The following Letter to the Editor was published in the Benalla Ensign on Wed March 16, page 15.
Damon Gameau Sent: Sunday, 13 March 2022 10:15 AM
To: 'editor@benallaensign.com.au'
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Where are our Leaders?
Last Saturday afternoon, the Australian film producer Damon Gameau (“2040”, “That Sugar Film“) was at BPACC to introduce his latest film “Regenerating Australia”, and host a talk-back discussion centred on ideas to tackle one of the big issues of our present and future – climate change, and how it will impact our way of life if we don’t make the innovative changes required to avert the dangers it poses.
Our local Councillors and Managers were invited to attend, but not one was present.
This poses the question – “where is the leadership to come from in our community to tackle these issues?”
This is not just a local problem – we have witnessed lack of leadership at the federal level of government with regards to climate change. There is no EV policy in place in Australia, the government is still handing out huge amounts of money to fossil fuel companies to mine coal and gas, and there are no transition policies in place to help workers in these industries adjust to the alternative technologies.
The past few weeks should have shaken our leaders out of their comfort zones. Surely the record rainfall totals and floods of Queensland and NSW, with the consequent displacement of thousands of people, billions of dollars needed to restore communities (or preferably relocate them), and the emotional damage sustained by the victims, all must be a wake-up call to our leaders that climate change is real, and here now!
The other crisis (Russia invading Ukraine) has affected the World supply chain of oil, so in the space of just over a week, petrol prices have increased by 50%, and still rising. This leaves Australia in a very vulnerable position because of the greater distances people and goods need to travel – we need to rapidly transition away from this reliance on petrol to EVs and public transport, and this is an area of policy that all levels of government must be involved with.
In Benalla, climate action must start now.
Peter Holmes, Lima East
email: chrispeth@bigpond.com
To: 'editor@benallaensign.com.au'
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Where are our Leaders?
Last Saturday afternoon, the Australian film producer Damon Gameau (“2040”, “That Sugar Film“) was at BPACC to introduce his latest film “Regenerating Australia”, and host a talk-back discussion centred on ideas to tackle one of the big issues of our present and future – climate change, and how it will impact our way of life if we don’t make the innovative changes required to avert the dangers it poses.
Our local Councillors and Managers were invited to attend, but not one was present.
This poses the question – “where is the leadership to come from in our community to tackle these issues?”
This is not just a local problem – we have witnessed lack of leadership at the federal level of government with regards to climate change. There is no EV policy in place in Australia, the government is still handing out huge amounts of money to fossil fuel companies to mine coal and gas, and there are no transition policies in place to help workers in these industries adjust to the alternative technologies.
The past few weeks should have shaken our leaders out of their comfort zones. Surely the record rainfall totals and floods of Queensland and NSW, with the consequent displacement of thousands of people, billions of dollars needed to restore communities (or preferably relocate them), and the emotional damage sustained by the victims, all must be a wake-up call to our leaders that climate change is real, and here now!
The other crisis (Russia invading Ukraine) has affected the World supply chain of oil, so in the space of just over a week, petrol prices have increased by 50%, and still rising. This leaves Australia in a very vulnerable position because of the greater distances people and goods need to travel – we need to rapidly transition away from this reliance on petrol to EVs and public transport, and this is an area of policy that all levels of government must be involved with.
In Benalla, climate action must start now.
Peter Holmes, Lima East
email: chrispeth@bigpond.com
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