Renew Australia For All is a movement of unions, social services, environment organisations, faith groups and industry working together to deliver a fairer, better and more secure future for everyone in Australia.

This week, I joined about 80 delegates from near and far descended on Parliament House to meet with senators, Federal MPs and policy advisors ahead of the federal budget.

For National Heat Awareness Day, NQCC spent the morning at the markets talking with the community about something we all know well in North Queensland: heat. A big thank you to our wonderful volunteers who came along and had thoughtful conversations with people about how heat shapes daily life in Townsville.

We’ve been talking with locals about extreme weather - and again and again, heat comes up.

People tell us about the toll it’s taking on their bodies and daily lives. One local shared a story from a power outage:
“After the third night of really hot nights, my body was just done. I felt so sick I couldn’t eat, and I was crying.”

While most stalls at Get Ready Day at Riverway baked bravely in the sun, NQCC found itself in a rare paradise: a shady tree that became a beacon of relief for passers-by. Ironically, our theme was heat - one of the most underestimated and deadly natural hazards in Australia.

The Australian Government's National Climate Risk Assessment is a dire warning for Australian communities - particularly those of us in the North. A warming climate is set to impact our health services, infrastructure, workforce, schooling, insurance and vulnerable community members. We also know that several endemic species are on the brink, and entire ecosystems are at risk of collapse. 

So, what can be done about it?

The weather last Wednesday at JCU Market Day mirrored what many students told us they were feeling — overcast, a little heavy.

We set up a large “Climate Mood” board to check in with students about how they’re feeling about the climate crisis. Since the peak of the school strikes and the disruptions of COVID, things have quietened down. We wanted to know — what’s shifted, and where are people at now?

We all know that climate change is making Townsville's heatwaves worse - longer, hotter and more frequent than ever before. So, what can we do about it? How will our community adapt to ensure that no one is left behind in these silent natural disasters? We joined forces with Sweltering Cities, Once Upon Tomorrow and the Queensland Community Alliance to find out.

On a warm Sunday afternoon in Townsville, nearly 70 passionate locals gathered for a powerful Climate and Energy Rally - and what an inspiring show of strength, unity, and vision it was.

Against the backdrop of intensifying climate impacts and looming policy choices, people came together to listen, share, and stand up for a safer, fairer, and more sustainable future for North Queensland and beyond.

The rally brought together a diverse line-up of speakers -  each adding their voice to a common call: our energy future must be clean, just, and community-powered.

Want to know where the parties running in your electorate stand on climate change? Read on!

In early February 2019, the Townsville region experienced its largest rainfall event in 120 years. Rainfall and floodwaters reached unprecedented levels, catching even long-term residents off guard. It was described as a 1-in-100 year event.

Now, just six years later, the region has received almost a metre of rain over one weekend, leading to flash flooding and mass evacuations.

The climate crisis is quite literally on our doorstep.