2024-25 National Committee - Sustainable Australia Party

On 30/11/24 the following committee was elected:

Celeste Ackerly (VIC) - President

Celeste is a passionate, honest, hardworking, down-to-earth woman originally from Tasmania. She has a BA with a major in geography. She is undertaking graduate studies in environment and climate emergency at Curtin University. The main focus of her research has been Indigenous sustainability methods because this links back to her Aboriginal ancestry and her passion and love for Aboriginal culture. She’s proud of her Trawlwoolway ancestry, which has driven her quest to mitigate environmental damage through sustainable practices by utilising scientific and Indigenous thinking.

In particular, Celeste believes Sustainable Australia Party’s 'environment first' mantra aligns with Indigenous thinking around ‘Caring for Country’. Celeste does have experience in many other elements of sustainability and geography and utilises this knowledge in her full-time job in corporate sustainability in the food sector.

Her childhood comprised the many beauties of the Australian environment, from flora and fauna to breath-taking physical geographies. Her father imparted practical skills that she now passes on to her children, such as fishing, bush skills and foraging.

Today, you will find Celeste tending to her chickens, something she thinks all Australian homes should do! A sustainable way to feed the family and reduce household waste! She has a brumby (wild Australian horse), which she took in as a foal. She broke him in, and her children enjoy caring for and riding him. Celeste loves Australian wildlife too! Especially Brushtail Possums and she will always check the pouches of deceased marsupials for joeys.

Celeste spends most of her time outside, maintaining the property she rents and tending to the orchard. She wishes future generations could have a lifestyle like this, with less over-development that creates sprawl over our farmland and diverse bioregions, less overconsumption, and the ability to use skillsets our elders utilised to be sustainable and self-sufficient.

Having a young family in this economy, along with the housing crisis and the cost of living only worsening yearly, Celeste can fully appreciate and understand how other families feel. The housing crisis is driven by government-engineered excessive demand for housing, including through tax concessions for property investors, foreign buyers and record high levels of immigration fuelling unsustainable rapid population growth. If elected, Celeste would act to moderate all of these issues, as well as advocate for more public and affordable housing.

John Haydon (ACT) - Vice President

John has held senior positions during his 25 years with the federal Department of Immigration, and as well as the Bureau of Statistics. He holds three university degrees including a Bachelor of Economics, and a Masters of Business Administration from Adelaide University.

As someone trained in economics, John is concerned at the waste that results from unsustainable population growth and property speculation. John suggests if Australians weren’t paying high property prices, savings could be better spent on starting new businesses, generating jobs, including in manufacturing which he believes has been given away by the Big Parties.

John has held leadership positions in community education organisations at the ACT and national levels where he advocated to government for effective and efficient public schooling in the ACT and nationally. When he is not asking for the vote for Sustainable Australia, John enjoys riding his bike through the countryside, and life with his wife and their daughter who attends the local high school.

William Bourke (NSW) - Treasurer

William is the founder of Sustainable Australia Party and a former elected Councillor (and Deputy Mayor) at North Sydney Council.

William enjoys nature, bushwalking, beaches, running and travelling. He grew up on the urban fringe with bushland as his extended backyard and weekend recreation. He wants to ensure that we fulfil our primary moral responsibility to pass on an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable Australia to our children and grandchildren.

He is equally concerned about economic, environmental and social issues. Particular concerns include the decline of Australian manufacturing and economic diversity, the destruction of our natural and built environments, and the housing affordability crisis locking many out of the great Australian dream.

William has completed a bachelor of business (accounting and finance) and master of business (marketing). He has extensive business experience including as a partner in a marketing small business for over 10 years, and previous experience in accounting and government communications. He has travelled widely including in Asia, North America and Europe, and lived in a number of places in Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and North Queensland.

William believes that in order to transition to a sustainable future, a holistic approach to sustainability is required that includes action to address growth in both natural resource consumption and population.

After hearing Labor's Kevin Rudd declare his support for "a big Australia" population of 40 million - and being shocked to discover that the Liberal and Greens parties also support rapid population growth - he decided it was time to get involved in politics and start a new science and evidence-based, mainstream political party that put sustainability at the heart of decision-making.

