The authors thank state, territory and Australian Government colleagues for their contributions to the thematic reports, and their critical reviews of scope, content and detail in the Overview and thematic reports. The substantial efforts of anonymous peer reviewers are also gratefully acknowledged, as are the support and assistance of Peter Cochrane, adviser to the chief author of SoE 2016. The authors also thank the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy SoE team (listed below), led by Lee-Anne Shepherd, Director, with particular support from Alan Balino in the development of the Overview; and Kylie Evans, senior editor; Richard Stanford, production and visual information consultant; and the rest of the Biotext team (listed below).

Special thanks goes to the Department’s SoE Digital team led by Megan Watson plus the Department of Finance govCMS team, Acquia and Doghouse Digital Agency (listed below) whose contributions greatly improved the usability and accessibility of national SoE reporting.

Responsibility for the information and views set out in this report lies entirely with the authors, and these do not necessarily reflect the position of the Australian Government or contributors.

Photo credits and information for Overview report

Page xi (of the PDF publication), Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa, Northern Territory. Photo by GregTheBusker, uploaded by berichard, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=6918520.

Page xiv (of the PDF publication), Mt Anne from High Shelf Camp, Tasmania. Photo by JJ Harrison (jjharrison89 [at] facebook.com), own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Page 8 (of the PDF publication), Brisbane during twilight. Photo by Lachlan Fearnley, own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15446475.

Page 10 (of the PDF publication), Bondi Beach, Sydney. Photo by Alex Proimos, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25649627.

Page 15 (of the PDF publication), Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Photo by Patti Virtue, Australian Antarctic Division, all rights reserved.

Page 19 (of the PDF publication), myrtle rust on Geraldton wax flower buds, Como, New South Wales. Photo by John Tann, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38230057.

Page 33 (of the PDF publication), petroglyphs and floodplain in the Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula) National Heritage Place, Western Australia, which contains one of the most extensive collections of rock art in Australia and arguably the world. Photo by Ken Mulvaney, provided by the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Rock Art Research and Management from the Pilbara Rock Art Database.

Page 40 (of the PDF publication), Macquarie Island. Photo by Nicholas Brown, © Geoscience Australia, all rights reserved.

Page 47 (of the PDF publication), Derby (waste water) wetlands, Kimberley region, Western Australia. Photo by Julie Fletcher, www.juliefletcherphotography.com.au.

The author thanks Alex Rankin for assisting with editing and providing critical reviews, Peter Cochrane for his views and suggestions, and Tom Hatton for initial ideas for the Drivers report. Thanks also go to state, territory and federal colleagues for their critical reviews of scope, content and detail in the report. The substantial efforts of anonymous peer reviewers are also gratefully acknowledged, as is the support and assistance of Alan Balino and Lee-Anne Shepherd of the Australian Government Department of Environment and Energy. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this report lies entirely with the author, and these do not necessarily reflect the position of the Australian Government or contributors.

The authors would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this report.

Kylie Kulper from the Department of the Environment and Energy SoE team worked tirelessly keeping us on track, and chasing data, images and licences. In the later stages, Lucy Tunks took on that role.

Lynette Bettio, Karl Braganza and Alex Evans from the Bureau of Meteorology contributed to ‘State and trends of Australia’s climate’.

Paul Krummel, Paul Fraser and Nada Derek from CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere contributed to ‘Pressures affecting Australia’s climate’.

Tamara Curll, Brooke Perkins, Glenn Whitehead, Chris Golding, Aaron Kirby and Katie Eberle from the department’s Domestic Emissions Reduction Division and International Climate Change and Energy Innovation Division contributed to ‘Pressures affecting Australia’s climate’, and provided valuable comments on drafts.

Angela Yeomans, Declan O’Connor Cox, Pat McInerney, Edward Ho-Shon, Angela Jones and Eszter Szabo from the department’s Environment Standards Division, and Kevin Hennessey and Michael Grose from CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, provided valuable comments on drafts.

Fabienne Reisen, Sarah Lawson, Ian Galbally, Suzie Molloy, Tony Hirst, Arnold Sullivan and Mick Meyer from CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; Jeremy Russel-Smith from Charles Darwin University; and Stephen Wilson from the University of Wollongong contributed information for case studies.

