About
I have lived most of my life in St John's Wood, a small district within Ashgrove. I schooled locally and began my career as a teacher at The Gap. After this I headed south, travelled, and changed career direction and for the last 15 years have worked as a GP in Alderley. My husband and I live in the house I was born in, with a variety of transient wildlife I rehabilitate and release again to the wild.
In 2007 I devoted myself to reading the science behind the changing climate. I had always been troubled by the fact that we base much of our economy and often our lifestyles on processes that are destructive of our environment but had not until then realised the extent to which human actions have altered the composition of the atmosphere. It became clear that this de-stabilisation is wreaking havoc with eco systems, the oceans, the forests, the predictability of weather and our survival prospects.
I felt deeply affected by what I now understood and knew these global issues would occupy me for the rest of my life.
At a local level I initiated the formation of SJW Sustainability in 2008 which attempts to raise awareness and involve the suburb in issues of sustainability. Helping restore neighbourliness has been a happy experience. My mother used to always leave for the bus ten minutes ahead of the time needed to walk. She said it allowed her time to pass the time of day with all the neighbours en route. It's rather like that now again in St John's Wood.
Standing for a political party had not been on my agenda until 2009 when I crossed paths with Larissa Waters at the Walk Against Warming. Larissa popped the question - would I be willing to consider standing as a candidate for The Greens in the seat of Ryan at the federal election in 2010?
I had often found myself saying some things matter more than others and feeling frustrated with the old political parties whose attention remained on issues that are more focussed on self interest. The Greens are the party willing to speak out on the vital issues like peace, justice, quality education for all, preventive health care and a sustainable economy based on a respect for the environment that sustains life on earth.
Ryan is now history and I found it a rewarding experience to be part of the swing to The Greens and attract 19 percent of the vote locally as people growingly recognise that The Greens offer a realistic and mature governance for the 21st century.
Now I see it is time to win the first seats for The Greens in the Queensland parliament. There are Greens in the parliaments of all the other states. Queensland, the challenge is before me. But we can and will do it.
