Ms Caitlin McConnel

Australian Farmer & Lawyer on legal issues

Caitlin McConnel is a sixth-generation farmer, legal strategist, and prominent agribusiness leader based at Cressbrook Station in Queensland’s Somerset Region—the oldest identified family business in the state. A passionate advocate for sustainable land stewardship and regional resilience, Caitlin combines deep practical experience on-farm with a strong legal and governance background.

She currently serves as Chair of the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), having been appointed in April 2025 by the Hon. Dale Last MP. Caitlin is also actively involved in national industry conversations through roles with Cattle Australia, the Queensland Law Society, and the Department of Primary Industries ESG Working Group.

At Cressbrook Station, Caitlin manages a commercial beef cattle operation using regenerative, cell-grazing practices introduced by her great-grandfather in the early 1900s. She and her father were the first producers in Australia to install dual-axis solar trackers that operate alongside grazing, offering a unique model for co-locating clean energy infrastructure on working farms. She has since expanded operations to include pastured eggs, honey, horticulture, and direct-to-customer beef.

Caitlin brings a wealth of insight into climate resilience, multi-purpose land use, and food security, having also contributed to national policy through the Australian Government’s Food Security in Australia inquiry. She is a finalist in the 2025 Queensland 40 Under 40 Awards, recognised for her outstanding leadership in agriculture and law.

ABSTRACT

Convergence: The potential legal implications of juggling environmental responsibility with economic ambition

Since ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the development of policy aimed at building climate resilience has largely focussed on holding the increase in global temperature average whilst making finance flow consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development; with buzzwords such as ‘ESG’, ‘net zero’, ‘climate-smart’ and ‘natural capital’ now common in day-to-day vernacular.

Whilst the emergence of these terms has coincided with statutory obligations to report on sustainability initiatives or climate risks, as well as investment opportunities in renewable energies projects or alternative food production technologies; it is arguable that such terminology demonstrates a continued focus by government and business to value natural assets and food security through a numerical lens of economic growth and development.

Although placing a numerical value on nature and food production can help promote innovation or incentivise environmental protection; it is little known fact that the Paris Agreement was entered into entered in pursuit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which both reiterate that:

• increasing our ability to adapt to climate change, foster climate resilience, and low greenhouse gas development must be done in a manner that does not threaten food production, and
• when taking action to address climate change, parties must consider:
  • their respective obligations on human rights, and
  • the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security, food production systems, and Mother Earth. 

Furthermore, few decision-makers are aware that courts of law across multiple jurisdictions are now scrutinizing the alleged failures by government or business to consider the aesthetic and spiritual value of nature in the context of human rights through climate litigation; in a real-time convergence demonstrating the importance of returning to the first principles of ecologically sustainable development.