First Indigenous member joins Murray-Darling Basin Authority board By Shannon Jenkins Monday December 21, 2020 The federal government has named Rene Woods as the first person to fill the Indigenous position on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority board, more than a year after the permanent role was created. A Nari Nari man from Hay in New South Wales, Woods currently works as a conservation officer with Nature Conservancy Australia, and has previously held the role of chair of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations. He has also been vice-chair of the Nari Nari Tribal Council. Woods said the four-year appointment was “a step in the right direction” to closing the gap and improving First Nations influence on water-management decisions.