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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • What this moment means GET UP
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    Paul – GetUp!

    10:58 PM (10 hours ago)
    to me

     

    What a whirlwind, NEVILLE.

    After two years of sustained pressure by GetUp members, the most radically conservative Prime Minister of our time faced his reckoning. And this morning, I woke to our new PM, Malcolm Turnbull.

    To be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about this moment. What remains to be seen is whether this move will be a change of substance for the Liberal Party, or merely a change of face.

    Click through for an update on what this moment means for the issues that matter most to GetUp members – and find out how you can be a part of it.

    There’s things I’m cautiously hopeful about right now. In just 24 hours, the political possibilities on so many of the things our movement stands for have dramatically altered. In the past, Malcolm Turnbull has openly supported giving everyone the freedom to marry the person they love and a real climate policy that would have gone some way to securing a safe future for our kids, and their kids.

    But there’s much I’m wary of, too. Malcolm Turnbull has been a senior Cabinet Minister for the same government that has spent the last two years slashing funding to our ABC and SBS, launching attacks on the renewable energy industry, leading us down the path of US-style student debt and dismantling our world-class healthcare system, just to name a few.

    Newly elected by a fractured party room, Mr Turnbull is under enormous pressure from the most conservative members of his party to hold the existing party line. We’re already seeing what this looks like, with Mr Turnbull assuring his colleagues that under his leadership, emissions targets will not budge and there will be no free vote on marriage equality1. If that pans out to be true, real people will pay very real consequences for the deals that Mr Turnbull has cut.

    This is reason enough to make sure that in this moment we don’t take our eye off the ball. That we hold on to our conviction that together we can create an Australia where political parties of all stripes support justice for the dispossessed, public-serving democracy and equality between all people.

    If Abbott’s downfall should teach this government anything, it should be that Mr Turnbull can’t just be a different man. He has to have a different agenda – one that serves working Australians over foreign corporations and the wealthiest 1%. It’ll be up to all of us, banding together, now and in the months to come, to prove that a change of face is not enough.

    Click through for a video update on the state of play, and what we might expect from a Turnbull government.

    I can’t do it without you,

    Paul, and the GetUp team

    PS – September’s only half over and I’ve been blown away by the incredible generosity of GetUp members. Just two weeks ago, over 8000 of you stepped up to jettison the Abbott Government’s radically conservative agenda in the Canning by-election. With our biggest fundraiser of the year, we were able to cut through the noise with hard-hitting billboards, newspaper ads and a saturating digital media campaign, getting our messages in front of tens of thousands of voters – and pushing the Liberal Party over the edge.

    GetUp members have also been busy making their mark on the national stage – from powerful candlelit vigils in a show of humanity for asylum seekers, through to cheeky coal deliveries to the Environment Minister. I’m so grateful to this movement, and so proud of all we achieve together. Click here for an update on GetUp members’ September so

  • It’s only been two years! TIM FLANNERY

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    It’s only been two years!

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    Tim Flannery – Climate Council <community@climatecouncil.org.au> Unsubscribe
    7:11 PM (3 minutes ago)
    to me

    Dear Inga,

    Two years ago, things changed overnight and you helped us build something bigger and better than before. Now, we have the opportunity to do it again.

    In September 2013, the Climate Commission was abolished in the Abbott Government’s first week in office. But, as swiftly as we were shut down you put us back to work, providing accurate, independent information to the Australian public on climate change. And day by day we’ve been shifting the dial.

    You made clear that science must underpin public debate in a well functioning democracy; you made clear that Australia needed an independent, expert voice to provide the public with accurate information about climate change and take on the peddlers of myth and misinformation. And so, the Climate Council was born anew. Now here we are, remarkably, about to mark our second birthday. We would not exist today without you – together we have made this possible. Will you help us once again to prove that people power can make the difference and donate today?

    Two years – it’s gone fast, but then again, we’ve been busy! In that time you’ve helped us issue 42 reports, generating over 14,000 media articles that reached 200 million people. And our videos, articles and graphics have reached over 100 million people through social media – thanks in no small part to you and your willingness to share these resources with your friends and networks. As a scientist, I love numbers. But really, this is about more than numbers – what this all equates to is that you’ve helped us put relevant and crucial information on climate change in front of many, many Australians, many, many times! 

