the mid/late 1980’s whilst still undertaking his many duties for the District Council of Angaston, Greg was seconded to the role of Executive Officer for the Mount Lofty Ranges Local Government Consultative and Management Committees that helped to provide a Local Government perspective to the State Government which was at that time, reviewing the policies for the future development of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Greg was again seconded, this time to the role of Co-Ordinator for the Barossa Valley Review. That Review was an initiative of the Councils of the Barossa Valley and, jointly with the State Government, was responsible for the development of an extensive policy framework for the region. Many of those policies are still in place and have resulted in the conservation of the area of State and National significance as a viticultural, wine producing and tourism area, whilst still allowing some controlled non-rural development in selected areas, with urban development occurring within defined town boundaries.

In 1996, Greg left Local Government to become a Planning Consultant with an Adelaide based International Consultancy. In 1998, Greg returned to Local Government as Manager of Environmental Services at Light Regional Council.

In late 1999, Greg established his own Town Planning Consultancy based in the Barossa Valley. Since that time he has provided advice to State and Local Government Departments and Agencies as well as numerous businesses and private individuals. He has also served as Executive Officer of the Planning Education Foundation. Some of the roles that Greg has undertaken include Project Manager for the preparation of Action Plans for the Outer Metropolitan Region of Adelaide and for the introduction of Water Catchment provisions in the Development Plans for the Cities of Tea Tree Gully, Salisbury and Playford together with the District Council of Mallala, Light Regional Council and The Barossa Council. Advice to businesses and private individuals has related to a range of activities including strategic planning and land uses for such activities as vineyards, wineries, intensive animal keeping, offices, retail, motor showrooms, dwellings and non-complying forms of development. Greg continues his involvement with Local Government through providing in-house support in development assessment with a number of Councils, which also enables him to continue his role as a mentor to young(er) planners.

Throughout his career, Greg has been actively involved as a Member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Board of Governors of the Planning Education Foundation. He has also been involved in the establishment and conduct of the SA Local Government Planners, Barossa Planners and the Country Planning Officers Group. As a result of his commitment to planning, Greg was elevated to Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia in 1996, one of the first Fellows based outside a Metropolitan area.

Greg Vincent
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1992
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1993

Greg commenced employment in the planning profession with the Adelaide City Council in 1993 where he held several development assessment roles from Technical Officer of Applications to Senior Planner over five and half years until 1999. Greg spent two years as a Senior Planner under the employ of Hassell before returning to Local Government as the Manger of Development Assessment at the City of Burnside in 2002 and 2003.

In his career as a Planner focussing on statutory planning, he has provided a wide range of independent and professional planning and development advice to private clients, Local Government and State Government agencies throughout South Australia and has recently undertaken work for clients interstate. In his various roles across his career Greg has developed expertise in residential infill, aged accommodation, industrial, large scale retail and office development.

In 2003 Greg joined the employ of MasterPlan SA as a Town Planning Consultant and in 2008 became a joint Director of the firm. Throughout Greg’s professional career he has contributed to industry through his involvement with various professional organisations including sitting as a member on the Executive Committee (SA), Planning Institute of Australia, member of the Residential Committee, Property Council of Australia, 2006 and is currently the Chair – Planning Committee, Property Council of Australia, 2008.

Doug Wallace
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1972
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

Doug commenced fulltime employment with state government planning agency in January 1972 as a graduate from a cadetship program (Stuart Hart was the Director of Planning at that time). His role as a senior planner involved development assessment, statutory planning and policy development including the preparation of ‘zoning Regulations’ for metropolitan councils (now Development Plans), administration of the Hills Face Zone and Interim Development Control for the Monarto corridor and the Northern Spencer Gulf region.

During 1976-77 Doug worked in New Zealand for a large consulting firm, Murray North and Partners, as part of an SA government exchange program, and was based in Rotorua. He provided consulting advice on commercial and residential development, residential subdivision and local government policy in areas such as Lake Taupo, Hamilton and the east coast settlements.

Six months after his return to state government from New Zealand Doug commenced with Neil Wallman Planners in late 1977 as an associate and planning manager, providing private sector, government and local government policy, statutory and development advice for areas including Victor Harbor, Port Augusta and Barossa.

In 1980 Doug Wallace and Associates was established to provide policy, strategic, special studies and development advisory services to local government, government and the private sector. This also included the establishment of an office in the NT. Key studies included project design and management of The Marina Hindmarsh Island and bridge EIS, preparation of the Yorke Peninsula Coastal Management Plan, the Belair Recreation Park Management Plan and the Palmerston Parking and Centre Strategy.

