Perth’s autumn thunderstorm last Thursday, 13 March couldn’t dampen the energy and enthusiasm at Western Australia’s inaugural Biosecurity Careers and Networking Event.
We had a wonderful turnout with about 120 people coming together at Murdoch University to connect, learn, and be inspired.
The four-hour event included insightful biosecurity presentations and Q&As, exploration of career pathways, invaluable networking, and a fabulous selection of food and refreshments.
Special thanks to our partners, host Murdoch University Harry Butler Institute and The Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute. It was a pleasure collaborating to plan and deliver this first-time event for WA.
We were fortunate to hear from three industry leaders: Dr Brenton von Takach, Tracey Vinnicombe and Johann van der Merwe, who shared their diverse experiences and insider knowledge about tackling biosecurity threats in WA and beyond.
Their professional journeys opened our eyes to biosecurity career opportunities, challenges, and innovations spanning research, fieldwork, government, and industry.
They encouraged students to consider a career in regional WA to gain hands-on, meaningful experience and contribute to the sustainability of WA’s precious environment and agriculture.
With so much country to cover in WA that’s potentially susceptible to biosecurity threats, our experts stressed the importance of:
- building strong connections and trust within the community
- sharing ‘two-way science’ with traditional owners and pastoralists
- building capacity and knowledge through education programs
- bringing everyone into the role of identifying biosecurity threats (instilling a passion in others to get involved by showing them the benefits)
- focusing on speed, agility, and flexibility in future biosecurity practices.
A huge thank you to our speakers for sharing their unique stories:
Brenton von Takach – WA Premier’s Early to Mid-Career (EMC) Fellow at Curtin University, Brenton shared how he is using genetics, modelling, and ecology to predict and stop invasive species in their tracks.
Tracey Vinnicombe – Plant and Invasive Species Biosecurity Officer at the Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development based in Kununurra, with more than 25 years of experience in the Kimberley. Tracey has tackled everything from fruit fly outbreaks to feral animal control and surveillance. She shared what it takes to fight biosecurity threats on the ground across one of WA’s most remote, expansive, and awe-inspiring regions.
Johann van der Merwe – A global leader in biosecurity and retired Biosecurity Manager at Chevron Australia, Johann has built world-class quarantine systems and managed conservation programs across Australia and beyond.
We hope this is just the start of bigger things to come to inspire career pathways, grow networks, and build capacity in WA’s critical biosecurity industry.