We thank the following for providing air quality data for ‘State and trends’: John Frame (Victoria), Alan Betts (New South Wales), David Wainwright (Queensland), Tina Runnion (Western Australia), Pushan Shah (South Australia), John Innes (Tasmania), Michael Bruvel (Northern Territory) and David Power (Australian Capital Territory).

Thanks also to Ann-Louise Crotty for advice on the New South Wales shipping emissions policy, and Nick Agapides for assistance in drawing Figure ATM30.

Many individuals, organisations, and staff from Australian, state and territory government departments and agencies contributed information, reports, comments and reviews at all stages of this report, from the scoping paper through to the many drafts. This report is the product of a collaborative effort, and the author thanks all contributors. A special thanks is due to colleagues from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of the Environment and Energy, especially Alexia Tribe, John Power, Lisa Green and the ABS Geospatial Team, for their significant efforts in chasing down and compiling data, metadata, figures, maps, case studies, licensing and so on. Thanks also to the following experts for their contributions to the assessments: Alan March, Alan Pears, Jago Dodson, Michael Buxton, Peter Rayner, Ralph Horne, Sarah Bekessy, and Kath Phelan for her efforts in pulling the assessment workshop together. The significant efforts of anonymous peer reviewers are also gratefully acknowledged.

The author recognises the central role of Jim Longworth from the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN) within the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, in supporting the Heritage report and for ensuring its accuracy, completeness and quality assurance. Strong support has been provided by the State of the Environment Reporting Section of the department, but particular assistance with the heritage theme was provided by Lee-Anne Shepherd, Alan Balino and Lucy Tunks.

SoE 2016 has been a multidisciplinary collaboration and the Heritage report reflects input from all theme authors, and especially the lead author of the Overview report, Dr Bill Jackson, and SoE 2016 adviser Peter Cochrane.

Practical assistance with drafting, design and delivery has been contributed by Masterdocs and Biotext, particularly editor Kylie Evans, and Carrie DeHaan, Lyndal Fleming, Sarah Olesen and Richard Stanford.

Ideas, data, content review and feedback were contributed by officers from the Wildlife Heritage and Marine Division of the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, including Stephen Oxley, Veronica Blazely, Nicola Bryden, Jennifer Carter, Hue Du, Chris Johnston, Tania Keath, Phillipa Prince, Deborah Purss and Dr Sarah Titchen. Other divisions and officers from the department have also provided information and assistance, particularly Ian Warren from ERIN, Anthea Brecknell and Dave Johnson from the Science Partnerships Section, Liz Davies from the Protected Areas and Indigenous Policy Section, and the Indigenous Advisory Committee Secretariat.

A major contribution to assessment summaries and conclusions was provided by representatives of relevant agencies and organisations who participated in meetings and roundtable workshop discussions in 2015 and 2016, and the author acknowledges:

• the Australian Heritage Council—Professor Carmen Lawrence (Chair), Associate Professor Don Garden, Dr Jane Harrington, The Hon Dr David Kemp, AC, Mr Lyndon Ormond-Parker, Dr Jennie Whinam
• the Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia—Fiona Gardiner (Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection), Pauline McKenzie (Heritage Division of NSW Office of Environment and Heritage), Fiona Moore (ACT Heritage), Pete Smith (Heritage Tasmania), Tim Smith (Heritage Victoria) and Beverley Voigt (South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources)
• the Australian Committee for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ACIUCN)—Peter Cochrane, Penny Figgis, AO, Professor Marc Hockings, Richard Leck, Graham Tupper and Kathy Zischka
• the Australian chapter of International Council on Monuments and Sites (Australia ICOMOS)—Kerime Danis (President), Kristal Buckley, Robyn Clinch, Edwina Jans, Mary Knaggs, Deborah Lindsay, Anne McConnell, Tanya Park, Peter Phillips, Tom Perrigo, Ian Travers, Ian Wight, Tim Winter, Liz Vines and Matthew Whincop
• the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy Indigenous Advisory Committee—Melissa George (Chair), Ricky Archer, Robbie Dalton, Josie Douglas and Teagan Goolmeer.

