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Gayle Austen appointed as new President of the Invasive Species Council

The Invasive Species Council has appointed Gayle Austen as its new President, as the organisation steps up its push to tackle invasive species – the leading driver of animal extinctions in Australia.

Ms Austen takes over from David Rickards, who will remain on the board and continue to support the organisation.

Her appointment comes at a pivotal moment, as the Invasive Species Council consolidates a period of significant organisational growth while continuing to scale its impact, reputation and profile.

Invasive Species Council President Gayle Austen said: ‘As invasive species continue to drive wildlife decline across Australia, the need for strong, science-led advocacy has never been greater.

‘The Invasive Species Council is achieving real change – through bold advocacy, real solutions, strong media engagement and growing public support. Its impact is being felt across the country,’ Ms Austen said.

‘While we are still a relatively small organisation, we are growing fast and going from strength to strength.

‘Australia’s unique wildlife and landscapes need strong advocates. I look forward to strengthening our governance and supporting the team as they continue their critical work in parliament, in the media and on the ground.

‘I want to thank David Rickards for his dedicated leadership, fuelled by a passion for our cause. Under his tenure, the organisation has grown into a powerful and effective voice for nature.’

Former Invasive Species Council President David Rickards said: ‘It has been a privilege to serve as President, and I am delighted to hand over to someone of Gayle’s calibre.

‘Her strategic thinking and commitment to protecting nature make her the right person to lead the Council into its next phase.’

‘I am confident the organisation will continue to go from strength to strength under Gayle’s leadership.’

Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said: ‘The team is very much looking forward to working with Gayle. Her deep expertise in communications, governance and strategy, will be invaluable as we continue to push for the policy reforms needed to protect Australia’s wildlife and landscapes from invasive threats.

‘Invasive species are the biggest driver of extinction in Australia, and tackling them is one of the most effective actions we can take to protect our unique plants and animals.’

About Gayle Austen

Gayle is a specialist in communications, marketing and strategic advice. She has consulted for non-profits on a range of initiatives, including advocacy, merger and acquisitions, targeted communication, organisational structure and leadership coaching.

Gayle was formerly Head of Marketing and Communications with ANZ Institutional, led corporate affairs teams for Foster’s and Seven Network and was a senior journalist, section editor and chief of staff with The Age.

She is the current Chair of Access Health & Community, and was formerly the Chair of Trust for Nature in Victoria.

Gayle’s passion for protecting Australia’s beautiful and unique native species and their habitats has grown from a childhood spent in the country regions of Victoria, early work as a nature and rural affairs reporter, the satisfaction of serving on the Board of Trust for Nature, and a determination to make a contribution to turning back the greatest extinction threat for our island nation – invasive species.

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Our protected areas are being trashed, trampled, choked and polluted by an onslaught of invaders. Invasive species are already the overwhelming driver of our animal extinction rate, and are expected to cause 75 of the next 100 extinctions.

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]