Chris is a Professor of Practice at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute with a focus on water governance and liveable futures.

He is nationally recognized for his leadership in waterway and urban water management and for his contribution to establishing Melbourne as a world leader in water sensitive urban design. He has previously held roles as General Manager at Melbourne Water and CEO of the Office of Living Victoria before joining Monash University.

Chris has contributed to advancing water and urban planning practice through a number of other recent roles including as chair of several Ministerial advisory committees that have led to significant planning and legislative reforms.

In 2019 he was appointed by the Minister for Water to chair the Birrarung Council, a bicultural statutory body to act as the ‘voice for the Yarra River’. The Birrarung Council, which includes four Elders of Wurundjeri and Bururong Traditional Owners, was established under the Yarra River Protection Act (Willip-gin Birrarung murron) 2017, which also designates the Yarra River as a ‘living entity’.  This is the first legislation of its kind in Australia and was a key recommendation of the Yarra Protection Ministerial Advisory Committee which Chris chaired. 

Chris is also currently a non-executive Director of Barwon Water, Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation and was a Commissioner and Chairperson of the Victorian Environmental Water Holder until 2023.

In 2022, Chris received the Paul Jerome award from the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association in recognition of his contribution to the sustainable development of cities over the last two decades.

Dr Erin O’Donnell is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School. She is a water law and policy expert, with over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She is recognized internationally for her research into the legal rights for rivers, a growing transnational movement. Erin’s research explores examples in Australia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Bangladesh, Canada, the USA and Aotearoa New Zealand to identify the opportunities and potential pitfalls of legal personhood for nature.

Erin is also recognised for her work on Indigenous rights to water. She works in partnership with Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, the USA and Scandinavia to amplify their voices and develop new ways to care for waterways. In 2023, Erin commenced an Australian Research Council-funded fellowship to explore the opportunity of treaty to address aqua nullius, increase Traditional Owner power and resources in water, and create more sustainable and legitimate settler state water laws.

Since 2018, Erin has been a member of the Birrarung Council, the voice of the Yarra River. She has also worked for the World Bank, examining water markets and their role in water security and sustainable development. Her book, Legal Rights for Rivers: Competition, Collaboration and Water Governance is available from Routledge.