By Tyler Wright
Local climate action advocates have been left bewildered at the Federal Government’s lack of funding for renewable energy in this year’s budget.
Australia’s Climate Council said 0.3 per cent of total expenditure for 2021-2024 has been dedicated to climate change initiatives, which will fall to 0.2 per cent in 2024-2026.
Mandela Russell, 17-year-old Dandenong Ranges local and member of the Mount Dandenong ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ movement, attended the Naarm or Melbourne march last Friday alongside other group members.
“Coming up to the election, we wanted to make the politicians aware about the decisions they have been making,” she said.
The march led into a weekend of multiple action events in conjunction with groups such as Extinction Rebellion, including a workshop on Saturday.
The Year 12 student said ahead of the federal election, the Federal Government needs to “face the issues” impacting all Australians, including First Nations Australians and children of this generation.
Dr Kathy Edwards is a Senior Lecturer in the Youth Work Program within the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University.
“I think young people will be very, very aware that the budget has done very little to actually realise the government’s 2050 emission target,” she said.
Dr Edwards said voters will be “quite angry” coming to election time because the Government is not taking into account the “reasoned arguments” made by young people; such as the impact of climate change.
She said investing in “environmental projects that are about creating renewable energy sources” would create jobs more effectively rather than the “sugar payments” proposed in the budget.
President of Healesville Community Renewable Energy Inc (Healesville CoRE) Jeff Barlow, said he would like to see two things from the Federal Government coming up to the election.
“One is a program for shutting down the coal-fired power stations as quickly as possible and the gas-fired power stations and phasing out coal mining as quickly as possible,” he said.
“And the second would have been implementing the bill that Dr. Helen Haines, the Independent MP for Indi introduced to the Parliament last year on Community Energy hubs throughout Australia.”
Mr Barlow said the impacts of climate change can be seen right across Australia, and locals have been expressing through conversation their frustration at a lack of action.
“We’re seeing changes in weather patterns, including storms that we had in the Dandenong Ranges last year, that created a lot of damage and brought down a lot of trees, creating a lot of hardship for people. And the increasing heat is drying out the bush and also creating worse conditions for firestorms,” he said.
“I would say that, despite the Federal Government inaction, Australia is moving quickly and exactly, inexorably towards renewable energy. Because of what businesses and communities create for themselves.
“But we do need Federal leadership urgently. And we need federal policies urgently. “
