Toiling for a better future
DON’T EXPECT THIS BUSY CAIRNS MOTHER-OF-TWO TO RUN FOR OFFICE ANYTIME SOON – SHE’S FAR TOO BUSY IN HER DAY JOB WORKING HARD TO PRESERVE OUR PLANET WITH SENSIBLE POLICIES,
Carole Sweatman’s championing of the natural environment has taken her from positions in local and state government all the way to a volunteer job in Cambodia with the United Nations, but don’t ever expect her to run for office.
The mum-of-two (above) from the tiny coastal town of Indented Head on the shores of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria has now been a Far North Queenslander for 14 years after buying a piece of pristine rainforest in Bingil Bay on a whim with her partner. With a science degree majoring in geography, the 52-year-old said her field of interest was “something practical”.
CAROLE Sweatman’s championing of the natural environment has taken her from positions in local and state government all the way to a volunteer job in Cambodia with the United Nations, but don’t ever expect her to run for office.
The mum-of-two from the tiny coastal town of Indented Head on the shores of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria has now been a Far North Queenslander for 14 years after buying a piece of pristine rainforest in Bingil Bay on a whim with her partner.
Although the family now lives in Cairns due to the amount of travel involved in Ms Sweatman’s role as chief executive of environmental management group Terrain Natural Resource Management, she still takes comfort in the fact the wilderness is only a short drive away.
With a science degree majoring in geography, the 52year-old said her field of interest was “something practical”.
“I went to a really small high school and I was always interested in geography and earth sciences and at our school, if I wanted to do that, I had to do it by correspondence. So, even from high school I was making the decision if I wanted to go down that path I had to do schooling in a different way,” Ms Sweatman said.
“I always had a really strong interest in how the natural world works.
“I started work with state government in Victoria at a time when a lot of agreements were being made around rainforest management. Victoria was the first state to introduce environmental managers and I was one of those.
“I got a job with the Board of Works writing the open space strategy for Melbourne and running grants for open bike paths and trails through the city.”
Although there have been calls to run for government, Ms Sweatman believes her strengths lay in how she collaborates with multiple different entities, even though the job often took time to reap benefits.
“I think it’s complex. If you’re a landholder, if you’re a farmer, you’re not only dealing with global markets, there are greater expectations on what your role is as steward on your land, changes of government have different rules, there is different legislation and I look at what you have to keep your head around most of the time and it’s actually quite a challenging thing to do,” she said.
“The vast majority of people are not trying to do the wrong
THE MUM-OF-TWO FROM THE TINY COASTAL TOWN OF INDENTED HEAD ON THE SHORES OF PORT PHILLIP BAY IN VICTORIA HAS NOW BEEN A FAR NORTH QUEENSLANDER FOR 14 YEARS
thing. The best places is where people put their own ideas forward and you’re actually able to get those to fruition because that has all that ownership with it rather than things being imposed on them.
“We’re in a better situation now where the government and others say the solutions have to come from people.”
The most innovative idea out of that process has been the reef credits system which was born from a two-year discussion between Terrain NRM, state government, farmers and environmental managers. The system is still in the planning phase but will give farmers a financial incentive to enact better business practices which reduce fertiliser run-off into coastal waterways close to the Great Barrier Reef.
“I think the reef credits will only work because it has the local community on board,” Ms Sweatman said.
“The amount of time local farmers are putting into going to meetings and workshopping things, that’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours. They’re not getting paid for that. That’s a huge amount of goodwill going into solving the problem.
“Government money won’t be around for the long term and if it’s not part of how you do your business day to day, things won’t continue to change.
“The change has been over an eight to 10-year time period. There’s a really good story to tell about how we deal with the Reef versus the Vegetation Act. That’s being set up as a combative thing. Last time there were people marching in the street.
“We started working with farmers straightaway. We said even though you’re struggling with the science and being blamed for it, how do we turn it into something we can tackle together. “The answer had to be a good thing for farming and a good thing for the environment. If you rely on the law to make people do the right thing, that doesn’t work once the law’s gone.”
WE’RE IN A BETTER SITUATION NOW WHERE THE GOVERNMENT AND OTHERS SAY THE SOLUTIONS HAVE TO COME FROM PEOPLE CAROLE SWEATMAN