BUILD OUR FUTURE
On 30th November 2020, we delivered the Open Letter below, signed by over 80 local groups, businesses and community leaders.
Read on past the letter for ways you can support this campaign:
An Open Letter to the Parliamentary Representatives of the Coffs Coast,
We are a diverse coalition of community groups, businesses, unions and community leaders from across the Coffs Coast, coming together at this critical time to call on our political leaders to build a safe and thriving future for the Coffs Coast.
As we recover from the overlapping crises of Covid-19 and the biggest economic recession in decades, we need a high-impact response that creates jobs while also protecting our communities against future disruptions from climate change. With many communities still recovering from last season’s bushfires, the evidence is clear that climate change is a growing threat to Australian lives and livelihoods.
This moment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure well-paying, reliable and long-term jobs for people who need them most, while building a fairer and more secure future for ourselves and our children. As we rebuild our economy, we need to make sure we are creating the jobs of the future, and not propping up the industries of the past. Our region stands to benefit from a jobs boom in clean industries like:
The Coffs Coast deserves better. We call on our members of parliament to represent our community, not the gas industry, and build a safe, thriving future for all of us.
By supporting the jobs and industries of the future, we can begin charting a pathway towards economic recovery while building a fairer, more sustainable world in the process.
We are asking our state and federal representatives to support an economic recovery which:
Signed:
5 Church St
ActInvest
Alternatives Bookstore
Amanda Peyton Psychologist
Andrews and Gillian West
Animal Rescue Coffs Harbour
Back to Centre Osteopathy
balancing act therapies
Bellbottom
Bellingen Creative Escapes
Bellingen Gallery
Bellingen Gelato Bar
Bellingen Lifehouse
Bellingen Nature Company and Bellingen Nature Tours
Bellingen Video
Bellingen Wood Fired Bakery PL
Centre of Ecological Learning
Coffs Coast Climate Action Group
Coffs Coast Surfrider
Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council
Coffs Harbour Uniting Church
Elixir of Life
Emporium Bellingen
Equity Engineering Supply Co
Ethical Dental
Euflorial
F45 Training Coffs Harbour
FIASCO RISTORANTE + BAR
Forwardthinking consulting
Gumbaynggirr Conservation Group
Habitat Nursery
Happy Frog
Harbourside Markets
heritagehealers
It's a Little Bit Gypsy
JamesChow Projects
Kombu Trading Pty Ltd
Lions Club of Clarence - Environmental
Macart Jewellery
Melting Pot Yoga
Mid North Coast Presbytery Uniting Church
Nambucca Permaculture
Nest@Gleniffer
New Earth Regeneration
New Life Farm
Park Beach Child Care Centre
Port Macquarie Uniting Church
Professional Fishers' Association
Repower Coffs
Retro Bello
Rivers Dance Centre 86
RJ Menz, Boyz, Ladiez
Roots Records
Sandy Beach Yoga, Massage & Healing
Sawtell Surf School
Schimminger Architects
School Strike 4 Climate Coffs Coast Team
Seasons Allied Health
Seen Australia
Silk and Cotton
Solar Powered Homes
Solitary Islands Surf School
Sourced Salvage Studio
Specialist Math Tutors
Sweet Bellingen
The Collective
Ulitarra Conservation Society Inc
Uniting Advocacy, Uniting Church
Uniting Church chaplaincy
Uniting Church Mid North Coast Presbytery Peace and Justice Group
Upper Kalang Nursey
Urunga Medical Centre
Weave Bellingen
Wellness Canine Massage
Woopi Backpackers
Woopi Fresh
Dr Jonathan Fergusson, General Practitioner
Ellena Cheers-Flavell, Coffs Harbour Youth of the Year 2020
Dr Jan Steel, Psychiatrist
Dr. Robert Boughton Ph.D. Adjunct Professor
---
We need your voice to join the call to #BuildOurFuture! Here’s what you can do:
1. Contact your local MP to let them know you want them to #BuildOurFuture - not gas.
Federal MPs:
Pat Conaghan, Member for Cowper
6652 6233
Pat.Conaghan.MP@aph.gov.au
Kevin Hogan, Member for Page
6621 4044
kevin.hogan.mp@aph.gov.au
This is a critical time to call on our political leaders to build a safe, fair and thriving future for the Coffs Coast.
