Coffs Harbour joins many other communities, groups and individuals to build pressure on AGL, in the lead up to their AGM, held in Sydney yesterday.
For more info on AGL and the campaign see here.
On Saturday 24 September, Coffs Harbour residents joined the growing national call for AGL to go fossil fuel free by 2025 - a climate emergency demands nothing less! This is a part of the 350.org campaign to get Australia's biggest climate polluter to live up to their own greenwashing.
Coffs Harbour joins many other communities, groups and individuals to build pressure on AGL, in the lead up to their AGM, held in Sydney yesterday. For more info on AGL and the campaign see here.
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Following on from our last post, here are the response to our questionnaire from the rest of the candidates for Coff Harbour City Council.
Group B Mark Sultana: "It would be good to see Council reward residents possibly via rebates for using renewable energy to power their homes. It would be good practice for Council staff to introduce policy whereby they must investigate the possibility of utilizing renewable energy when planning new developments. For example placing solar panels on the roofs of new public toilet blocks or picnic huts etc." 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Strongly agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Strongly agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Neutral 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (d) Not sure; 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? Wait for direction from state government 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Neutral Group C - Greens Sally Townley: "Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. I believe that we all have a responsibility to act immediately and Council has a role not only to act, but to lead and to facilitate others to act. The commitment to 100% renewable energy and the commitment to zero emissions must inform decision-making at every level of Council. Council needs to work with the community to continue the quest for innovative ways to reduce consumption and to support the transition to renewable energy." 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Targets could be higher 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Strongly agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets Targets should be higher 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Strongly support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Strongly agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Strongly agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Strongly support 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen);7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Strongly support Other Group C candidates responses were the same as Sally Townley's above. Also from Mark Graham: "There is an urgent need for an emergency response across our entire community to the massive challenges of preventing, minimizing, mitigating and responding to the myriad impacts of global warming. Local actions undertaken by Local Government in partnership with the community are one of the best (grassroots!) ways of responding to these challenges. We have lots of sunshine, wind, running water and fertile well-watered landscapes – these assets can enable us to generate significant amounts of renewable energy and draw-down carbon from the atmosphere to be locked up in regenerating ecosystems. We also have lots of individuals, community groups and businesses doing amazing work to minimize electricity consumption and to maximise renewable energy generation. We can be a model for the world to show how a community can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generate surplus energy and remove carbon from the atmosphere with resulting restored and reinvigorated ecosystems, communities and landscapes. Creating opportunities for positive actions in response to global warming will benefit our community, our ecology and our economy. The Greens are the only team articulating a detailed policy response to deliver a better future by seriously responding to climate change. A vote for The Greens team on Coffs Council is a vote for a more sustainable future with a strong focus on responding locally to climate change." GROUP D Lead/mayoral candidate John Arkan did not respond to our questionnaire. Our summary of his position/record can be seen here. However, the two Group D candidates who did respond to the questionnaire, gave strong answers - see below. Annette Mavin's response: 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Moderate priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? support , that would be amazing, there has also been some done in the UK 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree, public transport in Coffs is atrocious 4b. Additional bike paths? Agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree, to be included in future planning 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? Moderate priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Strongly support 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? Moderate priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Strongly agree Matt McLeod's response: 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support - there needs to be further education and implementation of real programs to move towards reducing our impact. 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets - I support reachable targets but a constant strategy on moving ever closer to 100% use of responsible and renewable energies. In situations where targets can not be met there needs to be clear and transparent discussion. 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree - Without knowing the budget I believe that the way forward for Coffs Harbour is to have a vision and a plan for the future. I would support any responsible spending to move towards these goals. I believe renewable and responsible energy is the way of the future and should be invested in 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets - I believe that targets such as this are a great way to raise awareness and discussion. I don't believe that reductions should be limited by a target but that we need to keep moving forward to lower emissions as significantly and efficiently as possible 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority - While I support the above proposals, there needs to be a plan supporting the ability for this all to happen. All to often elected members are all to willing to say they support something but never work hard to achieve it. There needs to be total transparency in what is hoped and can be achieved. If these plans are not implemented there needs to be accountability of elected members. 