Victoria's former Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Kate Auty will take up the role in the ACT next month two years after quitting the Victorian post.
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Environment and Climate Change minister Simon Corbell said Professor Auty brought a wealth of experience and passion for sustainability to the task of overseeing the upkeep of the ACT's natural environment.
She will begin as Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment on May 2 and has been appointed for a five-year term.
Acting commissioner Ann Lyons Wright had held the role, designed to independently investigate complaints about the ACT government's environment management and ecologically sustainable development issues, since 2015 after former commissioner Bob Neil retired.
Professor Auty hit out at the Denis Napthine government's attitude on climate change when she quit her post in Victoria in 2014, criticising the Victorian government's use of the term "climate variability" rather than climate change.
Mr Corbell said he was looking forward to working with Professor Auty on ways to "adapt to the effects climate change" saying she had delivered five environmental management reports during her time as the Victorian environment commissioner.
"Professor Auty has a strong history with engaging the local community on state of the environment reporting and has previously toured Victoria to seek community input to the way the environment was managed, seeing first-hand the issues and opportunities of the natural landscape," Mr Corbell said.
In the past the ACT's commissioner had investigated Lake Burley Griffin and Canberra tree management practices.
"The role of the commissioner is vital to the ongoing health of our local environment and provides key insight into the management of our natural environment," Mr Corbell said.
Professor Auty is a member of the Melbourne Sustainable Societies Institute Advisory Board at the University of Melbourne and the Murray Darling Basin Authority Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences.
She has also worked as a magistrate in Western Australia and Victoria.