The Heritage report has been informed by a number of online surveys facilitated by Lee Davie, Dr Peter Dowling and Tom Perrigo (National Trusts of Australia); Ian Travers and Kerime Danis (Australia ICOMOS); Sally Barnes (Director of National Parks); Alethea Cardwell (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service); Coleen Cole (Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment); Shauna Curtis, Joanne Wilson and Michael Wright (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service); Rob Doria (Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife); and Phil Pegler (Parks Victoria).

Caiti D’Gluyas (GML Heritage) conducted consultation and facilitated surveys with state and territory agencies, a process that was assisted by Terry Bailey, Alice Brandjes and Diana Cowie (NSW Office of Environment and Heritage); Mark Eccleston, Dan Cummins and Harry Webber (Aboriginal Victoria); John Schiavo (Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships); Tiffany Vale and Rosh Ireland (Western Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs); Roger Thomas (Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, South Australian Department of State Development); Steve Gall and Matthew Schlitz (Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania); Michael Wells (Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning and Environment); Euroka Gilbert, Fiona Moore and Jennifer O’Connell (ACT Heritage).

The Heritage report incorporates case studies, data and illustrations supplied by colleagues and by local, state and national heritage and parks agencies. Contributors include Louise Armstrong (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy), Geoff Bailey (Sydney Harbour Federation Trust), Sally Barnes (Director of National Parks), Andrew Beatty (Beatty Legal), Murray Black (Sydney Harbour Federation Trust), Anne Brake (National Trust of Australia WA), Anthea Brecknell (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy), Scott Buchanan (Wet Tropics Management Authority), Kristal Buckley (Deakin University), Alethea Cardwell (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service), Max Chappell (Wet Tropics Management Authority), Campbell Clarke (Wet Tropics Management Authority), Dr Robyn Clinch (Australia ICOMOS), Christy Davies (North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd), the Hon Robert Debus, AM (Great Eastern Ranges Initiative), Amy Della-Sale (Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority), Dr Joe Dortch (Centre for Rock Art Research and Management, University of Western Australia), Josie Douglas (Central Land Council), Susan Fayad (City of Ballarat), Samantha Flackus (Parks Australia), Fiona Gardiner (Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection), Dr Jim Gehling (South Australian Museum), Melissa George (North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd), Mary Gleeson (ACT Heritage), Ester Guerzoni (Heritage Tasmania), Daniel Goodwin (ACT Parks and Conservation Service), Jo Harding (Bush Blitz), Dr Jane Harrington (Port Arthur Historic Sites Management Authority), Susan Hood (Port Arthur Historic Sites Management Authority), Daniel Iglesias (ACT Parks and Conservation Service), Belinda Jago (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), Amy Jarvis (Australian National University), Mitch Jeffery (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy), Dave Johnson (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy), Dr Wayne Johnson (Property NSW), Amer Khan (State Heritage Unit, South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources), Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick (University of Tasmania), Lisa Lemcke (Parks and Wildlife Commission of Northern Territory), Keith McAllister (Applied Building Conservation Training Pty Ltd), Marty McLaughlin (Central Region, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service), Claire Moodie (ABC), Associate Professor Rachel Nordlinger (Research Unit for Indigenous Language, University of Melbourne), Joe Northover (Beeliargu Wilman Noongar), Dr Tim Owen (GML Heritage Pty Ltd), Ben Phillips (Director of National Parks), Anna Pope (State Heritage Unit, South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources), Michael Quaele (Grieve Gillett Anderson), Graham Quint (National Trust of Australia NSW), Geoff Rogers (South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources), Meaghan Russell (ACT Heritage), Ballanda Sack (Beatty Legal), Dr Jenny Scott (School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania), Andy Sharman (Australian Antarctic Division), Tracy Shea (Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife), Nathan Sibley (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy), Shenal Siriwardhane (Beatty Legal), Enzo Sirna, AM (National Trust of Australia WA), Amanda Slade (Office of the ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment), Pete Smith (Heritage Tasmania), Professor Paul Taçon (School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University), Brett Torossi (Heritage Council of Tasmania), Liz Vines (Heritage Advisor, Broken Hill City Council) and Martin Zweep (Heritage Victoria).

Photographers and agencies who have kindly agreed to use of their images in the Heritage report are acknowledged within the report itself.

