Board Members
Membership of Property Rights Australia is currently managed by an executive comprised of:
Joanne Rea - Chairman
I have lived on a beef cattle property outside Rockhampton for almost four decades. In the past I was on the Council of The Cattleman’s Union for eight years and was a member of The Community Consultation Committee of the Rockhampton Hospital District for four years.
I joined the Board of Property Rights Australia because I believe that landholders are being persecuted by government and have had to deal with the concept of Sovereign Risk in a way that is unprecedented in modern times in Australia.
It is clear that governments have no concept of the disillusionment suffered by those very few of the under 40’s generation who have continued on as small business owners in the food and fibre industries at a time when the world is predicted to face food shortages as one of its major challenges in the next ten years.
Lee McNicholl - Vice Chairman
I grew up in Brisbane, completed Senior at Gregory Terrace in 1963 and graduated in Vet. Science from the Uni of Qld in 1968. Played Rugby for Qld as a winger while at Uni.
• '69-70. Fortunate to have my eyes & ears opened through completing a M.SC. in Range Management at the Uni. of California Berkeley when UCB was at the epicentre of the revolutionary student protest movement. This opportunity arose via being recruited to play Rugby for the UCB " Golden Bears".
• '71-'72 . Mixed Practice in Darwin with Goff. Letts & Assoc. There met wife Megan Purvis-Smith, the unforgettable school teacher from Tenterfield NSW.
• '72-88 . Vet. Officer for North Australian Pastoral Company based in Mt. Isa and in charge of BTEC programme & general herd health spanning from Alexandria Stn. in the Territory to Monkira in the Channel Country to Islay Plains near Clermont . To service this vast area obtained a private pilots licence and logged 3000 hours plus three near death crash experiences, hence the "Leethal Doctor" nickname bestowed by station staff!! With three other partners bought Mittiebah Stn. on the Barkly Tableland. This was a highly profitable pre Capital Gains Tax investment.
• Our kiddlies {The Three Bears} Kate, Rebecca & Doug were born in Mt. Isa.
• Sold Mittiebah in 1988 and "downsized" to Arklow .Children attended Dulacca S.S and then boarded in Toowoomba 250Klm to the east. They all inherited sufficient I.Q from their mother to complete Uni.degrees graduating as Environmental Engineers. Currently run 2000 cattle and farm 1500 acres. In 1999 was one of three founding members of the legendary Condamine Cods RUFC. Continue to play in their C Grade and Golden Oldies team, the mighty"Codgers". Blood Pressure is 73 over 135! Body Mass Index is spot on.
Am enjoying greatly my role as Vice Chairman of the PRA.
Ron Bahnisch - Treasurer
Ron has spent a lifetime on the land. After attending boarding school in Brisbane he went home to help on the small family farm which he later bought from his father. In 1971 he and his wife, Lorna, drew a brigalow block and moved to the Marlborough area with their three young sons. He was active in the Cattlemens Union, and since buying landwith access to irrigation water has been involved with Fitzroy Basin Food and Fibre (board member) and is chairman of Fitzroy Barrage Irrigators Consultative Committee.
He is currently a member of the Community Reference Panel reviewing the Fitzroy Basin WAMP. The three sons are all interested in the land. One son runs his own property but the other two are still working in the family business. Ron is passionate about Australia’s need to protect the farmer’s rights to produce without undue bureaucratic interference.
Ashley McKay
I was born in 1941 and married Doris in 1963. We own and operate a cattle breeding and fattening property at Augathella.
I was the Foundation President of the Australian Camp Drafters Assoc. in 1972 and also joined the Cattlemen's Union at it's inception and held the position of Councillor for five years and Vice President for three years. I have also been Chairman of the Land & Local Government Committee, a member of the QLD Government State Trees Group. a member of the Ministerial resource Management Advisory Committee and the Chair on a Local Tree Clearing Group.
I have been a Property Rights Australia member since it's inception and previously was on the board for four years. I have worked with many leading Rangeland scientists and conservation people. Dorris and I won a landmark case against the Queensland Government in 2005.
Christopher Leeds
I am a cattle producer form south-west Queensland. I have lived at “Narran”, 120km south-east of Charleville for 22 years. I am married with 3 children aged 21, 18 and 16 years.
As a fourth generation grazier, in the district, I have a wealth of knowledge, both handed down and from first hand experience in managing the soft Mulga country of the Wyandra district.
I am passionate about preserving property rights to maintain a healthy, productive, sustainable environment so that 5th and future generations of my and others’ families will also have a future on the land. I am also a member of Australian Environmental Foundation, South West Natural Resource Management, Agforce and the National Party.
Peter Anderson
Peter is a cattle producer and dry land, zero till broadacre farmer on the Central Highlands, "Glenlea Downs", 70 km north-east of Clermont Central Queensland. Peter is married to Julia and they have two children. After completing his education in Charters Towers, Peter returned to the farm to help his father Neil Anderson. A second-generation farmer in the Kilcummin District, Peter has been devoted to agriculture his entire life. There have been many changes in cattle production and farming practices during he and his father's time in the Kilcummin district. Innovative pasture management practices and cropping science have always been implemented for maximum production efficiency and environmental benefits, which go hand in hand.
Peter was active in the Young Nationals and has been involved in local community groups that promote the development of infrastructure and social well being of the community in general. Due to the onslaught of draconian State Government Legislation in recent times, the impact of this on the production capabilities and net real environmental benefits of the region have become a major concern. As a result of this concern, Peter and Julia are proud to support the PRA charter.