Prof Barry Hart is one of the six independent members of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). He is an emeritus professor at Monash University and has previously held the positions of director of the Water Studies Centre at Monash University and director of research at the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology. Hart has established an international reputation in the fields of ecological risk assessment, environmental flow decision-making, water quality and catchment management and environmental chemistry. In addition to his role with the Authority, Hart is deputy chair of the Scientific Inquiry into Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory.