The day we told the treasurer to stop fueling climate change
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, crisp Canberra morning to deliver the “Stop Fueling Climate Change” petition. Seven of us, all rugged up, constructed a wonderful wind-turbine on the steps of treasury which we then proceeded to stuff full of postcards signed by people from all over Australia. Over thirty thousand people have added their voice to the petition, asking Wayne Swan to use his first budget to stop subsidising the fossil fuel industry and start investing in renewable energy. For me it was a fantastic feeling to be involved in getting this message to treasury, to the people who could actually make this happen, but I was really disappointed that Wayne Swan didn’t make an appearance. With lots of television cameras to capture the moment, it was a shame not to directly present our request to the treasurer himself – particularly because it looked so damn cool!
While there was a brief moment when I thought we were going to lose the makings of the wind-turbine somewhere on the freeway between Sydney and Canberra, the rest of the plan went off without a hitch. Canberra put on its best autumn colours and, to show our thanks, no one even grumbled about waking up super early to get to treasury in time to greet the people who are in charge of our taxes.
As we walked away from treasury, the blades of the wind-turbine reflecting the morning sun, I got to thinking that, with the release of the budget next week, we’ll find out how serious our new government is about tackling climate change. This is their opportunity to take real action to make Australia a champion of renewable energy rather than leaving us with coal on our face, one of the biggest per capita emitters of CO2. By ending handouts to the fossil fuel industry our government can show that they’re serious about being part of the solution, they can show that they’re serious about listening to the demands of the public. I know that I’ll be watching closely on budget night…
Written by Pip Wheaton, member of this morning’s activist team.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Hi, I heard the article on Radio National and wonder why people have not yet picked up on the fact that we are still pumping C02 OUT of the ground at Company “Carba”, in South Australia near Mt Gambier. http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/27392/caroline_ffp_july_2001.pdf describes the activity in site. Apparaently the Co2 is taken from a deep well and used to manufacture dry ice. The company involved is the huge multinational gas co, Air Liquide. This activity is directly opposite to the carbon storage proposal and surely should be brought to public attention.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
HI INJUST THINK UR WORK ISGREAT