Rod Quartermain

Biography

Rod Quartermain has been in the tourism industry as an operator and administrator for nearly 40 years.

Most recently he was the Manager of the Tourism and Property Branch for the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife until his retirement in 2017. Since then he has been a part time consultant on a number of ecotourism projects.

His background is as an owner operator of small to medium size businesses in a number of business sectors in many states in Australia and also worked in the import/export sector in London.

He got into tourism in the early 1980’s and has been a cruise boat operator on the Murray River and in Queensland, operated and managed a heritage park in Victoria, a WA Tourism Commission Regional manager in the Gascoyne, CEO of Fairbridge WA and President of the Peel Tourism Association.

Rod joined the then Department of Conservation and Land Management in 1998 and became responsible for tourism industry policy, liaison, licensing, evaluation of commercial tourism proposals, research and marketing and leases. This includes coordinating the successful Naturebank program that identifies opportunities for commercial accommodation development in WA’s parks.

For five years he was chairman of the Tourism and Protected Areas Forum that has representatives from all Commonwealth and State protected area managers and tourism agencies. This group discussed common issues and to look at a consistent approach to the management of tourism in protected areas can be achieved.

Principal Skills and Achievements:

• Extensive experience in manageing commercial operations on land managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions;
• Extensive experience in development of policy relating to commercial and recreational tourism in protected areas;
• Extensive experience is land assembly on Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (CALM Act) land including compliance with park management plans;
• Five years as Chair of the Tourism and Protected Areas Forum that developed a common national approach to development in protected areas; and
• Managed for the Department of Parks and Wildlife the succesful Naturebank program to identify and assemble development sites in national parks.