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Leaders in Profile Mike Nunn
Leaders in Profile Mike Nunn
Mike Nunn
Mike Nunn is a father of four, a self-confessed workaholic and he gets his biggest kick out of sharing his knowledge and experience with others. He is a veterinarian and the Principal Scientist (Animal Biosecurity) in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) where he works in risk analysis and the prevention and control of animal diseases. He is a graduate of ARLP Course 5 and recently agreed to be profiled for The Rural Leader.After graduating in Melbourne, Mike went to Papua New Guinea (PNG) where he undertook clinical, training and regulatory roles. He then completed postgraduate studies in tropical veterinary science in Townsville and returned to run PNG's National Veterinary Laboratory and marry Patricia, whom he met on his first stint in the country.
He worked in PNG for 13 years, becoming the country's Chief Veterinary Officer and Director of Animal and Plant Health and Quarantine. While there he also undertook a postgraduate course in management and completed studies for membership of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists and of the Australian Society for Microbiology. Since returning to Australia he has worked in various roles in DAFF, providing scientific analysis and advice on animal health. Mike has provided advice and run training courses overseas for a range of regional and international organisations, including the Asian Development Bank, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on issues ranging from animal health surveillance systems to emerging zoonoses (diseases that are transferable from animals to humans, such as bird flu and mad cow disease).
He enjoys the challenges of disease prevention and control, and has a particular interest in zoonoses. He particularly enjoys working with colleagues in developing countries where resource constraints and cultural differences can make this work even more interesting and challenging.
What is your current role?
Principal Scientist, (Animal Biosecurity) in Biosecurity Australia, which is one of the groups in DAFF. I provide scientific overview of a group of about 45 scientists who provide high level scientific and policy advice on animal health, particularly with respect to quarantine and import policy.Where did you grow up?
At a place called Research, about 25km north-east of Melbourne, in the Yarra Valley. It was a mixed farming area and we had about 20 acres and what these days would be called a ‘hobby farm’. We had 30 to 40 dairy goats, numerous chickens, geese, and ducks, bees, pigs and a few horses and dairy cows — hence, no doubt, my interest in animals and animal health!What interests you most about your job?
It’s the constant learning and the need to make judgements in uncertainty. You never have all the information you might wish to have if you're talking about disease control or biosecurity risks but you still have to make a decision or recommendation. For example, in an outbreak situation for a disease such as bird flu or foot-and-mouth, this might be on whether or not to vaccinate (and with what vaccine and dose), where you allocate your limited resources, and how you win farmer, community and politicians’ support for a particular action when there are such options and uncertainties.What is your greatest achievement?
I’m not sure what my greatest achievement is. Probably, with my wife, managing to raise four wonderful children who are fast becoming remarkably sane and thoughtful young adults.In a work sense, I get my greatest satisfaction from helping people to do something and seeing them go away and do it. It could be something as simple as showing a a village farmer how to feed his pigs better and raise a couple more pigs per litter that he can sell for his family. Or it might be a graduate student I am helping to steer through some of the personal traumas and technical difficulties of a research project.
One of my biggest learnings is that to be effective I need to be on a STEEEP learning curve — Social, Technical/scientific, Economic, Environmental, Ethical, and Policy/political. I learnt early in my career that my education and training made me quite competent technically (as a ‘T’) but what I had to realise was I was of little use if I couldn't take account of the other factors that I now think of as STEEEP. For example, working overseas I am constantly reminded of the importance of the social and cultural issues (‘S’) affecting animal production and health, and thus all of my work there. Similarly, in the public sector, it doesn’t matter how good you are technically you have to be able to facilitate the right policy (‘P’) framework, whether in a government department or an international organisation, to achieve the outcome you want.