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Strongly support - We need to be a leader and not wait to implement such ideas. The sooner we start to make a change the sooner we will. 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree - I was misquoted in a comment regarding light rail but having said that I believe a solid public transport plan is in urgent need. There is unnecessary transport emissions because of a public transport service that does not produce an efficient alternative for members of the public. There needs to be discussion started about this immediately 4b. Additional bike paths? Strongly agree - Additional to this I believe there needs to be a community bike system put in place such as in Brisbane and Noosa allowing for cheap use of bikes in and around the region 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Strongly agree - Myself and Kelly McNeil from Group D has taken this one step further and already made inquiries for a trial station based in Woolgoolga with a view for roll out in several key points throughout the region 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority - This is not a point that I am totally up to date with but believe it sounds like a positive step forward. At the stage I would have to say I approve of the idea rather than the program as I am not total across the topic 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Strongly support - I believe this yet again comes down to planning and transparency. I am not an expert in biodiversity however can see the necessity for such plans. If costs or other factors preventing such a plan then this needs to be transparent and plans and targets then need to be put in place as to when it can be achieved. 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (b) The current benchmarks for sea level rise are adequate: This said, there needs to be constant discussion and reviews of new data. I believe our environment is extremely important and we need to work with new data and studies as they become available. I believe in action and not just talk and making the elected members accountable in their decisions. 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? Not Sure - I would have to be made aware of the reasons the current Council voted against it. The environment is at the top of things of what I stand for and so short of an extremely good argument against not implementing it, I would make its adoption a matter of priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Strongly agree - I believe we need to not just talk but act in what we believe in. GROUP E - David Quinn responded on behalf of all group candidates 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Strongly agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree, but it is a state government issue 4b. Additional bike paths? Agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Neutral 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? Not sure 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Support 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Strongly agree Group F - Keith Rhoades' response 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Targets should be higher [But he had voted to lower targets in April 2016] 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Targets should be higher 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Strongly agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Neutral 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Proceed with current benchmarks and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science; 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? Moderate priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Neutral Group I - Jan Strom's response on behalf of all group candidates 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Strongly agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets, but reducing more would be better 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Strongly support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Agree - Vital to work with State government on this to link funding for school transport services and public transport services together (both are funded through different government departments!) 4b. Additional bike paths? Strongly agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority - Like to see reintroduction of recycling depot as part of Councils contract with the Contractors. 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Support - Maintaining biodiversity is important. I have not seen the Landscape Corridor Mapping you refer but I would certainly be supportive of the development of a plan that protected biodiversity and without being too onerous on land-owners. 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority - Given recent weather events this plan needs to be adopted asap. However, as discussed at forum last night (30/8) I would recommend a review of the “lines on the maps” that appeared to create concern and controversy, to ensure that we are acting on the most recent and most accurate information. 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Strongly agree - Like to see investment in local community – e.g. Local Living Economies model That's it for now! Once again - the summary is here. Two weeks ago we sent a questionnaire on climate-related policy areas to all candidates for Coffs Harbour City Council - thank you to all who responded. You can find our summary of the candidate groups in our previous blog post here. If you would prefer to vote for individual candidates below the line, or just want more detail on exactly how candidates answered each question, this post is for you! Group A candidates below. Group B and beyond in the next post.
