INTHEBLACK April 2025 - Magazine - Page 32
MEMBER PROFILE
While finance is the focus, it is the
variety that attracted me to the job —
not to mention working for an organisation
as iconic as the Botanic Gardens. It’s very
much aligned with my love for nature
and the outdoors.
No two days are the same. The breadth
of matters that come across my desk never
ceases to amaze me. It is not just the Royal
Botanic Garden and The Domain in Sydney
that come under our purview, but also
the Australian Botanic Garden Mount
Annan (in Sydney’s south-west), and the
Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount
Tomah (in the Blue Mountains). Across all
sites, we’re overseeing more than 700 hectares
of land, which together attract more than
13 million visits per year.
32 INTHEBLACK April 2025
One moment I could be engaged in
strategic matters, and the next I'm reacting
to emerging issues. My daily tasks could
include everything from high-level meetings
and negotiations to reviewing briefing notes
and accounting papers or having discussions
with the New South Wales (NSW ) Treasury
about funding. Often, I could be liaising with
colleagues from external agencies or looking
at operational matters on the ground in
the Gardens.
As a NSW government agency,
we serve the citizens of NSW, and the public
expect a certain standard from the Gardens
and their visitor experience. We must always
demonstrate the value-for-money that
we’re deriving from every dollar we spend.
Maintaining our significant Living Collections,