During the preparation of the report, wise counsel, useful information, data sources and comments were offered by Kristal Buckley (Deakin University), Penny Figgis, AO (ACIUCN), Graeme Gammie (Heritage WA), Fiona Gardiner (Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management), Ester Guerzoni (Heritage Tasmania), Dr Jane Harrington (Port Arthur Historic Sites Management Authority), Dr Tom Hatton (Environmental Protection Agency, Western Australia), Pauline Hitchins (Heritage Council of Victoria), Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (Global Change Institute, University of Queensland), Helen Lardner (HLCD Pty Ltd), Professor Jo McDonald (Centre for Rock Art Research and Management, University of Western Australia), Susan Macdonald (Getty Conservation Institute), Georgia Meros (Australia ICOMOS), Suzy O’Brien (Director of National Parks), Dr Stuart Palmer, Jacqueline Reid (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service), Pete Smith (Heritage Tasmania), Professor Sharon Sullivan, AO, Michael Wells (Director Heritage Branch, Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment), Liz Wren (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) and Kathy Zischka (ACIUCN).

The Heritage report was undertaken through GML Heritage Pty Ltd, and assistance was provided by Heike Cripps, Caiti D’Gluyas, Catherine Forbes, Rachel Jackson, Dr Janine Major, Peter Romey, Julian Siu and Sharon Veale.

The report has benefited from a series of preliminary content reviews undertaken by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, and state and territory agencies, and from thoughtful feedback and suggestions provided by 2 external peer reviewers.

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Geoff Barrett; Sarah Bekessy; Anthea Brecknell; Margaret Byrne; Emma Campbell; Coleen Cole; Fran Daniels; Michael Douglas; the Ecological Society of Australia and members; Owain Edwards; Steve Hatfield-Dodds; Tom May, and the Fungimap Biodiversity and Conservation Subcommittee; Shaun Kennedy; Tania Laity; Jim Longworth; Mark Lound; Peter Marsack; Karel Mokany; Chris Pavey; state and territory agency contributors; the Tasmanian Land Conservancy; Barb Skoro; Celine Steinfeld; Martin Taylor; Eric Vanderduys; Fiona Walsh; Peter West; David Westcott; Kate Wilson; Eric Woelher; and David Yeates.

The authors thank Amy Warnick, Helen Murphy, Ian Cresswell, Michelle Stuckey, Cris Brack, Garry Cook, Saul Cunningham, Veronica Doerr, Tanya Elone, Simon Ferrier, Tom Harwood, Ben Hoffmann, Pethie Lyons, Michelle McKemey, Louise Morin, Travis Patterson, Petina Pert, Rod Randall, Catherine Ross, Kristen Williams, and the Alinytjara Wiluṟara, Oak Valley community for their significant contributions to development of the Land report. We would also like to thank Graeme Bonnett, Josie Carwardine, Chris Chilcott, Fran Daniels, Sharon Downes, John Dwyer, Andrew Edwards, Megan Evans, Chris Gazey, Linda Gregory, Juan Guerschman, Ro Hill, Peter Marsack, Tony O’Grady, Chris Pavey, Libby Pinkard, Rocio Ponce Reyes, Cathy Robinson, Ragu Sathyamurthy, Nancy Schellhorn, Andy Sheppard, Peter Stone, Martin Taylor, Rieks Van Klinken, Ian Watson and Peter Wilson, who discussed ideas, shared insights and directed us to relevant material. Thanks go also to those who assisted in reviewing drafts and providing valuable comments on the Land report: Sue McIntyre, Christian Roth, 2 anonymous reviewers, the Indigenous Advisory Committee to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, and numerous Australian Government, state and territory departmental and agency staff. Finally, we thank James Butler, Phil Lester and Kylie Evans for permission to use their images.

The author thanks the Bureau of Meteorology’s water and climate information experts for data supply and analysis. Thanks also go to Andre Zerger and Matthew Hardy, and state, territory and federal colleagues for their critical reviews of scope, content and detail in the report. The significant efforts of anonymous peer reviewers are also gratefully acknowledged, as are the support and assistance of the SoE team ‘buddies’ for this report, Kate Gole and David Williamson.

Responsibility for the information and views set out in this report lies entirely with the author, and these do not necessarily reflect the position of the Australian Government or contributors.

We are most grateful to James Lavender and Boon Lim for their assistance in preparing the report. 

