On 27 February 2025, Charmian Barton, Chair of the Australian Environment and Planning Law Group presented the Eminent Environmental Lawyer Award for Excellence to Professor Alex Gardner.

Professor Gardner delivered a speech at the event titled, “When ideas float across the Nullarbor, some of them evaporate”. 

About Professor Alex Gardner 

Alex Gardner is Professor of Law at The University of Western Australia where he has taught and researched natural resources and environmental law since 1988. He has also taught constitutional law, administrative law and comparative law. He has taught students in the LLB, JD and Masters programs, and has supervised to completion 8 higher degree by research students. He has been an active member of the Centre for Mining, Energy and Natural Resources Law, and was in 2017–2020 the Director Higher Degrees (Research).

In 2025, Alex became a UWA Emeritus Professor. Alex was born and raised on a farm in the Western Australian wheatbelt, attending high school in Perth. After undergraduate studies at the Australian National University in Canberra (1977–1983) he worked as a solicitor in Melbourne before undertaking a Master of Laws specialising in Natural Resources and Environmental Law at the University of British Columbia (1986–87). Since 1988, Alex has been based at the University of Western Australia Law School, and has held adjunct appointments teaching Water Resources Law in the postgraduate programs at the Australian National University College of Law (2001–2017) and the University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law (teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in Public Law and Natural Resources and Environmental Law.

Alex is credited with 112 research outputs on his UWA staff profile. He has been a researcher in four national research programs. His work has been cited by the WA Supreme Court, the High Court, State and Commonwealth Parliamentary Committees, and the Productivity Commission.

Alex has been an active legal professional. He was a foundation member of the National Environmental Law Association (WA), serving as a committee member 1989–1995. In October 1994, he was one of the two lawyers to gain the first injunction to stop old growth logging in Western Australia, and in 1995 helped found the Environmental Defenders Office (WA), serving as convenor of the EDO (WA) Management Committee (2015–2018). Other examples of his professional service include:

• long term member of the Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association and the Editor of the Australian Resources and Energy Law Journal from 2012–2017;
• contributions to the work of LAWASIA and the Law Council of Australia;
• consulting to Western Australian and Australian government agencies, to the Environmental Defenders Office and private parties; senior sessional member of the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal 2005–2017; and 
• in recent years, assisting private parties in environmental appeals in WA. 

Alex has three key goals for the coming years; more time with family, completing some academic projects, and advocating for water resources law reform in Western Australia.

On 1 May 2024, Law Council President Greg McIntyre SC and Co-Chair of the Australian Environment and Planning Law Group, Robyn Glindermann, presented the Eminent Environmental Lawyer Award for Excellence to Her Honour President Fleur Kingham, the current Chair of the Queensland Law Reform Commission, at a Legal Practice Section’s Dinner celebrating Her Honour’s achievements and extensive service in the field of Environment and Planning Law.

Her Honour delivered a speech titled "If 42 is the answer, what was the question?". 

About Fleur Kingham

Fleur Kingham was appointed as Chair of the Queensland Law Reform Commission, commencing 1 April 2023 in a full-time capacity.

Her Honour has served as President of the Land Court of Queensland since 8 August 2016 and has also been the President of the Australian Association of Women Judges since July 2021. Prior to being appointed President of the Land Court of Queensland, her Honour was a Member of the Land Court of Queensland (2004-06), Deputy President of the Land and Resources Tribunal (2000-06) and the first Deputy President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (2009-2012).

Her Honour was appointed a Judge of the District Court of Queensland in 2006 and held commissions in the Childrens Court of Queensland (2006-2016) and the Planning and Environment Court (2006-2016). President Kingham is a graduate of The University of Queensland-Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (1982), Bachelor of Arts (1988), and the University of Nottingham-Master of International Law (Dist) (1990).