New team working for Victoria's coast
New members have been appointed to Victoria’s three Regional Coastal Boards to help manage the state’s much-loved coastline.
DSE spokesperson Peter Watkinson said the new board members for the Gippsland Lakes, Central and Western regional coastal boards, were appointed following a state-wide expression of interest process.
“These boards play a key role in the strategic planning and management of our coastal and marine environments and it is great to see so many skilled people willing to put their hands up to work for our coasts,” Mr Watkinson said.
“The new chairs of the three regional coastal boards, Helen Martin (Gippsland), Lynette Skilbeck (Western) and Elizabeth Johnstone (Central) have also been appointed to serve on the state’s key coastal planning body, the Victorian Coastal Council.
The Boards are statutory bodies established under the Coastal Management Act 1995 and provide advice to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change on regional coastal matters.
The boards will play an integral role in the delivery of key actions in the 2008 Victorian Coastal Strategy.
Successful applicants were selected on the basis of their skills, experience and knowledge in one or more of the following areas: conservation, tourism, business, recreation, commerce, issues relating to Indigenous peoples, community affairs, town planning, local government, and/or coastal engineering.
Regional Coastal Board & Victorian Coastal Council appointees
Gippsland Coastal Board
| Chairperson: | Ms Helen Martin |
| Members: | Mr Shayne Haywood |
 | Mr Peter Johnstone |
| Mr Noel Maud |
| Ms Katherine Nelson |
| Ms Helen Bull |
| Ms Jane Rowe |
| Ms Alecia Bassett |
| Mr Michael Sinnott |
| Dr Peter Veenker |
| Mr Michael Timpano |
| Mr Christopher Rose |
Central Coast Board
| Chairperson: | Ms Elizabeth Johnstone |
| Members: | Dr Rosalind Jessop |
| Dr John Lumb |
| Mr Gary Martyn |
| Ms Amy McDonald |
| Mr Jeff Weir |
| Dr Michaela Dommisse |
| Mr Timothy Hellsten |
| Ms Rebecca Koss |
| Mr Trevor Abrahams |
| Mr Rodney Warren |
| Mr Richard O’Byrne |
Western Coastal Board
| Chairperson: | Ms Lynette Skilbeck |
| Members: | Ms Alexina Chalmers |
| Ms Susan Mudford |
| Mr Alain Purnell |
| Mr Andrew Mason |
| Dr Helen Scarborough |
| Ms Denise Lovett |
| Mr John Young |
| Assoc. Prof. John Sherwood |
| Mr Craig Whiteford |
Victorian Coastal Council
| Members: | Ms Helen Martin |
| Ms Elizabeth Johnstone |
| Ms Lynette Skilbeck |
| Mr Leigh Phillips |
For more information about the regional coastal boards and the Victorian Coastal Council go to the: