Rod Garner

Background

About Rod Garner

Rod is a highly experienced Environmental officer with a demonstrated history working in Government, the Private sector and Internationally in numerous senior leadership roles. Rod has received many awards throughout his career, including a Rotary Award and 3x WH & S Director-General awards. He is recognised as a subject matter expert in environmental regulation and compliance, coastal planning assessment and approval processes, leading preventative and targeted compliance activities, planning, conducting site inspections and investigations, gathering evidence and making recommendations on environmental issues. Rod has extensive experience communicating across a wide range of stakeholders, including all levels of Government, community members and Industry representatives, including consulting, liaising and negotiating with industry, government and the community to facilitate resolution on environmental issues. In his various roles & positions, Rod has demonstrated his organisational skills with the ability to plan and prioritise tasks, meet deadlines and take initiative. Rod has extensive written communication skills and experience in the preparation of complex and sensitive material. He has reviewed and responded to written correspondence from a variety of audiences and stakeholders including Ministers, Local Government, Director-General, Executive Director & Directors. Rod has a strong environmental compliance and enforcement history background, with a sound knowledge of compliance processes within the regulatory framework and has many examples of responding to and investigating environmental issues, complaints and managing major environmental incidents, for example the 'Pacific Adventurer' oil spill in 2009. Rod has experience and training in the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System and has participated in numerous State Incident Response exercises. Rod is a member of the QLD Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) State Incident Response Network and the DESI Disaster Management Team. Rod has exceptional knowledge and experience in the principles of coastal management and State planning approval processes and coastal processes which is supported by his academic degrees being 2x Post Graduate degrees and a Master's degree focused on Marine Studies from The Centre for Marine Studies, the University of Queensland. Rod has international experience with coastal projects in the Middle East and he even has a marine entobdelline skin parasite species named after him (Neoentobdella garneri) following his discovery.