They need to hear from you, not just gas executives!
Clean industries can create over a million jobs, mostly in regional communities like our own (see the Million Jobs Plan). This jobs-potential is many times that of the Government’s ‘gas-led recovery’! Are they representing us, or the gas industry?
Tips on calling your Member of Parliament:
Remember to be polite, friendly and calm. You will probably speak to a staffer, so introduce yourself, mention that you live in your MP's electorate and ask them to take down and pass on your message.
Suggested talking points:
When you’ve made the call, you could also pop your points into a follow up email to your MP and send a copy to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg - josh.frydenberg.mp@aph.gov.au
2. Talk to your family, friends, workplace and community about why we need to #BuildOurFuture with a climate-positive economic recovery and leave fossil fuels in the ground. It's up to all of us to build a people's movement for a better future!
3. Get involved! We'd love to see you at one of our planning meetings or have your input another way - email us info@coffscoastclimateaction.com or phone 0403 646 787.
For more inspiration check out:
The Million Jobs Plan by Beyond Zero Emissions
The Clean Jobs Plan by the Climate Council
For more on why gas is a bad idea:
Gas-fired Backfire by The Australia Institute
Make sure you've signed up to our email list to get the latest updates on this campaign and more action for climate justice!
Read on past the letter for ways you can support this campaign:
An Open Letter to the Parliamentary Representatives of the Coffs Coast,
We are a diverse coalition of community groups, businesses, unions and community leaders from across the Coffs Coast, coming together at this critical time to call on our political leaders to build a safe and thriving future for the Coffs Coast.
As we recover from the overlapping crises of Covid-19 and the biggest economic recession in decades, we need a high-impact response that creates jobs while also protecting our communities against future disruptions from climate change. With many communities still recovering from last season’s bushfires, the evidence is clear that climate change is a growing threat to Australian lives and livelihoods.
This moment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure well-paying, reliable and long-term jobs for people who need them most, while building a fairer and more secure future for ourselves and our children. As we rebuild our economy, we need to make sure we are creating the jobs of the future, and not propping up the industries of the past. Our region stands to benefit from a jobs boom in clean industries like:
- renewable energy,
- transport (electric vehicles, public transport and cycling infrastructure),
- building and retro-fitting energy-efficient social housing,
- indigenous-led land management,
- environmental restoration,
- eco-tourism,
- regenerative agriculture,
- plus the training and education sectors to support all of these.
The Coffs Coast deserves better. We call on our members of parliament to represent our community, not the gas industry, and build a safe, thriving future for all of us.
By supporting the jobs and industries of the future, we can begin charting a pathway towards economic recovery while building a fairer, more sustainable world in the process.
We are asking our state and federal representatives to support an economic recovery which:
- creates secure, decent jobs in climate-positive industries;
- builds community resilience to future crises;
- charts a course toward zero emissions;
- invests in social security and public services so that no one is left behind;
- supports First Nations justice and self-determination.