We are indebted to the following experts, who generously contributed material and assessment grades relevant to their fields of expertise: Paul Adam, Shane Ahyong, Simon Apte, Karen Astles, Steve Barnett, Lynnath Beckley, Gavin Birch, Melanie Bishop, Melanie Bishop, Lev Bodrossy, Paul Boon, David Booth, Jon Brodie, Chris Brown, Mark Browne, Ana Bugnot, Hamish Campbell, Gee Chapman, Anthony Chariton, Francis Chiew, Rob Clemens, Rob Coles, Sean Connell, Roger Cousens, Katherine Dafforn, Peter Davie, Sabine Dittman, Martina Doblin, Norman Duke, Graham Edgar, Katelyn Edge, Rick Fletcher, Doug Fothringham, Craig Franklin, Yusuke Fukuda, Richard Fuller, Beth Fulton, Will Glamore, Tim Glasby, Alana Grech, Paul Gribben, Rachel Groom, Gustaaf Hallegraeff, Christopher Hallett, Mark Hamman, David Hanslow, Denise Hardesty, Natasha Henschke, Patrick Hesp, Jeremy Hindell, Neil Holbrook, Grant Hose, John Hunter, Pat Hutchings, Greg Jenkins, Ross Jones, Brendan Kelaher, David Kennedy, Richard Kingsford, Nathan Knott, Janet Lanyon, Paul Lavery, Lyndon Llewellyn, Catherine Lovelock, Mick Lowry, Catriona MacLeod, Peter Macreadie, Charlie Manolis, Helene Marsh, Mariana Mayer-Pinto, Justin McDonald, Len McKenzie, Katherine McMahon, Tony Miskiewicz, Simon Mitrovic, Leanne Morgan, Rebecca Morris, Tiffany Morrison, John Morrongiello, Nick Murray, Shauna Murray, Gina Newton, Wayne O’Connor, Nick Paul, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Vin Pettergrove, Peter Pfenning, Richard Piola, Andy Pitman, Kylie Pitt, Megan Powell, Bob Pressey, Tim Pritchard, Rachel Przeslawski , David Raftos, Peter Ridd, David Roberts, Dan Rogers, Neil Santilan, Peter Scanes, Britta Schaffelke, Justin Seymour, Marcus Sheaves, Andy Short, Stuart Simpson, James Smith, Ross Smith, Tim Smith, Jenny Stauber, Peter Steinberg, Craig Styan, Steven Swearer, Graham Symonds, Kathryn Taffs, Bruce Thom, Torston Thomas, Tony Underwood, Ana Vila-Concejo, David Wachenfeld, Nathan Waltham, Hua Wang, Nicole Webster, Thomas Wernberg, Adrian Werner, Mike Weston, Eric Woehler, Eric Wolanski.

This report is the product of a collaborative effort of the Australian marine science and management community. The authors would like to thank all the experts who contributed assessments and case studies of the marine environment, and those who reviewed those assessments, providing a robust and accurate account of the state of the marine environment for 2016. The authors greatly appreciate the assistance of Emma Flukes and the National Marine Biodiversity Hub in facilitating the incorporation of metadata records associated with each of the assessments and case studies in this report into the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Experts providing assessments on pressures in the marine environment included Russ Babcock, Doug Cato, Piers Dunstan, Christine Erbe, Ming Feng, Britta Denise Hardesty, Mark Hemer, Cass Hunter, Christine Lamont, Andrew Lenton, Tim Lynch, Richard Matear, Denise McCorry, Jo Parr, David Peel, Phil Reid, Ken Ridgway, Tim Skewes, Bernadette Sloyan, Bronte Tilbrook and Chris Wilcox.

