POLITICS
Be Informed
Easter Planet does not take a political side however, politicians are the most important people in achieving action on climate change and the environment. They do this through policy and legislation. A great example of policy driving effective change is the European electric motor car market. Ever wondered why there are not many electric cars sold in Australia each year? The answer is government policy - here is a great article that explains why, and also what good policy can achieve.
The obstacle to easily achieving action, is political parties overriding desire to win and stay in power. This is why we have to put pressure on our political parties to enact change.
All one needs to do is look at how the 2019 Australian federal election was won and lost.
The ANU School of Politics & International Relations identified the most important issues in the election identified by voters as management of the economy (24%), health (22%) and environmental issues (21%). Source: https://australianelectionstudy.org
The ANU report also identified that "The environment played a much bigger role in the 2019 election than in previous elections. Combining those who identified the environment (11%) and global warming (10%) as the most important issue, around one in five voters identified an environmental issue as their top concern in the election. This compares to the 2016 election when fewer than 10% identified an environmental issue as their top consideration."
and
"The Coalition gained a 4.3% swing in the two-party preferred vote in Queensland, compared to a national swing of 1.2%."
and
"global warming was viewed as the most serious threat by voters in the ACT, followed by Tasmania. It was seen as least important in South Australia and Queensland."
So that begs the question as to why some politicians are reluctant to bring on policy to protect our planet. Have a look at this article, on Australian lobby groups and consider the income governments receive from fossil fuel industries, the wealth of those industries, and the back door way that political parties are funded.
As Paul Keating loved to say "In the race of life, always back self-interest — at least you know it's trying".
That is why to get real action, we must make climate change and the environment every politician's highest priority for them to get re-elected. After all, that is there self-interest.
If you care, get in touch with your sitting member and candidates. Every voter that let's their representatives know that they care, contributes to the changes that must occur to save our planet.