Theresa Craig hasn’t wasted any time since arriving in Australia almost three decades ago.
The 61-year-old agricultural scientist from Maleny is treasurer of the National Party of Australia and holds numerous leadership roles across rural and regional parts of her home state Queensland and the nation.
She migrated to Australia from Canada in 1994.
“I really wanted to go somewhere where I felt that agriculture was going to be up and coming and with a really good future,” Dr Craig said.
During the past 20 years she has sat on several agricultural boards and been heavily involved in the Nationals.
She was previously the federal president of the Nationals Women’s Council from 2017 to 2021.
For her significant service to politics and the agriculture industry, Dr Craig has been appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the 2023 Australia Day Honours.
She was among a selection of people from the Sunshine Coast to receive awards.
“To have my adopted country where I’ve chosen to live and be a citizen and … people say, you’re a part of it, and we thank you for the work you’ve done, it’s just fabulous,” she said of the honour.
Dr Craig said while she did not believe in human-induced climate change she was a big advocate of the environment.
“We live on a planet, it’s like a spaceship … there’s only one, so you got to take care of the planet,” she said.
“The climate is always changing and it is not caused by human intervention.”
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has previously reported that human-induced climate change was causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people.
Despite her views on climate change, Dr Craig said Australia needed to reduce its emissions to remain competitive on the agricultural export market.
“We can’t live in isolationism, but … the agricultural producers are already making great strides … in lowering emissions,” she said.
Dr Craig breeds charolais cattle at her stud on the Sunshine Coast and is one of scores of Australians recognised for their work in agriculture as part of the 2023 honours.
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