"God tells me to care for the world and care for my neighbours," she said. 

"Well, the Pacific Islands are our neigbours, and I consider myself responsible for their wellbeing."

Ms Bartlett is a Bega Valley optometrist, but has spent time in Papua New Guinea providing eye care for remote coastal villages.

Now, she has taken on the role of Eden-Monaro's chief petitioner for the Community Climate Petition, motivated by her concern of the rising sea levels that threaten her most vulnerable patients.

The petition is collecting signatures from voters in up to 100 electorates across the country, and aims to put pressure on Parliament to take immediate action on climate change. 

Frustrated by the ongoing politicisation of climate change, the petition was created by people of faith to show that differences in belief should not stand in the way of action. 

"It's to show our leaders that it's not just activism groups or the greens that are concerned about these issues, Ms Bartlett said.

"I've been collecting signatures from a whole range of people, many who are quite conservative."

She said the collaboration between the faiths highlighted the shared responsibility of climate change.

"It's not just Christians like me who are concerned, it's every faith, it's atheists too," she said.

 "It's an issue that transcends religious belief."

Ms Bartlett has travelled to Papua New Guinea five times since 2011 to offer her optometry skills alongside a team of other medical professionals. 

On her travels, she saw how climate change affected the lives of locals. 

"There were huge damages and consequences from intensified storms as a result of climate change," she said. 

"There were also reports that storm surges were travelling further inland and happening more frequently."

Coastal communities in Paupa New Guinea also face serious threat from rising sea levels. 

The  Australian Government's International Climate Change Adaption Initiative identified that sea levels near Papua New Guinea rose 7mm per year since 1993. This is substantially higher than the global average of about 3mm per year. 

 "It's upsetting that the world's poor suffers the most from climate change, yet they make the least contribution to the issue," Ms Bartlett said. 

She said rising sea levels burden Pacific communities with a range of issues, from cutting off food sources, increasing the salinity of drinking water and in the worst cases, washing away entire homes. 

"When communities have to relocate, they don't just loose their homes, they can lose their culture too."

Ms Bartlett pointed out that it is in Australia's interest to tackle this issue as soon as possible, before a wave of climate refugees need to resettle here.

"There has already been five islands washed away in the Solomon Islands," she said. 

"If we want to reduce pressure on our own population, we need to act now."

Ms Bartlett estimated she had 700 signatures on her petition for Eden-Monaro so far. She plans to present the petition to Mike Kelly at the end of August, who has agreed to deliver the petition to the House of Representatives.

"We hope to run a petition in every electorate, so each member will present to the house, regardless of what side of politics they represent," she said. 

Ms Bartlett will continue to collect signatures for her petition on the streets of the Bega Valley until August 7. Her petition is also available to sign at the Bega and Merimbula Jason Harley Optometry offices.