Ignorance towards climate change concerning for voters

The Climate Council — made up largely of climate scientists and other specialists of a similar ilk, most of whom had been appointed by the Federal Government to the former Climate Commission, until being sacked by former prime minister Tony Abbott — has found that many properties in the Nicholls electorate will be, by 2030, uninsurable.

The trouble for Nicholls centres on riverine flooding, worsened by climate change and leaving the Shepparton-based electorate with the greatest burden for this type of risk in Australia.

Then there’s a finding from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sixth assessment report that says: “The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.”

Climate change should be central to every conversation.

Sadly, it’s not, despite an overwhelming number of Australians wanting to see our government take real action on climate issues.

“Hope” was the word used by many as they left the Labor Party’s recent 2022 election campaign launch in Western Australia.

Interestingly that same word was central to the last question at a ‘meet the candidates’ event at Shepparton’s La Trobe University.

Seven of the nine candidates for Nicholls gave the expected uplifting answers, but it was only Greens candidate Ian Christoe and Fusion Party representative Andrea Otto who had something truly positive to say about climate change.

The other candidates, of course, all mention the issue, but mostly it’s an aside and not central to their platforms.

I’m bemused, amused and alarmed, as climate change is the issue, it supplants all others in terms of importance, as until we understand it, address it and determine our response, nothing else matters.

A research fellow from the Institute for Water Futures at the Australian National University, Hannah R. Feldman, has said: “While there was plenty of heat in Sunday night’s debate between Labor and Coalition leaders, one issue was barely mentioned: climate change. This raises a large red flag for Australia’s young voters.”

Writing in The Age, economics editor Ross Gittins said: “But there’s one problem that’s the most threatening to life, livelihood and lifestyle, the most certain to get a lot worse, the most imminent and the most urgent.

“It’s not the cost of living, nor the risk of war with the Solomons (I joke), nor even the dubious behaviour of Scott Morrison and his ministers and their refusal to establish a genuine anti-corruption commission.

“I’ll give you a clue: as I write, my fifth grandchild is on the way. I find it hard to believe anyone could be so self-centred and short-sighted as to think any problem could be more important or more pressing than action to limit climate change.”

And so who do we vote for come May 21?

Well, considering their records and despite their somewhat heroic rhetoric, we can put both the National Party and Liberal Party candidates, Sam Birrell and Steve Brooks respectively, at the bottom; Rikkie Tyrrell representing the One Nation Party and Robert Peterson from the United Australia Party are both likeable people but represent parties with personally offensive policies; Tim Laird from the Liberal Democrats and Eleonor Tabone from the Australian Federation Party have been invisible and so shouldn’t even be considered; Jeff Davy representing the Australian Citizens Party links every problem facing Australians to economics, which might ring true in many circles, but overlooks the fact that it is people who make up the world, people who have feeling, emotions and needs that cannot be answered in brutal economic terms; and then there is Labor’s Bill Lodwick who, just like the other candidates is a wonderful person, but had nothing convincing to say about climate change.

Now we have just three left: Mr Christoe, Ms Otto and the independent candidate, Rob Priestly.

Mr Priestly is a successful Shepparton businessman who is aware of the climate crisis and wants to see Nicholls thrive by drawing opportunities out of the crisis.

Again, a truly likeable fellow with the best interests of Nicholls at the heart of his endeavours, but I would put him in third place.

Two left: Mr Christoe has, for me, all the credentials to see Nicholls move towards adapting to and mitigating the climate crisis, along with a sensitivity to all the social issues troubling electors, and so he has my second preference.

Obviously and by elimination, that leaves me with Ms Otto as my first preference.

Ms Otto has said that if elected she would press for Australia to declare a climate emergency but for me, the clincher, was that she would also urge our nation to introduce a universal basic income.

The embrace of a climate emergency at a national level would be game changer and a universal basic income would, despite the protestations of those wedded to existing antiquated economic ideals, simplify everything, enrich everyone and is absolutely affordable.

The adoption and implementation of both would see Australia leapfrog to the front of the world pack, contrary to our current position, especially with regards to climate, where we are, embarrassingly, dead last.