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.
We are calling upon the Australian Government to invest in climate resilience and adaptation, funded through tax reform that increases costs to fossil fuel giants, not everyday people.
What this looks like:
- Prioritising bill relief and healthy homes for renters
- Better protecting communities from climate disasters
- Climate-proofing our health system
What came out of our visit to Parliament?
I joined a team of Queenslanders representing broad cross-sections of our community to lift the voices of regional, multicultural and marginalised Queenslanders and ensure our decision-makers understand some of the lived experience of the climate crisis.
I was privileged to meet with seven politicians (or their policy advisors) across the day. Renew Australia met with 64 politicians in total!
There was broad support for our campaign, with some strong champions in government and on the crossbench. Renew Australia will continue to engage these champions and grow grassroots organising in electorates where it is needed most.
We were told to expect an austerity budget, with little to no new investment in our adaptation solutions. However, there may still be opportunities for policy reform to help make funding for resilience more accessible to community organisations and to protect workers from extreme weather (particularly heat!).
Our meetings were deeply meaningful and empowering – both for politicians looking to improve their understanding, and for all who represented their communities in Parliament House.
What next for NQCC?
While we don’t currently have any Federal MPs who are in government here in North Queensland, state and local governments also have an important role to play in delivering on climate adaptation.
It’s crucial that we bring the Queensland Government along on the journey and support their understanding of what is needed, so they can collaborate with federal and local governments and advocate for the measures needed in Queensland.
Through our work with the Queensland Community Alliance, we will continue to shape solutions that meet the needs of locals, and advocate through our local and state governments.
Want to see our alliance in action? Register here for the Townsville Community Alliance Forum coming up on Thursday 26 March!
Nature plays an important role in our climate mitigation and adaptation. Our Climate Action Group is running a campaign to introduce urban greening strategies to Townsville and surrounding local government areas, because the impact of urban greening on protecting wildlife and communities from extreme heat and other climate impacts is well documented.
Our Climate Action Group meets fortnightly on a Tuesday afternoon. You can sign up here!
We are also actively seeking funding to bring expertise together in North Queensland to understand what other nature-based solutions are available to us and map a plan for implementation. If you know a funder who would love to support this work, we’d love to hear from you!
Queensland representatives Flynn, Elias, Sohair, Crystal, Tra and Seble at Parliament House.
To learn more about Renew Australia For All and their campaigns, visit https://renewaustraliaforall.org/.
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