    Not only has our work explained the growing risks of climate change, and the clear case for swift action, but it has been instrumental in changing the public debate:

    1. We’ve exposed alarming cases of anti-science bias, such as when climate sceptic Dick Warburton was put in charge of the government’s clean energy review, and Danish climate contrarian Bjorn Lomborg was promised $4 million in taxpayer funds to set up a so-called ‘think tank’.
    2. Through focusing on the impacts of climate change we have moved the debate on from a conversation on whether the science is “real” to an increasing discussion about solutions.
    3. Our work on extreme weather has directly contributed to a dramatic increase in the public understanding of the influence of climate change on extreme heat, fire and floods*.
    4. And through a coordinated communications campaign, we’ve made renewable energy a household conversation.

    Our aim has been to consistently raise the bar of the debate, highlighting solutions both in Australia and overseas.

    I genuinely believe that in many decades time, this juncture – when the Climate Council community stood up for accurate debate and policies that are informed by science – will be considered a pivotal moment in Australia’s history.

    And now, with the recent change in the Prime Ministership, it feels like we now face another crucial juncture, and a huge opportunity: Australia can stay stuck in the past, or we can boldly embrace the renewable energy future we need, and in so doing, reap the rewards that will come with it for our economy, our community and our climate. Can you help us apply even more pressure for real, evidence-based solutions on climate change by donating today?

    There’s still a very big job before us. Yet I truly do shudder to think where we’d be without your support. I invite you to help celebrate what you’ve made possible: that science still has a strong voice – that we are still here, advocating for the future we need. And because of that, our community is in a better position to be informed and demand action for a safer and more sustainable future.

    I’ve known many of the drawbacks to working in a field that has become so politically charged and volatile. But never before in my career have I seen such passion, commitment and determined optimism from so many people. It inspires, renews and uplifts me every single day. Thank you.

    My very best wishes,

    Tim Flannery

    P.S. As the famous quote goes: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Let’s do it together. Please consider donating to us today.

    *Essential media found that in December 2014 76% of people believed that climate change and extreme weather are linked (compared to 52% in January 2014), including 63% of conservative voters (compared to 33% in January 2014)

  • We are not stopping, we’re just starting AUSTRALIAN UNIONS TEAM
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    We are not stopping, we’re just starting

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    Australian Unions Team <info@actu.org.au>
    4:29 PM (2 hours ago)
    to me

    Inga —

    Here’s an important message from ACTU President Ged Kearney.

    GK_screen_shot.png

    First it’s half-term Tony.

    Now it’s time to join the fight to send Malcolm Turnbull the message if he attacks our living standards we will see him off as well.

    We are building a better future for everyone.

    In unity,

    Australian Unions Team
    http://www.australianunions.org.au/

  • One delayed. More to go. BLAIR PALAISE 350 ORG
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    One delayed. More to go.

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    Blair Palese – 350.org Australia <350@350.org> Unsubscribe
    5:06 PM (1 hour ago)
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    One delayed. More to go. Stop the coal and gas mining giants by becoming a 350.org Climate Defender today.

    Dear Neville,

    Six months ago, Australia held the fate of the world’s climate in its hands. Thanks to your help, our movement has delayed the largest new coal mine in the Southern Hemisphere planned for Queensland’s Galilee Basin – a climate and reef-destroying project.

    The work we’ve done together to slow down new fossil fuel projects in Australia is not only important, but effective. But the fight to protect our climate has a long way to go.

    After a major campaign to get the Commonwealth Bank to end it’s involvement with Adani’s mega-coal mine in the Galilee Basin, our Government is now indicating that it will use taxpayer dollars to fund this monster project. They are also trying to change the laws that allow community groups to challenge environmentally controversial projects.

    It’s up to us to stand up to our Government’s pro-coal agenda and climate denial rhetoric and stand strong together to keep Australia’s coal in the ground for a brighter future.

    Will you take a stand to help protect our climate by donating $19 each month as a 350.org Climate Defender?

    In our fight against fossil fuel expansion, we’re up against some of the biggest multinational corporations in the world who are taking what’s ours in their relentless pursuit of profit and fossil fuels that we simply can’t burn.

    And our governments continue to push ahead with more plans to open and expand coal and gas mines not only in Queensland but in New South Wales and Western Australia too, with huge implications for all of us.

    That’s why we need your help to stand up and fight back.

