{"id":49738,"date":"2019-11-10T22:02:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-10T11:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=49738"},"modified":"2022-05-02T12:34:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T02:34:00","slug":"quiet-leader-of-climateemergency-burgewords-carolsparks-interview-nswfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/quiet-leader-of-climateemergency-burgewords-carolsparks-interview-nswfires\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiet leader of #ClimateEmergency: @burgewords #CarolSparks interview #NSWFires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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CLIMATE COUNCILLOR: Glen Innes Severn Shire mayor Carol Sparks. Photo: Michael Burge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Journalist<\/em> Michael Burge<\/a> interviewed Carol Sparks \u2014 mayor of Glen Innes Severn Shire Council in the NSW New England region\u00a0\u2014 in 2019, before this week’s bushfires that have caused multiple fatalities and property losses, and continue to burn in conditions widely described as “unprecedented”. Here’s a glimpse of where Clr Sparks’ principled stand about climate change came from.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what women are facing all over the nation, and women are leaving politics in their droves.<\/p>Clr Carol Sparks, mayor of Glen Innes Severn Shire Council, NSW<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

CAROL Sparks describes herself as an unlikely candidate for local government, but a desire for change in her community drove this former nurse into a political career that\u2019s already made history in Glen Innes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was while co-ordinating state and federal elections for New England Greens candidate Mercurius Goldstein that Carol got a close-up look at public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went on the campaign trail and I spoke to lots of people,\u201d she recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realised I had a bit of a passion for it, to try and bring climate change to their attention, the problems with our waterways, and the environmental damage that was happening on the Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen the council elections were coming up and I thought well, I could just keep talking to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol\u2019s campaign for the Glen Innes Severn Council (GISC) elections in 2016 was conducted over a fortnight in a very grassroots manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Clr Carol Sparks. Photo: Tony Grant<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just stood out on the street and said: \u2018Vote me in for council\u2019 and people liked that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere had been campaigning in this region in the past, but it had always been done in the newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was quite exciting and people were enthusiastic towards me. The community was feeling a little bit frustrated, they said we needed a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major driver for Carol was the under-representation of women in local government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a majority of men on the council and I really felt that women needed to have a decision-making presence,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDianne Newman was a councillor and she was feeling a bit isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI campaigned on health, women, water, and potholes. Unfortunately there\u2019s still some potholes around, but we\u2019re working hard on that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal drive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Raised at Tathra on the far south coast of New South Wales, Carol\u2019s mother\u2019s family were dairy farmers and her painter father a Second World World veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI left school at fourteen and worked in a grocery store, before starting my nursing training at Bega,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to the Keppel Islands on holiday and that\u2019s where I met my husband, Badja. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe sailed around the Whitsundays, got married, and lived in England for eight years where our children were born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After moving to the Glen Innes region in 1980, Carol and Badja established a local antiques and collectable business and a second-hand bookshop. The couple\u2019s son Joe now owns The Book Market in central Glen Innes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about what sparked her political ambitions, Carol admits to having an internal drive that shocks a few people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m an old woman,\u2019 she says, laughing. \u201cAnd I wanted to have a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was a registered nurse and working in palliative care here in Glen Innes for twenty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were needs in the community. We\u2019ve got doctors on call, but it\u2019s very different when you have a doctor right there when you present at a hospital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTowns in the bush tend to get poor services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trial by fire<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Carol served as deputy mayor from 2016 until September, 2018, when a majority of councillors elected her into the mayoral office. Looking back at her first years as a local representative, she describes the experience as a \u201ctrial by fire\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt still is,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had another lady who was president of Severn Shire Council,\u201d Carol adds, referring to councillor Alice Clifford, who served prior to the amalgamation with Glen Innes Council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we\u2019ve never had a female mayor of the municipal council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what women are facing all over the nation, and women are leaving politics in their droves. I suppose that\u2019s writ small here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve tended to be a person who goes against the grain, and it\u2019s been very inspiring to look at Dianne, who is now deputy mayor, and notice the changes that have happened for her whilst I\u2019ve been on council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could do with a couple more women, I reckon, just to balance it up a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what she imagines her legacy will be, beyond bringing more gender equality, Carol is very clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think renewable energy, happy kids, more community gardens, and more sustainable businesses,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do have a tendency to be a bit old-fashioned. I\u2019d love to bring the rail trail here, for example, with lots of backpackers coming from overseas,\u201d she adds, referring to a proposal to alter the use of the closed rail corridor that runs from Armidale to Wallangarra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVolunteering is also a big thing in Glen Innes. We cannot survive without our volunteers and of course they\u2019re all getting older, so encouraging younger volunteers is something I\u2019ll be looking to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the issues that divide country towns along political lines, Carol is firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we care for our waterways and our creeks, we should create biodiversity and plant trees instead of cutting them down,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo have healthy waterways is where we find most in common with farmers. They need water too, so we need to look after the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe come together though common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article first appeared in New England Living magazine and Michael’s website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Journalist Michael Burge interviewed Carol Sparks \u2014 mayor of Glen Innes Severn Shire Council in the NSW New England region\u00a0\u2014 in 2019, before this week’s bushfires that have caused multiple fatalities and property losses, and continue to burn in conditions widely described as “unprecedented”. Here’s a glimpse of where Clr Sparks’ principled stand about climate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":49741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3434,2246,3329,3548,585,854],"tags":[2276,3474,3014,3475],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/CAROL-SPARKS.jpg?fit=799%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t0mw-cWe","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57449,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49738\/revisions\/57449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}