Claire Miller Consulting Pty Ltd

Claire Miller Consulting is an independent consultancy in public policy, strategy and communications, specialising in water-related issues. Director Claire Miller has more than 35 years of experience immersed in complex operating environments, where she identifies critical issues, navigates competing economic, social, environmental and cultural demands, and develops and advises on practical solutions. With a background as an award-winning journalist, ministerial policy adviser and industry strategist, Claire has a unique set of skills, expertise and perspective. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies, and over the last decade has worked inside government and in industry on the design and implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, one of the world’s most ambitious water reforms, among other regional and urban water projects.

Organisational Capability

Claire Miller Consulting is an independent consultancy in public policy, strategy and communications, specialling in water-related issues. Director Claire Miller has more than 35 years of experience immersed in complex operating environments, where she identifies critical issues, navigates competing economic, social, environmental and cultural demands, and develops and advises on practical solutions. With a background as an award-winning journalist, ministerial policy adviser and industry strategist, Claire has a unique set of skills, expertise and perspective. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies, and over the last decade has worked inside government and in industry on the design and implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, one of the world's most ambitious water reforms, among other regional and urban water projects.

Projects

Land and Water Use mapping
In 2016, a consortium of government agencies and the dairy industry undertook a detailed land and water mapping survey of the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District in northern Victoria, along with a landholder survey. The project enabled comparison with similar exercises in previous 15 years. The project provided critical insights into how land and water use has changed in response to severe drought and major water policy and water market reforms, including the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. It has assisted scenario planning on the GMID's structural adjustment challenges and opportunities.
Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (now the Connections Project)
The $2 billion State and Federally funded modernisation of the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District in northern Victoria, to save around 425 billion litres of water by upgrading, rationalising and automating leaky and inefficient infrastructure. My role was overseeing the project manager's early set-up and construction stages, stakeholder engagement and communications on the need for and benefits of the projects, ncluding management of community opposition in some quarters.
Lake Mokoan decomissioning
Lake Mokoan was a shallow, highly inefficient irrigation water storage in northern Victoria. Decomissioning the storage would and returning it to a natural wetland would save 42 GL a year, for environmental flows in the Murray and Snowy rivers. By 2010, the project was stillborn after more than seven years of hostile negotiations between the Department, landholders and irrigators over a secure water supply after decommissioning. The minister asked me to personally intervene. I engaged with the local leaders representing irrigators to build up trust and respect, and brought in outside experts in sensitively managing contenious water projects. The deal was finalised and apprvoed by all parties within four months, and delivered better than anticipated water savings and environmental outcomes.
Murray-Darling Basin Plan triple bottom line and regulatory impact analysis
Intimate involvement in the development, implementation and evaluation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan since its inception in 2007, in both government and industry leadership roles. My particular focus is on adaptive management to refine and improve delivery of reforms and projects as new environmental, social, economic, water market and cultural information becomes available.
Water markets and trading
Ongoing analysis of the regulatory and other drivers of water market behaviour in the southern Murray-Darling Basin under different economic and climate scenarios.