    350’s strategic campaigns are having a significant impact as they hit the fossil fuel industry where it hurts – campaigning for super funds, banks universities and councils to divest from fossil fuels and fighting back some of the largest fossil fuel projects on the planet. 350’s divestment work has led to almost 400 institutions – including the Newcastle City Council, ACT Government, Norwegian Sovereign Fund and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, moving away from fossil fuel investments. Thank you for helping us to achieve this.

    But winning slowly can, sadly, be the same as losing where climate change is concerned. Unless the end to coal, oil and gas comes swiftly, the damage from global warming will overwhelm us.

    That’s why we’ve got to move faster than ever before.

    Will you help to speed up the fight for our climate by becoming a 350.org Climate Defender today and donate $19 or more each month?

    350 is a small group, but we’re having a real impact. As a Climate Defender, you’ll be right there alongside us funding our strategic campaigns to keep Australia’s fossil fuels in the ground and saving our climate.

    You’ll help to stop carbon bombs like Adani’s Galilee Basin coal development seeing the light of day. If this one project went ahead it would cook the climate and wreck the Great Barrier Reef.

    You’ll help by supporting our divestment campaigns that target big superannuation funds, councils and universities to weaken the fossil industry’s stronghold on our politics as we race for a fossil free future.

    And, when all else fails, you will be supporting peaceful protest and the remarkably brave people who step up and put themselves on the frontline to stop dangerous fossil fuel expansion.

    Join 350.org today as a Climate Defender and together we will do all we can to protect our climate.

    Thank you for your commitment to save our climate, I deeply respect the work that you have done so far.  Whatever you can give at this time will help to make a big difference for our climate and our future.

    I look forward to your support and to working with you!

    Warm wishes,

    Blair Palese for the 350.org Australia team

    P.S. Knowing that Australia’s coal mining plans are a clear and present danger to our entire planet makes what you and I do today incredibly important. Become a climate defender by donating $19 a month and save our climate.

  • Malcolm Turnbull’s test ADAM BANDT
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    Malcolm Turnbull’s test

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    Adam Bandt
    5:13 PM (1 hour ago)
    to me

    Dear Neville,

    I’ve just come from Question Time and it’s official. Tony Abbott is no longer our Prime Minister.This is very welcome news because the country has a chance for a new direction. Australia deserves better than the degrading, offensive and damaging politics we experienced under Tony Abbott’s leadership.

    Malcolm Turnbull said he will respect the public’s intelligence and seek to lead by persuading. This is a good start, but the test will be whether it extends to acting on the things that matter most, like:

    • Real action on climate change
    • Equal marriage for all loving couples
    • Releasing children who are locked up in detention
    • A strong social safety net

    The early signs are that the Greens have our work cut out for us in keeping this government accountable.When I asked Malcolm Turnbull today in Question Time about climate change, he said he’d be sticking with Tony Abbott’s woeful pollution cuts. He also said he won’t bring on a vote on the cross-party marriage equality bill that could see Parliament remove discrimination from our marriage laws this year.

    Malcolm Turnbull has a chance to impress, but so far the signs aren’t good. The coming months will reveal whether he is the Prime Minister that many people hope he will be, or whether the Liberal Party has just put a fresh coat of paint over the cruel and dangerous policies of the Abbott government.

    We will watch with great anticipation.

    Thanks for standing with us,

    Adam

  • The good news and the bad labor

    The conversation has been marked as not important.
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    The good news and the bad

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    George Wright Unsubscribe
    12:59 PM (5 hours ago)
    to me

    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
    .
    Neville —

    Well, that was an eventful 24 hours. The good news is we have a new PM. The bad news is he says he backs all of the policies of the old one – nothing that really matters has changed. In order to get the top job, Malcolm Turnbull has sold out his beliefs on climate change, marriage equality and a whole host of other issues.

    This weekend we go to a by-election in Canning. With the switch in prime minister we have to switch our campaign advertising too.

    But remaking ads doesn’t come cheap and while the Liberals have spent $1 million on the by-election, Labor hasn’t been as to raise that kind of money.

    Tonight we go to air in Canning with this ad:

    Screen_Shot_2015-09-15_at_11.03.13_am.png

    Can you help us make these last minute changes so we can send a message to the Liberals this weekend: you can change the salesman but we don’t like what you’re selling! 

    Thanks for your support,

    George Wright
    National Campaign Director