In 1987 Doug Wallace and associates merged with Pak Poy ( formerly PPK and now PB) to develop urban and regional planning as an integrated part of the company’s engineering business. Doug was the national manager for planning and was heavily involved with the management of large EIS and studies demanding large multi skilled teams such as the Second Sydney Airport EIS, the MFP EIS, Southern Expressway and the Glenelg Foreshore EIS.

In 1998 Doug established QED Pty Ltd (with 3 other directors) creating a medium sized consultancy seeking to integrate urban and regional planning, traffic and transport planning, urban design, landscape architecture, environmental studies and consultation services. Doug has been and continues to be deeply involved with a diverse range of projects and studies including large transport related infrastructure projects, EIS preparation, significant and ‘major development’, projects and studies. Doug has been managing director for 8 years and remains the Chairman of the company.

Projects of significance have included project managing the Northern Adelaide and Barossa Catchment Water Management Plan, project managing the Environmental Report for the Northern Expressway, and project management of the DSTO and Edinburgh RAAF base Master Plan for Defence. Other projects and studies as project manager or strategic adviser have included Environmental Impact Statements for infrastructure such as roads, light rail and airports; master planning including marina related waterfront developments; high rise buildings; waste depots, wind farms; transit oriented development schemes, retail and related tourist developments, industrial development , tourism, centre and other studies; and Development Plan investigations. Doug was State President of PIA from 1994-1996 and Presiding Member of the Development Assessment Commission from 1996 to 2002 and Convenor of the 2003 PIA National Congress in Adelaide.

Sandy Wilkinson
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1989

Sandy commenced his planning degree at the SA Institute of Technology (now UniSA) in 1986 and upon graduating went on to study Architecture at the University of Adelaide. Having worked with Ron Danvers Architects as a student, upon completing Architecture with Honours in Conservation, Sandy was approached by Iris Iwanicki at the Adelaide City Council to be their Local Heritage Planner in Development Assessment at the time of introduction of the Townscape initiative.

After some 51/2 years in this role at the City Council Sandy decided it was time to pursue his career in architecture, but continued his association with the City Council as an in-house and later external, Consultant Heritage Adviser, whilst he worked in an architectural practice before founding his own practice, Alexander Wilkinson Design Pty Ltd in 1999.

Alexander Wilkinson Design: design + planning by design, is a small design practice specialising in private residential design, property development, planning, urban design and heritage. The subtitle conveys Sandy’s design led approach to planning solutions.

Sandy is most known for heritage, however contemporary blending of the old and the new is his greatest passion. His concern and interest in heritage and city development motivated him to run and be elected to the Adelaide City Council in 2007 with a platform and now mandate for proper heritage protection and better urban design of our city. Sandy is on the Adelaide City Development Assessment Panel (DAP) and has precipitated a comprehensive heritage listing process in the City and the “green rate” for environmental initiatives of Council.

Sandy has worked with various developers, Councils and private clients, and acted as a heritage/urban design expert witness in the Environment Resources and Development (ERD) Court on every side of the fence.

Sandy has long been community spirited and been on the Council and Jury of the Civic Trust and is on the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee and Council of the National Trust SA and has been a member of the RAIA since his graduation from Architecture in 1993.

Sandy has been recipient to two Edmund Wright Heritage Awards in the commercial and residential categories and was one of the principal consultants in collaboration with Ruan Consulting preparing the Unley Morphology, which was recipient of the PIA Minister’s Award and was the precursor to the new Unley (City) Development Plan.

Tom Wilson Wilson

Tom Wilson was born into an Adelaide still highly dependent on its public transport system – particularly the extensive tramway system. His interest in this system developed into an interest in town planning and the important relationship between town and public transport planning.

In 1965 Tom became the first student to enrol in the first undergraduate Town Planning Course – the Associateship Diploma in Town Planning, at the SA Institute of Technology. A total of 13 students enrolled in that year – two full-time (David Conlon and Tom) and eleven part-time. The senior lecturer for the new planning course was Harry Parsons. Tom gained a studentship with the State Planning Office, and he was able to work for two years with some of the people who had prepared the 1962 Metropolitan Development Plan, including Stuart Hart, Doug Speechley and Roma Buttrose, and other well-known names such as Stan McCabe, Alan Hutchings, and the late Brian Turner.

Tom was keen to gain a degree, so had a drawn out exchange of correspondence with Melbourne University seeking status for the first three years of their Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning course. They finally reluctantly agreed and in 1970 Tom and his new wife Chris moved to Melbourne for a year. Tom was joined by another SAIT graduate, Geoff Wagner, in completing the fourth year of the Melbourne course and topping the class. What a shock it was to the University that some students from a lowly Institute of Technology could beat their students!