GROUP A Candidates who responded include Denise Knight, Tegan Swan, Christina Monneron and Jill Nash. Denise Knight's response should be considered to apply for the remaining Group A candidates. Denise Knight's response: 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support / Support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Not sure 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? neutral 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Agree 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? Moderate priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Neutral 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (b) The current benchmarks for sea level rise are adequate; 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Neutral Tegan Swan's response: "We need to move towards more sustainable practices. We can’t continue on the current trajectory and stick our heads in the sand. Becoming more climate (and planet) friendly is very important and we need to plan for and take consistent steps towards making this a reality." 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Strongly support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? neutral 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Neutral 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Neutral 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Support 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Agree Christina Monneron's response: 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? Agree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Neutral 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? Agree 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? Support 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? High priority 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? Agree Jill Nash: "I support moves towards a more environmentally-friendly Coffs Harbour. Personally (I am only a candidate, not yet a Councillor!) but I believe all residents should be given incentives to “go green”. We should discourage the reliance on cars and actively promote use of public transport, benefits of walking, living sustainably." 1. CHCC's Climate Change Policy? Support 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. CHCC's current RET? Support current targets 2b. Spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures? No answer 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. CHCC's emissions reduction targets? Support current targets 3b. Priority of a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan? Top priority 3c. A community-wide zero emissions plan? Support 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. A public transport plan? Strongly agree 4b. Additional bike paths? Neutral - Need to assess current usage before creating more 4c. Solar-powered electrical vehicle charging stations? No answer 5. WASTE: a zero waste plan? High priority 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: Landscape corridors? No answer 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: 7A. Sea level rise benchmarks? (a) Council should progress with the current benchmarks, and consider the possibility of higher rises, following the latest science (such as the 2016 study by James Hansen); 7B. Progressing Coastal Zone Management Plan? No answer 8. DIVESTMENT: Council’s money to divest from fossil fuels? No answer That's all for Group A candidates. Group B and beyond coming up in next post. With over 40 candidates for Coffs Harbour City Council and nine mayoral candidates, it's a big choice for this Saturday's local government elections. To help you get informed on where the candidates stand on climate-related issues, we have summarised their responses to our questionnaire, along with a consideration of their past record and their statements at our forum, to put together this table - see document below. Due to space, this summary focuses on the lead candidate of each group (most of whom are also mayoral candidates), plus the independents. Some individual candidates in groups have provided different responses and this detail will be provided in a follow up blog post, should you prefer to vote below the line. Many thanks to all candidates who responded to our questionnaire! If you're pressed for time and just want the super-quick summary, here it is: We rated Sally Townley - Group C as the highest overall, followed by Jan Strom - Group I, then David Quinn - Group E & Mark Sultana - Group B. As a non-aligned community group, Coffs Coast Climate Action Group will not tell you who to vote for, but we encourage you to get informed and think of the climate when you vote. We look forward to working on positive local climate solutions with whoever is elected to Council. Thank you to all who came along to our public forum on 30 August - an interesting and informative evening! A huge thank you to Bonnie Capell for an excellent job as MC and to the candidates on the panel - Sally Townley, Christina Monneron, Mark Sultana, Jan Strom, Mike Squire, David Quinn, George Cecato and John Arkan. It was great to have a representative from every group bar one, plus independent candidate Erhard Dehmelt, who said a few words at the end of the evening.
We were pleased to hear broad support for renewable energy, public transport, divestment, and even moves to become a zero carbon community - though there still appears to be an alarming lack of understanding of the urgency of science-based coastal zone management from some candidates. Stay tuned for our next blog post very soon for more details on where different candidates stand on these climate-related issues. We look forward to working for positive, local climate solutions with whoever is elected to Council. The following questions were sent to every 2016 candidate for the Coffs Harbour City Council (with the exception of a couple with no locatable email address). We will shortly be publishing a summarised version on the results here, to help you use your vote for a climate-active council.
1. Coffs Harbour City Council’s Climate Change Policy, adopted in 2013, confirms Council’s commitment to:
Do you support this policy? Strongly support / Support / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY 2a. Coffs Harbour City Council’s current targets for renewable energy are for Council’s own energy use to consist of 25% renewables by 2020, 50% renewables by 2025 and 100% renewables by 2030. Do you support these targets? Targets should be higher / Support current targets / Targets should be lower / Not sure 2b. Do you agree that spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency measures is a high priority for Council, recognising that it is an “invest to save” approach and will benefit Council’s finances by reducing electricity bills? Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 3. EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS 3a. Coffs Harbour City Council’s current targets for emissions reductions are to reduce per annum corporate emissions from 2010 levels by 25% by 2020 and by 50% by 2025. Do you support these targets? Targets should be higher / Support current targets / Targets should be lower / Not sure 3b. We are yet to see a detailed Renewable Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan with clear, prioritized actions to achieve the above targets. What priority would you give to such a plan? Top priority / Moderate priority / Low priority / Not sure / I don’t support this plan 3c. A pilot project in Byron Shire is currently creating a blueprint for least-cost 10-year zero emissions transition, covering energy, transport, buildings, waste and land use plans. [More information here] Would you support Coffs Harbour City Council adopting a similar, ambitious plan to transition the whole community to zero carbon pollution? Strongly support / support / neutral / disagree / strongly disagree 4. TRANSPORT: 4a. “Coffs Harbour needs a public transport plan to help the community reduce emissions from transportation, as well as other benefits.” Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 4b. “Additional bike paths should be a high priority for Council in the next four years.” Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 4c. “Council should support a network of electrical vehicle charging stations, powered by solar, as well as other measures to support the uptake of electric vehicles.” Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 5. WASTE: Waste collection and disposal is a major council cost with significant carbon emissions. What priority would you give a program to make the Coffs Harbour LGA a zero waste community? (This is a strategy of the Coffs Harbour 2030 Plan) High priority / Moderate priority / Low priority / Not sure / Do not support 6. BIODIVERSITY / LAND USE: The Coffs Harbour 2030 Plan includes a goal to maintain biodiversity in a changing climate. Landscape corridors are a critical part of this, but the Landscape Corridor mapping was rejected by Council last year. What priority would you give to establishing planning for landscape corridors to support local biodiversity? Strongly support / Support / Neutral / Not Supportive 7. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: [For background see here] 7A. Council’s current coastal hazards mapping uses sea level rise benchmarks from the State Government’s 2009 policy statement, based on conservative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions (likely 91cm increase by 2100). However, some residents have lobbied for lower sea level rise benchmarks. What is your position?
