WWF Australia

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

History

WWF-Australia was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and World Wide Fund For Nature. With the help of a Commonwealth Government grant and private donations, WWF Australia was first established on 29 June 1978. It had less than 10 staff and a conservation budget of around $80,000 in its first year. [1]

WWF-Australia is a company limited by guarantee. Governors form its membership and are appointed for a maximum of two four-year terms. [2]

WWF on Forests

In 2004, in the lead up to the federal election, WWF Australia produced a report entitled "Blueprint for Tasmanian Forests". the report was heavily criticised by environmental groups in Tasmania, who wrote that "The document is incredibly damaging to the cause of forest conservation in Tasmania. We believe it will do irreparable harm to the reputation of WWF in Australia and internationally." [3]

As a result of the report, a number of wilderness photographers withdrew their photos from a WWF publication in protest. [4]

At a 2004 forest industry conference, WWF's Senior Policy Officer Michael Rae shared the podium with the then head of the forest industry lobby group National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) Kate Carnell. Carnell was quoted at the conference as saying "I think Michael Rae and WWF are doing an absolutely stunning job [at attempting to negotiate with the forest industry]." [5]

WWF on Uranium

In May 2006, WWF Australia became the first Australian environment group to suport uranium mining in Australia. WWF CEO, Greg Bourne, told The Australian that "we have been mining uranium and exporting it for many years and we're doing more because demand is going up, whether people like it or not," he said. "The key issues are if we're going to be a nation exporting uranium, we have to know absolutely it's only being used for peaceful purposes and waste products are being stored safely." [6] WWF Australia's stance on uranium mining has been particularly controversial because WWF has received significant funding from uranium mining companies (see "corporate funding" below).

Government Funding

WWF has been criticised by the Australia Institute for being too close to the Howard Government. [7] WWF receieved a five-fold funding boost from the federal government between 1996 and 2004, at the same time as government funding to almost every other environment group has been slashed. [8]

Corporate Funding

WWF Australia receives funding from a number of large corporations. Controversially, it received $1.2million from uranium mining company Rio Tinto, prior to publicly taking a strong pro-uranium mining stance. [9] [10]

Personnel

Executive Team

• Greg Bourne (CEO)
• Deirdre Moor (Deputy CEO)
• Ray Nias (Director of Conservation)
• Philippa Walsh (Director of Conservation)
• Tracey Campbell (National Marketing Manager)
• Andy Ridley (National Marketing Manager) [11]

Contact Details

Head Office - Sydney
Level 13, 235 Jones St
ULTIMO NSW 2007
Phone: +61 2 9281 5515
Fax: +61 2 9281 1060

External Resources

• Bob Burton, WWF signs $1.2m partnership with Rio Tinto, Mining Monitor, Volume 5 Number 1, March 2000, page 9.]
• Frogs! A conservation partnership between Rio Tinto and WWF Australia
• Clive Hamilton & Andrew Macintosh, Taming the Panda: The Relationship between WWF Australia and the Howard Government, Australia Institute, July 2004.
• Stephanie Peatling, "The panda that's not wild enough", Sydney Morning Herald, July 28, 2004.
• Clive Hamilton, "It's not easy, being a green panda", New Matilda, September 21, 2004.
• Deirdre Moor, "The panda strikes back", New Matilda, October 6, 2004.
• Amanda Hodge, "Green group accepts uranium mines", The Australian, May 4, 2006.