The Hon Craig Knowles AM joined Austrade in July 2018
as Senior Trade Commissioner Auckland with
responsibility for Austrade operations in New Zealand,
PNG, and Pacific Islands. Mr Knowles also holds the
position of Consul General of Australia to Auckland.
Prior to joining Austrade, his statutory appointments
included Chair, Murray Darling Basin Authority and
Member, Central Sydney Planning Committee. He is the
current Independent Chair of the NSW Government’s
Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).
Commercial roles include Independent Chair, Prospect
Water Partnership (Suez Environment Pty Ltd and
UniSuper Ltd); Director, Tulich Family Communities Aged
Care; and Director, South Western Sydney Primary Health
Network. He was formerly Member, Advisory Board, Built
Holdings Pty Ltd; and Member, Chifley Associates
(corporate advisory).
Historically, Mr Knowles was a Member of NSW Parliament
1990 – 2005 representing the electorates of Macquarie
Fields and Moorebank. As a senior Minister he held
portfolios including Health; Planning and Housing;
Sydney and Hunter Water Corporations and NSW Land
Commission; Infrastructure, Planning and Natural
Resources; and Forests and Lands. He was also the Mayor
of Liverpool City Council.
Mr Knowles has held a range of roles with charitable
and not-for-profit organisations, including: Director,
Black Dog Institute (since 2006); Director, Children’s
Medical Research Institute (since 2007); President,
Planning Research Centre, University of Sydney (since
2006).
In his role as Chairman of the Murray Darling Basin
Authority, Mr Knowles represented Australia at the 2014
United Nations General Assembly Forum on Water and
Energy as part of the UN mission to develop Sustainable
Development Goals in the context of global climate
change.
In 2015, Mr Knowles was awarded The Member of the Order
of Australia (AM) for “significant service to local
government, to the Parliament of NSW, and to the
community through a range of health initiatives”.
Mr. Knowles is a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute and a
Certified Practicing Valuer.