Speaker
Phillip Toyne
Phillip Toyne AO was an Australian environmental and indigenous rights activist, lawyer, and co-founder of Landcare Australia. He was the head of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 1986 to 1992. He negotiated the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act and the successful native title claim of the traditional owners of Uluru in 1983. Earlier in his life he had worked as a teacher and lawyer in remote Aboriginal communities.
He was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012, “For distinguished service to environmental law through executive and advisory roles, particularly the introduction of a National Landcare Program, to the protection and restoration of Australian landscapes, and to the Indigenous community.” He was the author of two books: Growing up the country: the Pitjantjatjara struggle for their land (1984), and The reluctant nation: environment, law, and politics in Australia (1994).
Toyne died on 13 June 2015 aged 67.
