We are running a campaign to harness one of the most powerful weapons we have in the fight against climate change: our vote. Two upcoming elections, in the seats of Bradfield in northern Sydney, and Higgins in eastern Melbourne, are giving nearly 200,000 Australians the chance to vote for a new national representative on December 5. These elections are the last in the entire developed world before the United Nations meets in Copenhagen to hammer out a global deal on climate change – the Copenhagen Conference starts on December 7! There has never been a better chance to vote for our climate. We know that political advisers from every party are watching these elections very closely for changes in the national mood. Shifting hundreds or even thousands of votes on the issue of climate change will make a difference to the way the government acts in Copenhagen.
It’s vital that voters in each seat know how each candidate would represent them on climate change – and we need to know if they’re going to protect our future! So we are launching the AYCC’s Tomorrow Test – an impartial, independent scorecard of every candidate’s views and plans to solve the climate crisis. The AYCC team will meet with every candidate, test their knowledge and passion on stopping climate change, and rate their plans against the world’s best scientific and economic advice. Young people from across each seat will hand out the scorecard at train stations, shopping centres and voting booths on election day. It will be published online here.
The scorecard will include:
– Targets. Over 1500 young people from these two seats voted in Youth Decide, Australia’s national youth vote on climate change, and over 90% of them voted for targets above 40% by 2020. Does your candidate live up to the young voters in their area?
– Public transport. A fast, efficient and effective public transport system is necessary if we want to avoid dangerous climate change. Would your candidate guarantee support for transport in their area?
– Renewable energy. Australia is one of the best places in the world to develop renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal and wave power. Would your candidate back the clean energy technologies that will secure our future?
– Fossil fuel subsidies. Australian governments continue to support polluting energy companies to the tune of $10-11 billion, every year. The legislation before Parliament right now from the Rudd government includes even more support for coal-fired power stations. Would your candidate follow the G20 and phase out this fossilised way of thinking?
– International climate plans. A meeting of over 190 governments will design a global deal on climate change in Copenhagen this December, and it is vital that it’s a good deal for our generation. We’ll quiz your candidates on the plans they want to see the government take to Copenhagen this December, and ask how they would help our Pacific neighbours to adapt to climate change.
Stay tuned in the next five weeks for all the news from the campaign, details of our candidate interviews, and more. There’s really only one question you should be asking yourself…Does your candidate pass the Tomorrow Test?