Use our poll widget (right hand of this post) to help us send a clear message to Federal Candidates. To help with comparison, ORCA asked Federal Candidates for responses to the following questions:

1. Do you agree that human induced Climate Change requires urgent action?
2. Do you endorse the Beyond Zero Emissions stationary energy plan for 100% renewable energy by 2020?
3. Do you endorse a <350ppm target for Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere?
4. What support will you offer local Community Groups in transitioning to a low carbon economy?
5. What is your position on setting a price for carbon or introducing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions?

Responses are in order of receipt:

Greens Candidate, Mike Lawrence response:

1. Do you agree that human induced Climate Change requires urgent action?

Yes

2. Do you endorse the Beyond Zero Emissions stationary energy plan for 100% renewable energy by 2020?

Yes

3. Do you endorse a <350ppm target for Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere?

Yes

4. What support will you offer local Community Groups in transitioning to a low carbon economy?

Yes

5. What is your position on setting a price for carbon or introducing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions?

A carbon pollution tax based and applied to the source of CO2 and at a rate of $23 / ton and increasing to $70 / ton by 2015 is essential to attract the investment required to build base-load industrial renewable energy supply and ongoing energy security.

Liberal Candidate, Sarah Henderson’s response:

The Coalition respects the environment because we only have one planet to live on. We all want to hand down a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable Earth to our children. But we believe you don’t help the environment by damaging the economy. According to our calculations, the Rudd/Gillard ETS will saddled Australian families with annual cost increases of around $1,100 per household, while Australian businesses will face electricity cost increases of around 58 per cent over three years after its introduction in 2013. We are of the view that such policies would have a devastating effect on the Australian economy.

By contrast, Tony Abbott’s climate action policy provides incentives for Australian families and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and focuses on meaningful, effective and direct action to improve Australia’s environment. This includes an Emissions Reduction Fund to provide direct incentives to industry and farmers to reduce CO2 emissions and a Green Corridors Initiative that will see 20 million trees planted by 2020 All in all, We think our incentive-based approach will reduce emissions as well as address some of Australia’s serious environmental problems.

Our economic dependence on oil is problematic in several respects. Much of the world oil market ends up subsidizing autocratic regimes in non-democratic countries where support for terrorism and the repression of women is common. We would be doing ourselves a favour, both in terms of national security and environmental sustainability, to develop cost-effective alternatives to fossil fuels. I believe that the solution to our problem of oil dependency will come from the private sector, and the best way to encourage the development of next generation fuel efficient technologies is through policies that promote entrepreneurial innovation.

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Take Action yourself – postcards for pollies:

The idea is that on or before Walk Against Warming day (August 14 or 15, depending on where you are) as many people as possible from across the country send a ‘postcard from home’ to BOTH the parliament office and electorate office addresses of the Prime Minister – and likewise to the addresses of the local electorate representative for those participating. Show them where you live and that you want action on climate change!

So, a Citizens’ Plea for action – on a postcard from home.

This call for action has been out to 60 other climate action
groups across the country; if only 10 people from or associated with
each group send cards, that’s 600 cards for each politician at each of
their two addresses; if 50 people join in that’s 3000 postcards! Hard
to ignore.

It would be fantastic if we would get at least 150 from each CAG
region – a real community consensus demonstrated with a citizen’s
assembly of 150 or more postcards for each region.

Sending to both offices increases the chance the message is heard at
least once. The arrival of several hundred post cards at the electorate office could result in a media event.

So ideally participants would each send out 4 four signed postcards,
each card carrying a quickly read message urging immediate action to
address climate change. The postcards show where the message is coming from – Ballina, Perth, Yarra Valley, Darwin etc.

Participants obtain or make their own cards. If four cards is too much, then please focus on the two for the PM.

A message suggestion is given below, with a bit of an explanation for
it below that. Ideally the cards would convey the same message, but
different groups and individuals may well have different priorities.
The main thing is make it clear that Labor is not doing anything like
enough to tackle climate change.

Anyway, further below we’ve given the parliamentary address for the PM and her electorate office address, as well as a link to addresses for
local electorate representatives.

Hon. Julia Gillard MP
PO Locked Bag 14 Werribee Vic 3030

Darren Cheeseman MP Federal Member for Corangamite
PO Box 625 Belmont 3216

Apologies for pointing out the obvious – you can get cards from newsagents, tourist info shops, hotels/motels etc – maybe even make
your own.

So please join us in sending postcards from home to the people we
employ to actively work in our interest. It won’t take much of your
time and will have impact.

Please forward this ‘call to cards’ to others in your network. Where
appropriate, please ask your family, friends and colleagues to send
cards.

Please also forward to activists you know in other climate and
environment groups. Our list of CAG addresses is not comprehensive.
Please spread the message as widely as you can – a ‘call to arms for
cards’.
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EXAMPLE
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Dear Julia,

Sincerely ORCA.
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