With the election rapidly looming, here’s a scorecard to see how the major parties stack up on climate change, from voteclimate.net
Make your voice heard and vote for the climate this weekend!
Hear the candidates respond to your climate messages!
Over the last three months, Climate Action Newtown and our supporters have doorknocked more than 3000 houses and surveyed almost 600 residents in Newtown, Stanmore, Petersham and Ashfield to hear residents’ views about climate change and renewable energy.
The results show that inner west residents want strong action on climate change! Here’s a 3 min video of some of the messages we heard from from the community…
Our survey results
- 76% of residents said that the Federal Government is not doing enough to tackle climate change
- 92% of people believe that Australia should develop a plan to move to 100% renewable energy
- 77% of residents believe that the government should stick to its 2007 election commitment to put a price on carbon and make polluters pay
- 83% residents believed that new energy in NSW should come from renewable sources rather than coal
- 73% of residents were more likely or much more likely to vote for a candidate committing to a price on carbon and significant investment in renewable energy
We are now holding our election candidates accountable and have asked them to respond to the results via a short video clip as part of our exciting Virtual Candidates Forum! Four of the six candidates in Grayndler have answered three questions on their parties’ position on a carbon price, new coal fired power and a transition plan to 100% renewable energy.
Listen to the candidates responses below!
Make your voice heard and vote for the climate on August 21st!
Anthony Albanese – Labor
Climate Action Newtown presented the survey results to Minister Albanese in his office on Thursday 12th August. He declined to do a video response and instead has issued this statement:
I have been a strong advocate around the Cabinet table for strong action on climate change.
The Federal Labor Government has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, is increasing the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target to 20% by 2020, and was twice blocked from implementing an Emissions Trading Scheme in the Senate.
Climate change requires a whole of government response. As Transport Minister, I am proud that we are rolling out the largest ever Commonwealth investment in urban public transport in Australia’s history, and we are mandating emissions restrictions on cars.
I remain committed to action on climate change.
Alex Dore – Liberal
Climate Action Newtown contacted Liberal candidate Alex Dore to ask for his response to the community survey. After initially agreeing to consider our request, he declined to return all further calls.
Perry Garofani – Australian Democrats
Pip Hinman – Socialist Alliance
James Cogan – Socialist Equality Party
Tell us what you think of our virtual forum!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the community survey.
Our friends at Beyond Zero Emissions are holding a free launch event for their Zero Carbon Australia Plan in Sydney on Thursday 12th August.
This cutting-edge plan, the culmination of over 12 months and thousands of hours of work by engineers, scientists and postgraduate students, is a collaboration between the climate solutions think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, and the University of Melbourne Energy Institute.
It is unique in Australia, a detailed and costed blueprint for transitioning our stationary energy sector to 100% renewable energy in ten years. The technologies utilised in this plan are commercially available now.
This free public event will cover the details of the plan as well as the state of renewable energy in Australia more broadly. A panel discussion with technical experts will follow the presentations.
Don’t miss out!
When: 6pm-7.45pm on Thursday 12 August
Where: Sydney Town Hall, 483 George St, Sydney
Also attending:
- Bob Carr – Former NSW Premier
- Malcolm Turnbull – Federal MP
- Matthew Wright – Executive Director Beyond Zero Emissions
- Allan Jones – City of Sydney
- MC – Quentin Dempster – ABC TV
You can also RSVP on the facebook event.
If you would like more information, check out the Synopsis (16 pages) or the Full Report (200 pages).
Ingrid, our talented resident artist, has put together a quick video from behind the scenes at some of CAN’s recent doorknocking bananza days:
We’re also doorknocking again this Sunday (Aug 1st) and next Sunday (Aug 8th), so RSVP to climate.action.newtown@gmail.com help us put climate back on the election agenda, one household at a time.
The Liverpool Plains SOS group have a petition running to ask the Government to disallow coal mining and coal seam gas extraction in areas important for agriculture and in particular, food production – it seems no area is safe from mining!
Please sign online at
http://www.petitiononline.com/CCAGNSW/petition.html and share with your friends.
From the amazing people behind 350.org, comes Put Solar On It, an international campaign to get our world leaders to get active!