High priority / moderate / low priority / not sure / wait for direction from state government 8. DIVESTMENT: Across Australia, local Councils are joining churches, universities and individuals in a growing movement to remove their funds from banks and institutions which support the fossil fuel industry [see here]. Would you support a move to align Council’s money with its values and divest from fossil fuels? Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree 9. Please comment on any element of moving towards a more climate-friendly Coffs Harbour. The role of local government in addressing climate change will be the topic of discussion at a candidates forum hosted by Coffs Coast Climate Action Group on Tuesday 30 August at C.ex Coffs. Most mayoral candidates will join the panel for the Q and A style event.
Organiser Sarah Wood explained that planning for climate change is integral to a broad range of Council activities: “We not only need to do our bit in the transition to 100% renewable energy, but we must also move to cut carbon pollution from transport, waste management and land use. Many of these measures also offer opportunities for cutting Council expenses and stimulating the local economy. Councils such as Byron Shire are leading the way by developing a ten-year least-cost, community-wide, zero emissions transition plan and we’d like to see Coffs Harbour move to adopt something similar.” The Advocate’s recent online poll put ‘a climate change strategy’ in the top three of readers’ priorities for the Council election [as at 20.8.16]. Coastal inundation plans also polled highly. Sarah Wood said that the council’s planning for sea level rise and coastal erosion would also form part of the discussion. “The recent severe storms have demonstrated how damaging the combination of an over-heated climate and rising sea levels can be already. With many local homes at immediate risk of inundation in the case of a storm surge, this is an urgent issue for council – yet their coastal zone management plan has been held up by Council this year.” Sarah Wood said the forum would be an opportunity for candidates to outline their vision for action on climate change. She invited members of the public to email their climate-related questions for candidates in advance to [email protected]. All community members are invited to the free event at C.ex Coffs at 6pm on Tuesday 30 August. Coffs Coast Climate Action Group, an independent community group, will also shortly be publishing further information on candidates’ climate policies. For more details see www.coffsclimateaction.weebly.com. Media contact: Sarah Wood, 0431 299 707 The following letter was recently sent to Luke Hartsuyker MP, Member for Cowper, from Coffs Coast Climate Action Group and our partner group at the southern end of the electorate, Climate Change Australia - Hastings. We are still waiting on a response. We encourage everyone to send their own letters.
