Christmas Party
Saturday December 17 from 3pm, Kirkdale Street Reserve, which is on the Merri Creek at the end of Victoria St. Melways 30 B 8
Please bring food to share.
Let us celebrate our year!!
A Beach in Brunswick?
All this week, there will be a beach outside the Mechanix Institute – a signifier of future sea level rise, and a talking point for the people of Brunswick.
Check it out! A full program of activities: http://brunswickbeach.wordpress.com/site/
Earth Relay
Leading up to 31 October, communities across Victoria and other states of Australia will be passing a human sized earth globe from suburb to suburb and town to town until it reaches Canberra. This is the Earth Relay. The hope is that the relay will generate media and community attention along its passage to parliament and the Earth Dome will act as a symbol of hope and optimism for a cleaner, safer world.
Climate Action Moreland will host a leg of the Earth Relay on Saturday 8 October from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm outside the Mechanics Institute, corner of Glenlyon Road and Sydney Road, Brunswick. Present will be the earth Globe. Please show your support and join the celebration.
Members of Climate Action Moreland will be sending a message about how we think the carbon price can be improved, particularly increasing the 5% target.
Once the legislation is passed, the Earth Dome will be packed up and shipped to Durban for the international climate change negotiations, and with it will go our pride that finally Australia is acting on climate change and our hope that this will help deliver progress on climate change on the international stage.
You can see the Earth Dome here:
For more information on the relay and to see what other groups are doing visit Environment Victoria website ( link below).
Next Meeting
The next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 18 October at 7pm at the Sporting Hotel, 27 Weston St, Brunsick. Please come. Even if the Carbon Tax legislation gets through our battles are only beginning.
September Newsletter
Some of you may have received the September newsletter, if not hit the link below. It has many goodies such as
- Climate Action Moreland’s submission to Greg Combet regarding the appointment of the head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
- Wind turbines an endangered species?
as well as background information to the Convoy of No Confidence rally and Planet Moving Day.
Report: Coburg climate rally face-off
Coburg rocked to the chants of competing climate protests recently, as Climate Action Moreland members joined about fifty Moreland locals at one of the oddest rallies we have so far attended.
We were there to counter a ‘Convoy of No Confidence’ anti-carbon tax rally held on 9 September at local MP Kelvin Thomson’s office, which was organised by The Consumers and Taxpayers Association. This is a group that did not exist until just weeks prior to the Canberra “no carbon tax” rally in March. The association’s website is www.nocarbontaxrally.com. Need we say more?
We arrived outside Kelvin’s office, where placards and t-shirts were distributed by Kelvin’s staffers. Fortunately, CAM had come prepared with our own posters.
Go homemade!
The anti-carbon tax mob of about fifty people arrived en masse, and boy were they mad! For over an hour the two groups faced off, divided by a large flatbed truck that accompanied the convoy.
An early cacophony of chants from both groups quickly settled into “No Carbon Tax!” versus “Yes Carbon Tax!”. Then it got really odd, as the two chants quickly came into perfect synch, reaching Dr Seuss levels of absurdity. The CAM people squirmed a little at the pro-carbon tax chants, knowing the diverse views that CAM members have on Labor’s carbon tax policy. Ellen suggested we chant “Yes carbon tax! But we’re not really sure! And not all of us!” Anyway, we were there with our pink signs to broadly support action on climate change regardless of party politics.
Some of the convoy organisers mounted the truck platform with a loudpseaker and attempted to speechify, but we managed to out-chant them. “Whaddawewant? Clean energy! Whendowewannit? Now!”
Within a few minutes they surrendered and ushered the group across to the far side of Harding St, where they took turns yelling into their loudspeaker.
The Coburg anti-carbon tax rally was targeting Kelvin Thomson in response to his reference to “The Convoy of Incontinence”. While Kelvin is no doubt a man of principle and good intentions, in this instance he unfortunately let his love of a good joke get in the way of sensitivity to medical conditions. Several upset people at the rally loudly called for an apology from Kelvin, who was advised by police against making any public statements to avoid an ugly confrontation.
Kelvin Thomson, expert pot stirrer
Given the level of vitriol displayed by many convoy members, this was a wise move on Kelvin’s part. We were screamed at incoherently a number of times by people who broke away from the group across the road to have a go at us. In response, we mostly just smiled and chanted to drown them out. And we were yelled at multiple times to “go get a job”, despite our assurances that we had taken time out of our jobs to be there, and despite the number of convoy members who were themselves well under retirement age.
A few amongst our group cheekily called out for the convoy members to “go have a bex and a lie down”. And indeed, this seemed like sound advice, given the screeching emitting from the loudspeaker across the road from various people, who all sounded on the verge of a complete breakdown.
They also needed some punctuation lessons.
CAM member Ellen valiantly took up the challenge to speak briefly with the convoy truck driver, who was concerned about how the carbon tax would affect his trucking business. They exchanged contact details to set up a meeting. Here, at least, was one person willing to discuss the issues and listen to some alternative viewpoints.
Unfortunately, most convoy members seemed to be getting their information from the likes of radio shock jocks, given some of the claims about climate change that were shrieked at us.
“Climate changes all the time! It’s silly to think humans can affect it!”
To which we reply: “…um, it’s basic physics!”
It was Sydney radio shock jock and pompus ranter Allan Jones who was a driving force behind the Canberra anti-carbon tax rallies. He also coined the super clever term ‘Ju-liar’, which was printed on stickers plastered all over the rally.
"Ju-liar" - really? Is this the level of discourse we have here?