Signed:
5 Church St
ActInvest
Alternatives Bookstore
Amanda Peyton Psychologist
Andrews and Gillian West
Animal Rescue Coffs Harbour
Back to Centre Osteopathy
balancing act therapies
Bellbottom
Bellingen Creative Escapes
Bellingen Gallery
Bellingen Gelato Bar
Bellingen Lifehouse
Bellingen Nature Company and Bellingen Nature Tours
Bellingen Video
Bellingen Wood Fired Bakery PL
Centre of Ecological Learning
Coffs Coast Climate Action Group
Coffs Coast Surfrider
Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council
Coffs Harbour Uniting Church
Elixir of Life
Emporium Bellingen
Equity Engineering Supply Co
Ethical Dental
Euflorial
F45 Training Coffs Harbour
FIASCO RISTORANTE + BAR
Forwardthinking consulting
Gumbaynggirr Conservation Group
Habitat Nursery
Happy Frog
Harbourside Markets
heritagehealers
It's a Little Bit Gypsy
JamesChow Projects
Kombu Trading Pty Ltd
Lions Club of Clarence - Environmental
Macart Jewellery
Melting Pot Yoga
Mid North Coast Presbytery Uniting Church
Nambucca Permaculture
Nest@Gleniffer
New Earth Regeneration
New Life Farm
Park Beach Child Care Centre
Port Macquarie Uniting Church
Professional Fishers' Association
Repower Coffs
Retro Bello
Rivers Dance Centre 86
RJ Menz, Boyz, Ladiez
Roots Records
Sandy Beach Yoga, Massage & Healing
Sawtell Surf School
Schimminger Architects
School Strike 4 Climate Coffs Coast Team
Seasons Allied Health
Seen Australia
Silk and Cotton
Solar Powered Homes
Solitary Islands Surf School
Sourced Salvage Studio
Specialist Math Tutors
Sweet Bellingen
The Collective
Ulitarra Conservation Society Inc
Uniting Advocacy, Uniting Church
Uniting Church chaplaincy
Uniting Church Mid North Coast Presbytery Peace and Justice Group
Upper Kalang Nursey
Urunga Medical Centre
Weave Bellingen
Wellness Canine Massage
Woopi Backpackers
Woopi Fresh
Dr Jonathan Fergusson, General Practitioner
Ellena Cheers-Flavell, Coffs Harbour Youth of the Year 2020
Dr Jan Steel, Psychiatrist
Dr. Robert Boughton Ph.D. Adjunct Professor
---
We need your voice to join the call to #BuildOurFuture! Here’s what you can do:
1. Contact your local MP to let them know you want them to #BuildOurFuture - not gas.
Federal MPs:
Pat Conaghan, Member for Cowper
6652 6233
Pat.Conaghan.MP@aph.gov.au
Kevin Hogan, Member for Page
6621 4044
kevin.hogan.mp@aph.gov.au
This is a critical time to call on our political leaders to build a safe, fair and thriving future for the Coffs Coast.
They need to hear from you, not just gas executives!
Clean industries can create over a million jobs, mostly in regional communities like our own (see the Million Jobs Plan). This jobs-potential is many times that of the Government’s ‘gas-led recovery’! Are they representing us, or the gas industry?
Tips on calling your Member of Parliament:
Remember to be polite, friendly and calm. You will probably speak to a staffer, so introduce yourself, mention that you live in your MP's electorate and ask them to take down and pass on your message.
Suggested talking points:
- I’m concerned the Federal Government is giving handouts of taxpayer money to the gas industry, instead of setting up our community for the future.
- Gas is a bad investment and climate disaster. It will fuel more climate chaos, like bushfires, droughts, floods and heatwaves.
- We can create more jobs and opportunities if we support clean industries, such as renewable energy, better land management and also look after our communities by building energy efficient social housing.
- They should represent our community, not the gas industry. By supporting the jobs and industries of the future, we can begin charting a pathway towards economic recovery while building a fairer, more resilient world for ourselves and our children.
When you’ve made the call, you could also pop your points into a follow up email to your MP and send a copy to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg - josh.frydenberg.mp@aph.gov.au
2. Talk to your family, friends, workplace and community about why we need to #BuildOurFuture with a climate-positive economic recovery and leave fossil fuels in the ground. It's up to all of us to build a people's movement for a better future!
3. Get involved! We'd love to see you at one of our planning meetings or have your input another way - email us info@coffscoastclimateaction.com or phone 0403 646 787.
For more inspiration check out:
The Million Jobs Plan by Beyond Zero Emissions
The Clean Jobs Plan by the Climate Council
For more on why gas is a bad idea:
Gas-fired Backfire by The Australia Institute
Make sure you've signed up to our email list to get the latest updates on this campaign and more action for climate justice!
