She was supported by Greens NSW lead Senate candidate, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC who came to Port Macquarie yesterday (August 4).

The pair will also conduct a campaign launch in Bellingen today at Lavender Bridge Park, from 2–3pm.

Dr Townley is an environmental scientist and Coffs Harbour councillor.  She is married with two teenage children and lives in Bellingen.

“The Australian government needs to show leadership now. I am concerned about the corporatisation of our natural resources.  For example, the Adani mine means we are facilitating a giant corporation by giving them, free, vast amounts of water which is obviously a scarce resource,” she said.

She said one of the party’s key platforms was making the transition to renewable energy.

“We know the technology is there.  So many domestic houses have already adopted it,” said Dr Townley, who wants cleaner electricity and sustainable jobs.

Dr Townley says the Greens are about showing that they offer people a much better future than Labour or the coalition can.

Dr Faruqi enjoyed a 25-year career as an engineer and environmental manager in local government, including at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. She has also held senior academic positions at the University of NSW. She was appointed to NSW Parliament in 2013 and will join the federal Senate later this month.

 She said it was wonderful to be back in Port Macquarie, where her journey with the Greens started, to launch the campaign for a fellow environmentalist.   

“The Greens are building a future where everyone is treated equally and fairly and all of us have access to things we need for a good life,” said Dr Faruqi.

“It’s a critical time for Australia.  We are a very wealthy country but many of us are being left behind, because the major parties are working for the big end of town.  We can tackle climate change and we can fund public services: health, education and our ABC.

“We can ensure that everyone has a home and protect our environment, our forests and our koalas,” she said.

Dr Faruqi said she was disturbed by this week’s news that an ABC investigation uncovered multiple claims by women that the Green party mismanaged their complaints about alleged sexual misconduct and harassment.

“It was very distressing to see what those women had gone through.  I think this is a real wake-up call for us.  We need to do more.  There has to be zero tolerance for any harassment or abuse,” she said.

The Australian Labor Party has selected Andrew Woodward of Bellingen to be the candidate for Cowper at the upcoming federal election. Luke Hartsuyker of the Nationals has been MP for Cowper for almost 17 years and he has yet to comment on speculation that he may retire.