As the afternoon dragged on, and people from our group had mostly drifted off to work and study and family, Kelvin finally took to the microphone. He delivered the world’s quietest amplified speech to his remaining supporters, so as to avoid rousing the convoy remnants. They stayed huddled around their loudspeaker. Meanwhile, the homeless-looking man in their midst, who was somehow equipped with a folding chair and beer stubbies, yet again rummaged through the Harding St wheelie bins.
All in all, it made for a very odd, somewhat amusing, but definitely disturbing few hours. It’s shocking to be screamed at in fury by people who could easily be your father, your uncle, your sister. Especially in the cause of trying to, you know, avert the collective suicide of humanity.
While each person involved in the anti-carbon tax rally no doubt has their own story, their own concerns and worries and reasons for being there, they are playing a part in a much bigger and very dangerous game. Perhaps many of them intuit this, deep in the depths of their cognitive dissonance. But whatever their private reasons for attending this rally, whatever drives their intense anger, it seems clear that most of the convoy members don’t see climate change as a serious or even a real problem.
We have CAM members who are against the carbon tax for various reasons, but of course they promote strong action on climate change by other means. And they wouldn’t dream of joining the convoy, since it is so counterproductive and has been orchestrated by climate deniers and vested interests. People such as Alan Jones and Tony ‘people’s revolt’ Abbott, who reduce the issue of climate change to party politics and prey on scientific illiteracy and those with private grievances to spare. In this, those people at the Coburg anti-carbon tax rally ARE victims, just not in the way they think. They have been lied to and manipulated and duped. And it’s not us they should be yelling at.
Planet Moving Day Saturday 24 September
Planet Moving Day is a world wide event to draw attention to the fact that the safe level of CO2 for the planet is 350 ppm.
Melbourne people will converge – by bike, roller skates, tram, boat, train, pogo stick, skateboards and other non-fossil fuel transport- to form a giant human sign for 350 and a safe climate future in Waterfront City, Docklands.
Come along to this family-friendly event to hear inspiring speakers, have you face painted, meet great people, and be part of something huge.
Join the Climate Action Moreland bike and pogo convoy!
We’ll be meeting other groups at CERES at 12.30pm on Saturday 24th September and then join our friends from Darebin Climate Action Now at St George’s Road.
For more info on the day, including an answer to the question – what’s so special about 350? – check out: http://www.moving-planet.org/events/au/melbourne/337
The next CAM meeting is …
… 7pm, Tuesday 23rd August, at the Sporting Club, 27 Weston Street, Brunswick.
Sorry for folks who got the wrong date in the newsletter!
HRL Power Station: the next round
A quick recap
As you will be aware back in May 2011 the Environmental Protection Authority approved the construction of a new coal fired power station in the Latrobe Valley in the face of loud protests and submissions, including from CAM.
The power station to be built by Dual Gas Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of HRL) has been sold as demonstration project using ‘clean coal technology’ because it converts coal to synthetic gas but the fact remains that the gas creates the same emissions as black coal.
Not only is it environmentally bad it does not stack up financially. All four of the major banks have reportedly rejected the proposal which is not surprising since an expert panel “advised the Howard Government in 2006 not to fund HRL, citing numerous economic and technical risks that made the project a dodgy investment”. Source http://www.greenpeace.org.au/climate/GI-victoria-power.php.
So the opportunity exists to keep up the pressure.
HRL Litigation
As part of that pressure a number of organisations and people have lodged an objection to the Dual Gas approval with VCAT with the case to be heard in October. Included as a party to the proceedings is CAM member Martin Shield who wrote the original submission on behalf of CAM to the EPA objecting to the proposal.
Martin’s litigation focusses on the impact that climate change, and the pollution caused by HRL will have on him as an individual. Obviously climate change affects all of us – so we’re right behind this litigation and hope the court agrees that approving the HRL power station certainly isn’t in the best interests of the Victorian community.
Click here to read the CAM submission to EPA on HRL
Some more information on HRL and the plant
- HRL Limited is rated in the top 50 of Australia’s polluting companies.
- Projected costs for building the HRL power station have blown out from $750 million to a whopping $1.8 billion. By our back of the envelope calculations this amount could easily pay for renewable energy of the same generating capacity.
- It will be located near the town of Morwell in the La Trobe valley, worsening health problems caused by the other coal fired stations in the area.
- The power station will be imported from China partially constructed – meaning that there will be few new jobs created.
- The HRL power station has been given a $100 million dollar grant by the Federal government and $50 million by the State government to develop this technology.
Things you can do to help the campaign
We need to get the Commonwealth and State Governments to withdraw their funding. The Federal grant was approved by the Howard Government in 2006 and the present Government should review that decision. The Federal Greens must be uneasy about it; the Victorian Greens oppose it. The money should go to real renewables.
Call or write to
Your Federal and State members of parliament
Christine Milne
Greg Combet
Martin Ferguson
Community forum: the politics of pollution
Hear the facts on carbon pricing and get your questions answered.
What: Community forum
Where: Brunswick Town Hall
When: 7pm, Monday 29th August
Speakers:
Adam Bandt MP Member for Melbourne Member, Multi Party Committee for Climate Change
Richard Denniss Executive Director, Australia Institute
David Karoly, Climate Scientist, Member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Having trouble getting the facts about the Government’s Carbon Pricing Legislation?
- Can’t hear anything over the sound of mining companies and the Murdoch media machine?
- Wish you had the answers to those pesky three word slogans?
Inform yourself and join the debate — don’t leave our future in the hands of Tony Abbott and the shock jocks.
Hosted by the Moreland Greens.