Tom returned to Adelaide and joined the then-young transport and planning consulting firm of PG Pak-Poy and Associates (now Parsons Brinckerhoff), where he was able to make the transition into public transport planning. In 1973 the opportunity arose to work for South Australia’s new Director-General of Transport, Dr Derek Scrafton. This came at an opportune time as the early 1970s saw the defeat of the MATS Plan for Freeways and an increased Government interest in public transport. At the age of only 28 Tom chaired a senior government committee re-designing and integrating the bus network following the 1974 Government takeover of the old private bus network.

In 1976 Tom transferred to the new State Transport Authority (STA) which was set up to integrate the then very-uncoordinated public transport system, and Tom spent many years planning changes to the bus, train and tram network, and endeavouring to coordinate urban and public transport planning. During the 1980s he was Operations Manager for the Project Team designing the O-Bahn, still Adelaide’s most successful public transport system.

From 1994 Tom has worked in senior planning positions with the Passenger Transport Board (PTB) and its descendants the Office of Public Transport and the DTEI Public Transport Division. This period has seen public transport patronage trends reversed from an almost continuous decline since 1947 to a continuous increase since the commencement of complete private operation of the bus system in 2000. Tom has also been closely involved with the return of trams to the City centre – after seeing the old tracks ripped out in his childhood.

Michael Wohlstadt
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1987

Michael Wohlstadt began his professional life at eighteen with the Barossa Council when land use planning was only an emerging issue. He graduated at the SA Institute of Technology in 1987 with the inaugural RAPI medal for the Most Outstanding Performance by a Student. No mean feat, as he was also running a dairy farm and had established his own private practice, Planning Advisory Services in Gawler.

Planning Advisory Services developed into a planning practice that has pursued a collaborative specialist philosophy, as opposed to moving into a more corporate approach. This has allowed Michael to foster and encourage a number of successful graduate planners, including his son, Kristian, who is currently employed in the practice.

Early in his career Michael was extensively involved in planning for a number of indigenous communities both in South Australia and Western Australia. This work was extremely rewarding and gave him the opportunity to gain both personally and professionally from the people in these communities. His work on the Black Deaths in Custody Review, community plans for the Wongi community in central Western Australia and the subsequent involvement in the Maralinga and Pitjantjarra lands were all highlights of this unique period.

Planning Advisory Services has been the recipient of 16 RAPI and PIA Awards both at the State and National levels which included the inaugural RAPI Award for Excellence for Community Development in 1989.

In 1999, Michael refocused much of his attention to the Town of Gawler, where he was engaged as a consultant to provide planning, development and special project management. This role has been rewarding on many levels, mainly because of the complexity and the strategic nature of the work. In 2008 Michael accepted the position of Director, Development and Strategic Planning with the Town of Gawler. Given the expansion of Northern Adelaide, Gawler and the Barossa region, it will be a great challenge to be part of, and lead substantial planning and development projects.

Stephen Yarwood
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1993
Graduate Diploma in Regional and Urban Planning 1996

Stephen Yarwood was elected to Adelaide City Council in 2007 on a platform of revitalising Adelaide as an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous city. He has also been instrumental in Climate Change initiatives to help make ACC carbon neutral as soon as possible.

He has also tabled the first ACC apology to the Stolen Generation and has facilitated Council resolutions to redevelop Victoria Square, make green buildings mandatory and review car parking to promote car pooling/energy efficient cars and use of public transport by commuters.

His 2008 Adelaide City Council appointments include Deputy Chair of the City Strategy Committee, Member of the Capital City Committee, Member of the Adelaide High School Governing Council, Board Member of the Adelaide Convention and Tourism Authority and Member of the Public Art Roundtable. In addition to his UniSA planning qualifications, Stephen has a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies from Adelaide University.

Currently he combines his role as an Adelaide City Councillor with the position of Principal Policy Planner at the City of Playford, a rapidly growing fringe city with 75 000 additional people likely within the next 20 years. Prior to this he was a Parliamentary Research Officer to the Environment, Resources and Development Committee where he undertook analysis of issues of State significance including Ecotourism, Smart Cities and the Hills Face Zone. He also has 7 years State Government experience in Planning SA in the Development Assessment Commission, State Development Unit and Urban Programming/Open Space Units of the Strategic Planning Branch. In 1996 he had a stint in the Housing Policy Unit of the Department of Housing & Urban Development.

Stephen was a Mawson Lakes Fellowship recipient to study "Future Cities" in Japan's Science and Technology City Tsukuba and has also been a researcher or presenter on environment and development issues in the USA, New Zealand, India, the Philippines and Malaysia, as well as briefly working as an educator for AusAid in Thailand and for Adelaide University in Singapore.

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60 Years of Planning Education Alumni

Doug Wallace Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1972 Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980

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60 Years of Planning Education
Alumni

Doug Wallace
Diploma in Technology (Planning) 1972
Bachelor of Arts in Planning 1980