Friday 25/1/2008 Page: 15
MATTHEW Nott was well-known and respected in the Bega Valley Shire long before his climate change "Eureka" moment on Tathra beach two years ago. Dr Nott moved to the shire in 2000 to set up an orthopaedic practice, a dream he had held since he was 15 years old. He was born in Canberra and would have been the third generation Canberra doctor in his family had he remained there. His grandfather, Dr Lewis Nott, was the first Member for Canberra in the Federal Parliament.Dr Matthew Nott trained at Sydney University and then moved to New Zealand to study orthopaedics and "very nearly stayed." What drew him back to Australia was the possibility of practising in the Bega Valley. He said it was very tough to start because the only contract Southern Area Health Service would offer required him to be on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a week and 12 to 16 joint replacements a year. This was later reduced to 12 joint replacements a year. "The only thing that kept us here was that we were in love with the area," he said. "It was very hard on our family life because I was always on call and working long hours" In very short time he had a 6 year waiting list for joint replacement surgery and a very sympathetic community that was worried about losing him.
Public meetings were held in centres across the shire demanding that Southern Area Health Service provide him with help and, eventually, Dr Gareth Long was offered an orthopaedic contract. This effectively halved the workload and Dr Nott settled in to enjoying life on the coast. Then, on New Year's Day 2006, came that "Eureka" moment. On duty at the Tathra Surf Club on the hottest day on record, he was reading one of his Christmas presents, Tim Flannery's "The Weather Makers" when it all fell into place. A few weeks later he was in the Canadian ski resort, Whistler, where there were real concerns that there would not be enough snow cover for the 2010 Winter Olympics. "They were furiously creating snow-making machines and I realised that they were adapting to the climate change problem, not fixing it," Dr Nott said.
He says the biggest problem in addressing global warming is "human inertia." "Human beings are individually brilliant but collectively stupid. "Our gut reaction is that if we can't see it then it's not a problem. "But the solution is so obvious - stop burning coal! " Over the next two years Dr Nott's life changed dramatically. He began with activities to draw attention to climate change - a human sign on Tathra beach spelling out the slogan that was to become the name of his organisation - "Clean Energy for Eternity" - and a swim in the freezing waters of Lake Jindabyne in midwinter.
He also began talking - and he hasn't stopped since. He has attended meetings and rallies around the Bega, Eurobodalla, Cooma Monaro and Snowy Mountains Shires, convincing communities to adopt the CEFE targets of 50/50 by 2020 - a 50 per cent reduction in use of fossil fuels and a 50 per cent increase in renewable energy by 2020. He also took his message to politicians in Sydney and Canberra. His next project was Life Saving Energy in which he hopes to get every surf lifesaving club converted to alternative power sources.
"We started at Tathra putting a small wind turbine and a few solar panels on the surf club roof and we hoped to duplicate that effort throughout the country but that hasn't happened yet so we will be redoubling our efforts this year." Dr Nott says 2008 is the year to get things going on the ground - starting with a 30-acre solar farm, which would be a first for Australia.
"It would be community- owned, in a partnership with government. "Once we get the first one up and running then we can start to export and just one a year would meet our 50/50 by 2020 target. "I have already had 15 farmers from around the region approach me to talk about land that may be suitable," he said. "Setting it up would only take about two months and just two megawatts would provide almost enough energy to power the whole of Bega" However, while solar power is effective it is not the cheapest option - that's wind energy.
Dr Nott says there are a lot of myths and rumours surrounding wind energy but he believes the biggest hurdle is that wind is a threat to the coal industry. He says CEFE has had some wind mapping done in the south east and has come up with a couple of sites suitable for wind farms. "Now we need to talk to the communities and help them overcome their fear of the unknown. "There are several issues such as bird strike, property values and noise levels. "Wind farm technology would provide enormous opportunities for the region, both employment and environmental.
Dr Nott believes the Bega Valley Shire has a great opportunity to lead Australia in coming up with solutions to climate change. He tries hard to practise what he preaches but realises he is an easy target. "I drive a hybrid car but there are limits to what it can do so we also have a four-wheel drive that tows a camping trailer. "We try to use only the hybrid car around town and limit the 4WD to camping trips." Dr Nott has also installed solar panels on his Tathra roof and says it was very satisfying to receive his first cheque - for $950 - from Country Energy for the power the system fed back into the grid over the past 12 months. "It's a great feeling to be producing more energy than you need," he said.
His next immediate project will be an endurance swim in Lake Jindabyne on February 10. He has already extracted commitments to participate from the Federal Member for Eden- Monaro, Mike Kelly, and the State Member for Monaro, Steve Whan. He also hopes to get the Korean Olympic triathlon team along. The aim is to raise $20,000, on the day, to install solar and windpower generators on the Lake Jindabyne Surf Club building so donations will be grateful received.
Dr Nott is married to solicitor Kylie Dummer who works for Legal Aid, specialising in family law, and they have three sons, Lewis (12), Henry (10) and Finley (8). He is joint Shire Citizen of the Year with Noel Watson.
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