Election Climate Action Rally 5 June, Bicentennial Park Tamworth, 12 noon
Come along and add your voice and your concerns. Many SLA members have already decided to attend.
The speakers will include:
- Anika Molesworth, Young Australian Farmer of the Year
- Rob Taber: Independent Candidate for New England
- Mercurius Goldstein: Greens Candidate for New England
- Tony Windsor: Independent Candidate for New England
- The organisers are still hoping Barnaby Joyce (Nationals Candidate for New England and current Deputy Prime Minister) will accept their invitation to speak.
- Adam Blakester: Regional sustainability and social change
- Robin Gunning and Emma Stilts: rally organisers and environmental activists
What are the options and visions for New England? What are the candidates’ policies to ensure a sustainable future for our children and the region?
Armidale Train: Many people plan to take the train down and back to emphasise the event
- Departs Armidale at 8:40 arriving in Tamworth at 10:27
- Departs Tamworth at 3:37 arriving in Armidale at 5:35
If you drive, try to fill your car. If you need a ride or have space, contact: info@slarmidale.org
11:00am, prior to the rally
- Listen to Voices of New England Choir and learn a few rounds
- Make props and posters
- Grab a cuppa and chat: there will be food and coffee throughout the day
12noon Rally
Workshops following rally
- How to combat climate deniers: ways to identify and counter climate deniers and strategies to help undecided people understand the issues. (Robin Gunning: The Climate Reality Project)
- A new wind blowing: the largest regional investment project in New England. The bright future of wind generation and other renewable projects for our region. (Adam Blakester: New England Wind and Starfish Enterprises)
- Voices of New England Choir: Sing rounds in the sun.
Close 3pm
Contact. Robin Gunning:{mobile phone prefix oh for}19986467
By: Robin Gunning
Due to a prior commitment, I will have to be an apology for this (fine fine) event. I hope the day goes well.
In relation to Minister Joyce’s candidature and invitation to join the speakers, I ask the following: what does he believe is causing the current (and massive) bleaching event on the 8,000 year old Great Barrier Reef (the third mass bleaching event in 20 years)? What does he believe is causing the melting of glaciers, the entire world over – from New Zealand to Canada to Switzerland to Patagonia to the Himalayas? What does he believe is causing an unprecedented warming and acidification of the oceans? What has caused koala bears to disappear from eucalyptus forests right around Australia? Why have arable lands in Australia and around the world increasingly become deserts or more marginal lands over recent decades (say, since 1945)? Last, but not least, why has the Coalition government attempted to dismantle the Climate Change Authority, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the placing of a price on greenhouse gas emissions and watered down the Renewable Energy Target from 42,000 GWh/year (which scientific, industry and environment experts were calling for) to 33,000 GWh/year?
The sun carries enough energy to meet humanity’s entire energy needs thousands of times over. We have known of this potential since the 1800s, at the latest (reference: United States Geological Survey). Australia, which has the Tropic of Capricorn running across it, is being left behind by countries much further from the equator e.g. Germany, Spain, Portugal, the United States of America. The tides which hit the southern coast of Australia alone are, on their own, more than sufficient to meet Australia’s energy needs. If property owners are given an ownership interest in the energy generated by wind turbines, planning approval times are reduced by upwards of 80%. If the community owned wind farms of North America were relocated onto the Australian landmass, we would meet all our energy needs overnight from this source alone.
Aside from all this, we humans have only used money for – at most – the last 7% of our history. Before then, it did not exist. Furthermore, we are the only species (of many millions) which makes use of it. It is nothing more than a mechanism – and one which we invented. Furthermore, we have more money today than we have ever had; if we humans have problems, a lack of money is not one of them. If the roadblock is ‘the needs of the economy’ then this is no roadblock at all. The word originates from the Greek and translates to, ‘management of one’s house’. The economy is not at odds with the environment – the exact opposite is the case. If one were to show me a degraded environment, I will reveal a non-existent economy; along with a population with no scope/too ill to work. If there ever were two matters which were interwoven, interconnected and interlinked, it is the economy and the environment. We could have full employment – for all time – in understanding our home, planet Earth. After all, it is the only home we have.
So, Minister Joyce, why is the Coalition government holding us all back on a decarbonised, 100% renewable energy economy? Why are we providing subsidies – both direct and indirect – to the tune of many billions of dollars each year to the mining companies? Why does the tax code continue to explicitly allow accelerated depreciation on capital equipment?
Why is this taking place when, two weeks ago in Portugal, the entire country’s electricity needs was met by renewable energy generation for 107 straight hours? Meanwhile, Australia’s energy generation continues to be met by fossil fuels – to the tune of 85%. As for affordability, with the possible exception of a transition year (or two at the most), it always will be cheaper to use a source of energy which literally falls to us from the sky rather than one which needs to be dug up from kilometres underground. Do you recall the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of mid-2010 which took five months to plug? Five months to plug despite the daily attention of the world’s media as well as the attention of, one, the President of the United States of America.
Is it not the case that you played an instrumental role in having Mr Turnbull replaced by Mr Abbott as Leader of the Opposition on 1 December 2009? Where is your leadership on the number one issue which will affect farmers during the 21st and subsequent centuries i.e. anthropogenic climate change? Why are you so reticent to show up to key fora in the New England electorate during this election campaign? None of the questions will somehow “disappear”, even if you refuse to show up.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Tom Livanos.
tom.369@hotmail.com
Armidale, New South Wales.
Saturday 4 June 2016.