Guest post by Hilary, member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and volunteer organizer with 350.org
Tomorrow, there's going to be an election. It's going to have a big impact on Australia's climate policies, in these crucial years to come.
The incumbent Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is going head to head with her conservative opponent Tony Abbott, after a campaign that has been pretty devoid of anything substantial on climate change from either. In fact, Tony Abbott is on the record for saying that he thinks climate change is 'bullshit'.
Julia – she's not quite so bad. But climate change, as an issue, does not seem to be high on her agenda. Her current plan to solve climate change is organising a 150 person 'Citizen's Assembly' of ordinary Australians, who will examine the evidence of climate change and choose a plan of action for the country. No science, no targets, no getting to work – seems like just talk!
For a country that's suffering from record drought, this is not a good attitude for Australian politicians to have.
Luckily, 350 organisers and other Australian climate activists have worked hard to show these politicians that Australians do care about climate change and sustainability. The number of planned 10/10/10 events are growing every day, and there are some pretty fantastic ideas!
In Western Australia, they're going to be making 350 planter boxes and distributing them to all the schools and classrooms in their region, so that students can grow their own plants and veggies. At Macquarie University in New South Wales, they're planning to have a HUGE day of action including a sustainable film competition with a AUD$2,000 prize, and planting trees in the shape of '350' on campus.
Our friends at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition have also been pestering their politicians with incredible stamina. They've encouraged young people across Australia to go to the AYCC website, put in their postcode and 'Power Vote' – which will send an automatic call to their elected representative telling them that young Australians care about climate change. Fantastic! Politicians' offices have been overwhelmed with calls.
Climate change, the 'elephant in the room' in this election, is also quite literally following Tony and Julia around. AYCC volunteers dressed as elephants have chased both politicians along the campaign trail, and the 'Climate Elephant' has been splashed across TV and the papers. It even got a personal invitation from the PM herself (via Twitter) to come to Parliament House 'for a cuddle and a hug'!
If you're an Australian voter, please think of action on climate change when you decide who to vote for. We need politicians everywhere to get to work – tomorrow, make sure you choose one that will!
And, check out the 350 action map to see if there's an event in your local area that you can get involved in. If, tomorrow, Australia gets a politician that thinks climate change is 'bullshit', we're going to need to really work hard on 10/10/10.