The Committee

The ACAJ is administered by an executive committee, which incorporates representatives from each affiliate and Australia's national delegate to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.

The official patron of the ACAJ is the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Peter McGauran.

2007/08 Committee Members

President: Gordon Collie

Vice President: Ian Doyle (Rural Media SA representative)

Treasurer: Bob Snewin

Secretary and public officer: Bev Jordan (Farm Writers' Association of NSW Inc representative)

IFAJ Delegate: Liz Harfull

Immediate Past President: Colin Munro OAM

Rural Media Association of WA representative: Paul Hooper

Rural Press Club of Queensland representative: Jane Milburn

Rural Press Club of Victoria representative: John Carson

Gordon Collie
President

Gordon Collie is in his second year as president of the ACAJ. His award-winning career in rural journalism spans more than 35 years.

Based in Brisbane, Gordon completed a journalism cadetship in his native New Zealand, before moving to Australia in 1974. He worked for the leading farm weekly Queensland Country Life for 11 years, including a stint as the paper's North Queensland representative based in Townsville. Gordon was then invited to become Rural Editor with Queensland's major daily The Courier Mail, a post he held until setting up his own media consultancy Agri-Prose Ltd in 1999.

A three-time winner of the Queensland Dalgety Award for Excellence in Rural Journalism, Gordon also reported extensively from South East Asia on an ASEAN scholarship.

He is a long-term supporter of the Rural Press Club of Queensland, including serving terms as treasurer and president. He attended the 2003 IFAJ Conference in The Netherlands and the 2006 Conference in Norway.

Contact details
Phone: 07 3856 3614
Mobile: 0409 473343
Email: gordon@agriprose.com.au

Colin Munro OAM
Immediate Past President

ACAJ's Immediate Past President is respected broadcaster, Colin Munro OAM, now retired and living in regional NSW.
The man belonging to one of the best known voices in country radio, Colin was awarded an Order of Australia Medial in the 2007 Queen's Birthday honours list for his service to regional Australia through the promotion and preservation of rural culture, particularly through television and radio.

The former head of the ABC's rural radio department, he spent his younger days on a property at Cobargo. Colin hosted a number of rural programs, including the Country Hour, Morning Extra, Australia All Over and Summer All Over during some 40 years with the national broadcaster.

He was the ABC's Manager of Regional Liaison from 1993-2005, and Head of Rural Radio from 1985-1993. Colin was also instrumental in developing the popular television program, A Big Country.

Contact details
Mobile: 0409 674 941
Email: munrocap@bigpond.com



Ian Doyle
Vice President and Rural Media SA representative

Ian Doyle is the Managing Director of Doyle Media Services SA Pty Ltd, an Adelaide-based media consulting and television documentary production company. Recent productions include The Back of Beyond Collection and Source to Sea Ð the Story of the Murray Riverboats.

Ian worked for 20 years for ABC and commercial radio and television as a journalist, presenter and executive producer, for programs such as the Country Hour, Countrywide, Australia All Over, Tony Delroy's Nightlife, and Channel 7 (where he presented the weather). Ian holds a Degree of Economics and a Diploma of Education and in a past life was a secondary school teacher in North Queensland.

He is a winner of the national Dalgety Farmers Limited Award for Excellence in Rural Journalism and the Sir Condor Laucke Award for his contribution to the South Australian grain industry.

Ian is also a foundation board member of Australia's Open Garden Scheme, a past board member of the International Barossa Music Festival and has been president of rural Media SA since 1987.

His much better half is Channel 7 TV News Presenter and 5AA breakfast newsreader, Jane Doyle.

Contact details
Mobile: 0417 819 189
Email: dms@iinet.net.au

Bob Snewin
Treasurer

Based in Adelaide, Bob Snewin is the director and proprietor of Banealla Consulting, formed in 2005, which consults in marketing, event management and promotions.

Bob has been a committee member of Rural Media South Australia for eight years and its treasurer for the past seven years. He has served as Treasurer of the ACAJ since 2003.

Prior to striking out with his own business, Bob worked in the Australian dairy industry for almost 30 years. He held a series of roles, including 18 years as Regional Manager for SA, WA, Tasmania and the Northern Territory for the Australian Dairy Corporation, and its successor, Dairy Australia. Prior to this he owned his own food distribution business.

Contact details
Phone: 08 8212 9411
Mobile: 0418 531402
Email: bsnewin@banealla.com.au

Bev Jordan
Secretary, public officer
Farm Writers Association of NSW Inc representative

Based in Sydney, Bev Jordan is an economics consultant with an interest in rural issues and the art of communication.

