2016-04-21
21/04/2016
The Greens are proud to announce their exceptional local candidate for the seat of Herbert in the federal election – Wendy Tubman.
Qld Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader, said:
“Wendy has proved a tireless advocate for our Great Barrier Reef and the 67 000 jobs it provides in her role as Coordinator of the North Queensland Conservation Council.
“With our Reef suffering horrific bleaching and the coal price in structural decline, it doesn’t make sense to threaten Reef tourism for the dying coal industry, especially when we have job-rich clean energy alternatives.
“We Greens have developed plans to help workers who are losing their jobs, with employment and training in the job-rich clean-energy industry and other 21st Century industries, such as tourism, sustainable agriculture, higher education and research, health and IT.
“We have also developed a plan to ensure mining companies pay upfront for the rehabilitation of their sites so we can fund local jobs in mine site rehabilitation when mines close down.
“We want to see Clive Palmer or his companies cover the cost of workers’ entitlements as well as the rehabilitation of the nickel refinery site so that local rehabilitation jobs can be provided if the refinery shuts down for good,” Senator Waters said.
Greens Candidate for Herbert, Wendy Tubman, said:
“We Greens have the courage and vision to take action on job creation in Townsville by investing in clean 21st Century industries that don’t destroy Great Barrier Reef or agriculture jobs like the coal and gas industries do.
“Townsville has the potential to lead the nation in baseload solar power, with abundant sunshine above the threshold typically required for solar thermal power stations, even during winter.
“Research by Beyond Zero Emissions shows that building a 760 megawatt solar thermal plant could create 1300 construction jobs, 240 permanent jobs and 225 jobs manufacturing the component ‘heliostat’ mirrors.
“I’m looking forward to listening to community members and discussing Greens’ policies, including compassion for refugees and raising government revenue from the big end of town to properly fund our hospitals and schools,” Ms Tubman said.
Senator Waters said Ms Tubman had an excellent track record of working in the community to protect the environment, jobs and health.
“During her four years at the Conservation Council, Wendy was instrumental in putting an end to the dumping of dredge spoil in the Reef Marine Park, which is an important step towards safeguarding the 67 000 jobs that rely on the Reef’s health.
“Wendy also spearheaded the inquiry into contaminated dust in Townsville, which led to the establishment of an ongoing port stakeholders group working on minimising dust emissions around the Townsville port,” Senator Waters said.
Ms Tubman has formally stood down from her position with NQCC in order to campaign politically.
Contacts:
Senator Waters (Monique Vandeleur) 0419 626 725.
Wendy Tubman 0437 470 092.
Biography of Wendy Tubman, Agr.Sc. (Econ), University of Sydney
Wendy Tubman’s career has spanned market research, business development and high-level management and evaluation in the public, private and voluntary sectors.
She has worked for significant periods in various fields (consulting, media, environment, teaching and arts). With a good understanding of bureaucratic, political, social, cultural and environmental realities, Ms Tubman has established a number of successful business and voluntary enterprises. In the field of writing/editing/ publication, she specializes in natural resource management and the Pacific.
She has extensive developing country experience (having worked, for example, in Fiji, the Cook Islands and Vietnam) as well as a long and continuing involvement in community-based work in Australia.
Some career highlights:
- Established the Corporate Relations section, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, with responsibility for media and promotion activities; the oversight and coordination of commissioned research activities (including preparation of submissions, monitoring of projects, reporting and client liaison); the development of the organisation’s Strategic Plan; coordination of the research program; convening Corporate conferences; and advising on communications and corporate strategy.
- Conducted an evaluation of the Export Access Program. The findings of the report, refuted at the time by the relevant department and industry organisations, were subsequently vindicated by the findings of the Productivity Commission.
- Established the long-running Wendy Tubman & Associates, a private company with expertise in research, writing and editing in the fields of natural resource management and economics, and special interest in working with authors for whom English is a not their first language. Clients have included, Department of Industry, Science & Technology; Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (now trading as Land and Water Australia); WorldFish (previously ICLARM); Forest & Wood Products R&D Corporation; Greening Australia); the Australian Defence Force; the Australian Institute of Marine Science; University of the South Pacific; ANU; Townsville Enterprise Limited.
- Appointed Publications Fellow, IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, with overall responsibility for managing and developing this publishing house, which focused on all aspects of the South Pacific, and publishing largely the work of Pacific Islanders. Responsible for manuscript acquisition, substantive editing, copy-editing and proof-reading, liaison with authors, commissioning and overseeing of layout contractors, graphic designers, printers, marketing and distribution, personnel and finances.
- Appointed to various committees IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), a voluntary global network of people exploring how to be more effective as change agents for sustainability and for biodiversity conservation, and to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority advisory committee on protected areas.
- Worked as Coordinator of North Queensland Conservation Council over the period 2011-2016, achieving breakthrough progress on contaminated dust management in Townsville and the dumping of dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.