On 10/10/10, thousands of communities will join together to celebrate climate solutions. All over the world, we’ll be putting up solar panels, installing wind turbines, digging community gardens, and more.
Now we’re asking world leaders to join us! In Australia, we’re asking Gillard to install solar panels on the roof of the Lodge, and then enact legislation to make it possible for everyone in this country to join us in the clean energy future. We need our Government to act symbolically – and then we need them to act for real!
30 friends and supporters of Climate Action Newtown!
It’s no joke. On Saturday 17th July, CAN and its friends and supporters are going to fan out and knock on doors across Newtown. We’ll engage with members of the local area, completing surveys with residents on renewable energy and climate change, as a way of starting a community conversation and ensuring that climate change is back on the agenda in the lead up to the federal election.
That won’t be easy. But it can be done, with your help!
We’re calling for 30 of our friends and supporters to come with us, to help us reach 3000 households across Newtown. We’re getting close to that number – in fact 22 of you have already confirmed your attendance – so if you haven’t already done so, please RSVP to Lydia at climate.action.newtown@gmail.com.
At our first doorknocking afternoon, I was anxious that it would be quite confronting to talk to people in this way, but I needn’t have worried – door after door yielded friendly and concerned citizens, with overwhelming support for what we were doing. Our survey that day found that 85% of residents thought the government was not doing enough to tackle climate change, and 92% of people thought Australia should develop a plan to move to 100% renewable energy!
CAN have run a few doorknocking sessions now, and we’ve been putting climate change back on the agenda, one household at a time. Following this weekend, we’ll be compiling the survey results, taking them to local member Anthony Albanese and asking him to respond to what people have said. We’ll then report his comments back to the people we’ve doorknocked. This is such a powerful way in which we can make sure our leaders are held accountable on climate change in an election year.
Training and equipment will be provided on the day, so all you have to bring is yourself, and in order to get as many people along as possible we’re asking you to invite a friend who you know who be interested in making a difference on climate this election. Afterwards, we’ll head to the pub for a drink and a debrief.
When: Saturday 17th July, 1.30pm – 5pm.
Where: meet at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, opposite Newtown train station. Follow the signs.
What to bring: water, snacks and a camera with video mode (so we can record what people are saying at the door).
RSVP: email Lydia at climate.action.newtown@gmail.com
If you’re still not convinced, check out this 2 minute video from Climate Action Moreland, one of our sister groups down in Melbourne. They’ve been having lots of fun!
Looking forward to hitting the streets with you on the 17th!
That was the message we delivered to Carmel Tebbutt last Wednesday morning, that we support wholeheartedly the proposed ban on new coal fired power in NSW.
And a whole lot of other constituents do too:
And we also enjoyed some great media coverage of the event:
We’re heading back to Tebbutt’s next week to keep the pressure up. I will post dates when they’re confirmed, come and join us!
You will have no doubt heard that Julia Gillard became our new Prime Minister in the recent days – a truly historic turn of events!
One of her first statements as PM was about climate change. “First, we will need to establish a community consensus for action,” Ms Gillard told reporters.
Of course, in any community the size of Australia, true consensus can never exist. What Ms Gillard needs to see is the massive and visible community support before she’ll go ahead and do the right thing – for our generation and those that come after us.
We need to show her that that massive community support already exists, and now. Otherwise, action on climate change will be dead and buried in this country.
Please send her an email – or give her a call – telling her you support immediate action on climate change.
Email: Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au
Call: (02) 6277 7700
Write: Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600
If you’d rather use an online form, visit: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/Australia_GetsUp_2010&id=1130
Send your message today!
The Replace Hazelwood campaign is going great guns down in Victoria, with billboards popping up, actions being taken and people getting involved.
Replacing Hazelwood, the developed world’s dirtiest coal fired power station, with clean renewable energy by 2012 would cut Australia’s emissions, safeguard Victoria’s energy supply, save 27 billion litres of water each year and create thousands of jobs. And it would send important signals to Government, businesses and communities about renewable energy and stimulate significant investment in those areas. Win-win-win!
How can we help in NSW?
By signing this online letter, which will be sent it to the Labor and Coalition party leaders to let them know that you want a Clean Energy future.
You can also support the campaign by joining the facebook page, or following the twitter feed.