Petra Campbell (NSW) - Secretary

Petra Campbell is a journalist, photographer, and filmmaker by profession and an international development aid professional with a lifelong commitment to environmental sustainability. With four master’s degrees in Environmental Management, Science and Technology (Environmental), Development Studies, and Business Administration, Petra combines academic rigor with hands-on expertise. Her work spans continents and decades, from investigating the aftermath of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan for 60 Minutes to coordinating development aid programs across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Petra's deep understanding of global development issues was forged in disaster zones like post-Chernobyl Ukraine and post-genocide Rwanda, where she worked as both an aid worker and a journalist, capturing stories of resilience and advocating for change. Petra has also spent 15 years as stakeholder and community relations manager on infrastructure programs across Australia.

Petra was recognised by the United Nations Environment Program as an Asia-Pacific leader in Education for Sustainable Development and served as a Visiting Research Associate at the University of New South Wales. Through her leadership and advocacy, Petra continues to champion environmental stewardship and community-driven development.

Cr Daniel Minson (WA) - Committee Member

Dan is an elected Councillor at the Town of Victoria Park in Perth. He believes in a vision for Australia where society is striving to improve the well-being and happiness of individuals and communities. He believes government and politics have a role to play by balancing the environmental, social and economic considerations in decision making, while pursuing a sustainable future for Australia.

Dan completed a degree in civil engineering at Curtin University and graduated with honours and received the top student prize in construction technologies. He then worked as a consultant in the land development industry and proceeded to work as a water resource engineer in both private and public organisations. Dan has volunteered abroad delivering irrigation infrastructure to drought affected communities in Africa.

Dan enjoys nature, especially anything near and in the water. He spends his free time with family and friends.

Dr Rhett Martin (QLD) - Committee Member

Associate Professor Rhett Martin lectures and researches at the University of Southern Queensland. Rhett holds a Master of Laws and a PhD in ecologically sustainable forest management in Victorian public forestry. Prior to his academic work Rhett practiced as a solicitor in medium and large firms after he graduated from Melbourne University with degrees in Commerce and Law. Following a career in private practice of law he moved into academic research focusing on the intersection of sustainability with law. This area of research has grown in importance and now is firmly established as a major subject dominating policy and academic debate across the globe.

Rhett's research interests have strongly focused on environmental and sustainability regulation at the intersection of law with sustainability. He has recently focused on biodiversity markets. He is the author of 'Understanding Sustainability Law' (2017, LexisNexis) and has also written a series of academic articles on ecologically sustainable forest management with a particular critique of Victorian forestry regulation.

Rhett is an active natural history buff with a significant interest in the study of Australian amphibians and reptiles. A particular focus is Australian freshwater tortoises. He has two daughters and a stepson who more than account for his free time. He would like a sustainable world for them all to grow up in.

Cr Cameron McEwan (NSW) - Committee Member

Cam is currently serving a four-year term on Campbelltown City Council in south west Sydney after being elected as a councillor in the 2024 local government elections. Passionate about housing affordability and climate action, Cam believes that Australia needs to be bold in stabilising our population and in our adoption of sustainable practices across all sectors to ensure future generations can enjoy the natural beauty of our country and are afforded the same opportunities we have today to own a home and connect with community. Cam deeply cares about environmental preservation and has brought a number of motions to council to better protect Campbelltown’s local koala colony. He is also currently a member on the Georges River Combined Council Committee, which looks after the vital waterway that runs through his LGA.

In his day-to-day job as a small business owner and audio visual engineer, Cam has had the opportunity to hear from leaders and experts in many different industries and fields of study which has helped to expand his knowledge and understanding on how best to take action on Sustainable Australia’s policies at a local level. Through his audio visual and broadcast work at NSW Parliament, he has also gained insights into the political system and how the various levels of government interact with each other.

Cam lives with his wife Amy and two indoors cats, he enjoys the performing arts and is an avid long distance runner who loves finding new places to explore.

All SAP members are eligible to be nominated to serve on the National Committee. If interested to serve, please contact SAP HQ for a nomination form.