She has extensive experience in strategic planning and policy development in the agricultural and natural resource economics sectors, with an in-depth knowledge of the issues facing small business and the agricultural sector in a changing world economy.

Bev is the president of Farm Writers Association of NSW Inc. She joined the committee of Farm Writers in 2000, when employed as a lobbyist for a farmer representative organisation on economic issues.

Contact details
Mobile: 0408 699 656
Email: bevjordan@msn.com.au

Liz Kellaway
Australian IFAJ delegate

Originally from a farm near Mount Gambier in the South East of South Australia, Liz has more than 25 years' experience as a journalist and public relations consultant specialising in agricultural communications. She has worked as a journalist, photographer, editor and producer in print, television and radio, for regional, metropolitan and specialist rural media outlets.

Liz has won numerous awards for her work, including a Dalgety Bennetts Farmers Award for Excellence in Rural Journalism and three national Golden Target Awards for communications programs focussing on rural issues. As a Churchill Fellow, she travelled to six countries, studying communication tools and strategies which encourage farmers to take up new technology and best practice.

Liz is a former director of the public relations consultancy, Porter Novelli Adelaide. Today she juggles commitments as a freelance journalist, part-time consultant and aspiring author with voluntary roles with the ACAJ and the IFAJ. She has been Australian delegate to the IFAJ since 2001, and is editor of the IFAJ's international bi-monthly newsletter. Liz is also a staff associate of the Agricultural Communications Documentation Centre, based at the University of Illinois.

Liz also served as secretary of the ACAJ for six years until August 2007.

Contact details
Mobile: 0409 674 941
Email: lizk@adam.com.au

Paul Hooper
Rural Media Association of WA representative

Paul Hooper is the wool, business and transport writer for Farm Weekly in WA. The current president of the Rural Media Association (RMA) of WA, he is a fourth generation farmer's son who still takes time out to go home for shearing and seeding.

Paul graduated from the Curtin University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in print journalism with a minor in film and television. Previous to that he completed his first year in Agricultural Science at the University of WA. He has worked at Farm Weekly since graduating from university and taking time out for a nine-month around-the-world trip.

Paul became involved with the RMA of WA almost 18 months ago because he was concerned about the number of younger people not only leaving the RMA but the industry in general.

His committee has made it a priority to build the membership base and to particularly encourage and support younger members of the industry.

Contact details
Phone: 08 9365 2640
Mobile: 0428 880 344
Email: paul.hooper@ruralpress.com

Jane Milburn
Rural Press Club of Queensland representative

Jane Milburn is a freelance writer and media consultant working in the agribusiness sector. After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at The University of Queensland many moons ago, Jane joined the ABC as a rural reporter and then worked at the Townsville Bulletin and The Courier-Mail.

Jane established her media consultancy www.milburnmedia.com in 2002 after gaining valuable political experience working as media adviser for a Queensland government minister.

Currently president of the Rural Press Club of Queensland, Jane has been involved with the organisation for the past seven years and was instrumental in setting up the website www.ruralpressclub.com.au which includes automated event booking.

Jane is delighted to be a 2007 finalist in the Queensland Media Awards Excellence in Rural Journalism category for the cover story "Life and love in the heartland" which was published in the Dec/Jan issue of OUTBACK magazine. In 2005 Jane won the Queensland Primary Industries Week Media Award for her feature in The Courier-Mail, "Prime Cut" based on the Stanbroke sell-off. Jane provides media consultancy advice to a range of rural and professional lobby groups.

Contact details
Mobile: 0408 787 964
Email: jane@milburnmedia.com

John Carson
Rural Press Club of Victoria representative

Based in Melbourne John is special projects manager for Rural Press Victoria. He grew up on a family farm near Glen Innes in northern NSW and graduated from Marcus Oldham College with a Farm Management Diploma.

He joined The Land newspaper in 1981 and worked in various editorial roles with the company including as an editor of Rural Press publications in New Zealand and deputy editor of Stock & Land in Melbourne.

John left Stock & Land in 1990 and worked as a section editor in Hong Kong for the South China Morning Post and later a PR agency.

He rejoined Rural Press in Melbourne in 1994 where he was employed as editor of Australian Farm Journal and then Stock & Land before taking up his current role.

John began his second stint as president of the Rural Press Club of Victoria last October. He has served on the committee for many years.

Contact details
Mobile: 0409 134 863
Email: john.carson@ruralpress.com