climate-change

February Round Up

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Interest rate relief

During February, Australian workers finally received long-overdue relief from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), with the first interest rate cut in almost five years.

For mortgage holders, renters, and families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, the decision provided some much-needed breathing room. Workers shouldered the burden of inflation while corporate profits soared. The rate cut was welcomed by the Australian government.

‘Future Made’ jobs essential

‘The Future Made in Australia plan, delivered by the Albanese Labor Government, is expected to create 400,000+ new jobs by 2040, including many in regional areas.

Green metals, critical minerals, and battery manufacturing will power the next generation of secure, well-paid work.

The plan embeds into law a disciplined and rigorous approach that will govern Future Made in Australia investments, to make the most of Australia’s net zero potential and ensure the benefits of these investments are widely shared and flow to local communities.

LEAN announces Climate & Environment Champs

Labor Environmental Action Network (LEAN) announced a new plan to advance environment and climate action during the month.

With the election just around the corner, Labor’s gains in climate and environmental action need to be protected by ensuring a second term.

In order to maximise Labor’s capacity to make a real difference on climate and the environment, LEAN identified 7 people (see picture left) who have gone the extra mile in standing up for the environment. These people have raised issues with ministers and the Prime Minister, spoken up in caucus and committees, organised with caucus colleagues and championed key issues in their own electorates.

LEAN has called on members to support their campaigns in 2025.

Protecting Toohey Forest wildlife

Graham Perrett MP with Hon Tanya Plibersek MP and Labor candidate for Moreton, Julie-ann Campbell

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $3 million to deliver on Graham Perrett’s commitment to build a fauna crossing under Toohey Road in the local bushland.

The crossing will link the eastern and western sides of Toohey Forest, decreasing the risk of motorist and animal collision. The wildlife will be further protected by fencing along parts of Toohey Road that will direct animals towards the safe crossing.

This project is part of Labor’s $76 million Saving Koalas Fund. Planning for the crossing is underway, and construction is due to start later this year.

As a daily visitor to Toohey Forest Graham expressed his delight that this project will reduce risks for koalas, echidnas and other small animals.

Medicare to receive boost

A re-elected Albanese Labor Government will make the biggest ever investment in Medicare so more Australians can see a GP for free. Delivering an additional 18 million bulk billed GP visits every year and tripling the number of bulk billing practices, Labor’s plan for Medicare will:
 
✔ Expand the bulk billing incentive to all Australians.
✔ Boost Medicare payments to GPs that bulk bill every patient.
✔ Train thousands more nurses and doctors.
 
Under Labor, Australians will save hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket medical costs. However, Australians at the upcoming election now face a choice about who to trust with their healthcare.
 
A stronger Medicare with more bulk billing for all Australians under Anthony Albanese, or cuts to Medicare under Peter Dutton. As health minister, for example, Peter Dutton tried to end bulk billing with a GP tax and he also stripped billions out of Medicare. There is no question that when it comes to Medicare, Australians will be worse off under Dutton.
 

Labor getting on with job; Duttons nuclear fiasco

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The ABC’s Laura Tingle has decided what voters are thinking, a rather dubious stance taken by some journalists who assume mind-reading accreditation as well.

We simply don’t know why many vote the way they do, but one notable observation by former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair in his autobiography A Journey, is that often elections are decided by voters who are politically clueless.

It’s obvious that Dutton is going all out to pull off a Trumplike victory by concentrating on cost-of-living and immigration. He is being ably supported by Newscorp and other media apparatchiks. The first is the easiest to work on because many respond easily to being told they’re worse off today than they were yesterday. It is usually the case after all that a dollar today is worth less than it was yesterday. Prices will inevitably rise but people confuse that with inflation which is actually the rate at which they rise. They were rising at over 6 per cent when Labor came to office, and at first nudged up to over 7 per cent before being brought down to the present figure of 2.8 per cent. So, while Tingle argues voters are unsure what Labor stands for, let’s say, inter alia, they are trying, with notable success, to bring down inflation.

In terms of immigration, when they tried to bring down student immigration numbers, Dutton used the Trump and Abbott formulae and opposed it. The Greens, who sometimes live in fairyland, would never support such a move.

Voters don’t like early elections and as Anthony Albanese has said, three years is far too little time to get policies really going. In case Tingle hasn’t noticed, Labor has shown very clearly in which direction it is going: it is fighting against inflation and alleviating cost-of-living.

It has been a while since millions of us have paid an electricity bill. Also worth noting is that interest rates have not risen for over a year.

Duttons costly nuclear ‘plan’

Peter Dutton’s plan for nuclear energy is beset with problems. Not only is he asking Australians to spend billions of dollars in new spending, but he’s asking for taxpayer subsidies to build the industry.

A recent Resolve Political Monitor poll showed renewable energy more popular with 45% of voters backing subsidies for rooftop solar and 34% backing subsidies for home batteries. Only 21% support
subsidies for nuclear power.

In the hope of scoring an election win, Dutton is prepared to defy the basic Liberal Party principle of small government. He seeks to stifle investment in renewables whilst loudly proclaiming they are still part of the energy mix. His nuclear policy is dependent on prolonging the life of coal-fired power even though this source of energy is expected to close down within two decades.

The CSIRO found that nuclear power in this country would be 50 per cent more expensive than renewable energy. Dutton’s claim that his plan would be 44 per cent cheaper than the government’s is dependent on the power grid being 40 per cent smaller than that of the government in 2050. Much of the cost of his nuclear reactors are not counted in his figures because they will only be met after 2050.

It is also important to remember that due to a long-standing moratorium on nuclear power, Australia has no civil nuclear industry. Therefore, we would be starting this nuclear energy scheme from scratch, making it exponentially more expensive than it would have been anyway.