Experts providing assessments of the state and trends of the marine environment included Franziska Althaus, Russ Babcock, Neville Barrett, Simon Barry, Lev Bodrossy, Annette Brown, Mark Brown, Cathy Bulman, Scott Condie, Peter Doherty, Graham Edgar, Scott Evans, Beth Fulton, Caleb Gardner, Lisa Gershwin, James Gilmour, Simon Goldsworthy, Malcolm Haddon, Gustaaf Hallegraeff, Mark Hamann, Jason Hartog, Andrew Heyward, Alistair Hobday, Xi Huang, Michelle Huepel, Terry Hughes, Craig Johnson, Alan Jordan, John Keesing, Rudy Kloser, Matthew Koopman, Vimoksalehi Lukoschek, Jeremy Lyle, Robyn Martin, Richard Matear, Alice McKay, Brett Molony, Scott Nichol, Roland Pitcher, John Pogonoski, Zoe Richards, Anthony Richardson, Wayne Rochester, Peter Shaughnessy, Peter Stoutjesdijk, Rick Stuart-Smith, Hugh Sweatman, Jason Tanner, Peter Thompson, Geoff Tuck, Vinay Udyawer, Mat Vanderklift, John Virtue, Tim Ward, Will White, Alan Williams, Shaun Wilson and Eric Woehler.

Experts providing assessments on the effectiveness of management included Doug Cato, Stephen Cole, Christine Erbe, Rick Fletcher, Angela Gillham, Mandy Goodspeed, Alistair Hobday, Neil Holbrook, Terry Hughes, Cass Hunter, Christine Lamont, Denise McCorry, Mark Pagano, Jean Palutikof, Jo Parr, Gretta Pecl, Elvira Poloczanska, Nick Rayns, Russell Reichelt, Tim Skewes and Brent Wise.

Experts providing case studies included Shaun Barclay, Barry Bruce, Graham Edgar, Scott Foster, Britta Denise Hardesty, Keith Hayes, Paul Hedge, Cass Hunter, Tim Moltmann, David Peel, Roland Pitcher, Anthony Richardson, Wayne Rochester, Tristan Simpson, Tim Skewes, Ilona Stobutski, Rick Stuart-Smith, Chris Wilcox, Brent Wise and James Woodhams.

Experts providing reviews of assessments and case studies included Virginia Andrews-Goff, Leanne Armand, Francesca Astolfi, Russ Babcock, Mark Baird, John Bannister, Peter Baylis, Helen Beggs, Jessica Benthuysen, Michelle Burford, Rodrigo Bustamante, Nicholas Carlile, Lynda Chambers, Andrew Chin, Andrew Coleman, Melinda Coleman, Kim Currie, Darren Dennis, Rebecca Dobbs, Martina Doblin, Piers Dunstan, Jason Everett, Ming Feng, Will Figueira, Lisa Gershwin, Dan Gledhill, Jillian Grayson, Mark Hamann, Rob Harcourt, Peter Harris, Pat Hutchings, Charlie Huveneers, Alan Jordan, Mervi Kangas, Ray Masini, Rob McCauley, Justin McDonald, Terry Miller, Andy Moore, Melissa Nursey-Bray, Tim O’Hara, Irene Penesis, Stuart Phinn, Roland Pitcher, Eva Plagányi-Lloyd, Ann Preece, Rachel Przeslawski, Keith Sainsbury, Kate Sanders, Peter Scanes, Thomas Schlacher, Justin Seymour, Tony Smith, Ilona Stobutzki, Ian Suthers, Kerry Swadling, Deborah Thiele, Ron Thresher, Kathy Townsend, Paul van Ruth and Alan Williams.

We would also like to thank all those who provided information, reports and papers to the authors, those who provided comments on the scoping paper associated with this report and those who reviewed drafts of this report, particularly members of the Research Providers Network, the Australian Fisheries Management Forum and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their insightful and helpful comments, which greatly improved the report.

Responsibility for the information and views set out in this report lies entirely with the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Australian Government or contributors.

The authors are grateful for the assistance of the following contributors (all from the AAD unless otherwise noted): Rhonda Bartley, Dana Bergstrom, Andrew Constable, Shavawn Donoghue, Chris Gallagher, Ben Galton-Fenzi, Indi Hodgson-Johnston (University of Tasmania), Paul Krummell (CSIRO), Rob Massom, Ewan McIvor, Phillip Reid (Bureau of Meteorology), Sharon Robinson (University of Wollongong), Steve Rintoul (CSIRO), Andy Sharman, Jonny Stark, Bronte Tilbrook (CSIRO), Tom Trull (University of Tasmania/CSIRO), Tas van Ommen, Jane Wasley and Dirk Welsford. We are also grateful for the support of Kate Gole, Lee-Anne Shepherd, Roger Morrison and Kylie Kulper from the National Environmental Information Policy and Reporting section of the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy.