LIVE (Locals Into Victoria’s Environment) is a non-profit, community organisation based in the City Port Phillip, a suburb of Melbourne. Our goal is to reduce the human contribution to, and the impact of, climate change on our planet. We do this by creating and delivering information, facilitating actions, involvement in campaigns and influencing decision makers.
Since forming in 2006 LIVE has consistently engaged with the community and with decision makers at all levels of government. Highlights include:
• Orchestrating the iconic St Kilda Beach Human Sign with 5,000+ people (2009) in what was the largest English language human sign the world had ever seen. Penned by an 11-year old school girl after winning a community competition held to decide what the community’s climate message to leaders should be, the words CLIMATE CHANGE – OUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS were stretched out across St Kilda’s popular beach.
• Hosting the month long Deckchair Democracy occupation of Victoria’s Parliament steps (May 2011, ‘mayday, mayday’) calling on leaders to stop shuffling deckchairs and urgently pass laws to limit greenhouse gas pollution. Every day at midday presentations on various aspects of sustainability were given by community leaders.
• Joining Environment Victoria, Doctors for the Environment and Martin Shield in a joint legal challenge against Victoria’s Environment Protection Agency’s approval of a permit for HRL’s proposed ‘Dual Gas’ coal fired electricity generator (late 2011), the State’s first new brown coal fired electricity plant to be built in nearly twenty years.
• Leading ongoing advocacy and proposals for community driven solar projects (ie bulk buy solar panel schemes) to hasten the uptake of locally owned and controlled renewable energy projects that actively displace greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal.
• Hosting candidates’ forums in the lead up to state and federal elections.
• Contributing detailed Submissions to government Inquiries.
• Partnered with unChain to organise the Albert Park Candidates Forum.