The Hon. Luke Hartsuyker MP Member for Cowper Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister 39 Little Street Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450 [email protected] 8 August 2016 Dear Mr Hartsuyker, We congratulate you on your recent re-election as the Federal Member for Cowper and appointment as Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister in the new Turnbull Government. As you will be aware, we are two community organisations with many members and supporters across the Cowper electorate. All of these members and supporters have great concerns about the future of our country due to the scale and impacts of climate change. These impacts include: - Bleaching coral off the Solitary Islands, and mass coral bleaching ravaging the Great Barrier Reef. - Heatwaves which make it hard for children to concentrate or play sport at school, and are potentially deadly for the elderly and vulnerable. - More intense bushfires and a longer fire season. - More intense droughts and less reliable rainfall impacting agriculture and our food security. - More intense storms risks flash flooding and damage to homes and towns. - Rising sea levels threaten our coastlines, infrastructure, economy and our way of life. There are clear resolutions to these problems. We ask you to consider the following actions as priorities for the next term of government: 1. End carbon pollution. At the Paris Climate talks last year, the Turnbull Government agreed to the goal to limit global warming to below 2 degrees and preferably 1.5 degrees. The current targets and policy frameworks proposed by the Turnbull Government are inadequate to cut emissions in line with what scientists say is necessary to meet these goals. Climate policy should be efficient, effective, scalable and stable - and we encourage you to work with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to realise this. We cannot accept the risks that come from a hotter, more volatile climate. It is essential that we cut emissions to net zero as quickly as possible, and before 2040. 2. Clean up the energy system. We were pleased to recently hear the new Minister for Energy and the Environment, Josh Frydenberg, speaking positively of the need to transition to a low carbon energy system. This must be followed by a formal commitment to a strong renewable target beyond 2020 to give guidance to investors about the direction of the energy market. The Turnbull Government will need to set out a roadmap to 100% renewable energy. We refer you to the recently published Homegrown Power Plan by Solar Citizens, as well as the Zero Carbon Australia project by Beyond Zero Emissions. We note that Mr Turnbull himself spoke at the launch of the latter in 2010 and we look forward to his leadership in this direction, with your active support. Most immediately the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will be critical to achieving this, specifically ARENA’s grant-making function and the full $1.3 billion in capital grants funding provided in the current legislation. In addition, the Turnbull Government will need to rapidly develop a national plan to phase out all coal- fired power plants, starting with closure of the oldest and dirtiest coal fired power plants in this term of government. Communities and workers must be supported through this process. A government-led transition plan will be better for energy markets and for consumers and will ensure access to clean, affordable power for all. The Turnbull Government will also need to ensure there are no new coal mines or coal mine expansions, as a first step towards a complete phase out of all fossil fuel extraction in Australia. 3. End fossil fuel subsidies. Over three quarters of Australians support ending subsidies for fossil fuels, which adds up to $7.7 billion of taxpayer funds. In particular, the Government should: ● End non-agricultural fuel tax credits, boosting the budget by $5.5 billion; ● End exploration and prospecting deductions for the mining industry ($650m); ● End statutory effective life caps for the oil and gas sector ($349m); ● End the concessional rate of excise levied on aviation gasoline and aviation turbine fuel ($1.24b); ● Confirm that the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will not invest in fossil fuel projects or in infrastructure that primarily assists such projects. We respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss these important issues in more depth. As your constituents in Cowper, we would welcome constructive dialogue with you, our elected representative. Sarah Wood from Coffs Coast Climate Action Group will contact you to find a suitable time. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 0431 299 707. Sincerely, Coffs Coast Climate Action Group Climate Change Australia - Hastings The Federal election this Saturday July 2 will be an important one for climate policy. It will be a very close election nationally and very close here in Cowper and Page. Your vote does matter!
Read our assessment above of the candidates for Cowper. These are based on published policy statements where available - mostly only from the major parties. The assessments of independent candidates Rob Oakeshott and John Arkan are largely based on statements they made at our Climate Election Forum on 21 June 2016 and their responses to questions via email - as they do not have significant published policies. We have also considered their past record. Apologies to those of our members in Page - we have not had the capacity to make a separate scorecard for Page, though the information for party candidates will still be relevant. Coffs Coast Climate Action Group is an independent community group and we do not endorse any candidates. This information is provided to assist you in making an informed vote for climate action this Saturday. See also our previous blog post on how to vote climate in the Senate. Share this information with your friends before Saturday! Vote for a safe climate! How do I Vote Climate in the Senate?
In the Senate you can vote above or below the line. If voting above the line you need to number a minimum of 6 boxes in order of your preference and if you vote below the line you need to number a minimum of 12 boxes in order of your preference. The following parties standing for the Senate have at least some positive climate and renewable energy policies:
The following parties are climate change deniers or sceptics:
The Liberal and National Party have attacked renewable energy targets, supported the fossil fuel industries, funded roads over rail and cut millions of dollars from CSIRO climate research. Use your vote for a safe climate! More information on how to Vote Climate in the House of Representative coming soon. |