Establishing a
Climate Action Group
Toolkit
Suggested Activities We’re sure your new group will have plenty of ideas for activities and campaigns to get you started. However even the most experienced Climate Action Group will sometimes struggle for inspiration. If you’re not sure about what the most important priorities for action are, contact Environment Victoria, or another environment group working on climate change. They should be able to give you an outline of what the more pressing issues are on the climate campaign agenda at any point. Know what you want to campaign on, but lacking activity ideas? Below is a list of activities we’ve seen work really well for Climate Action Groups across the country. Got another idea that isn’t listed? You can put this up on our suggested actions blog ‐ http://www.environmentvictoria.org.au/blog/posts/climate‐action‐groups‐take‐charge
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Visit your local member of Parliament Face to face visits are very powerful as they demonstrate how you, the constituent, feel about this issue. Remember, you don’t need to be an expert on the issue to have an opinion that your representative should listen to. A list of sitting members of is available here: Federal Members of Parliament: www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member_photo_state.asp Senators: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/index.asp?sort=state State Members of the Legislative Assembly (lower house): www.parliament.vic.gov.au/mlas1.html State Members of the Legislative Council (upper house): www.parliament.vic.gov.au/mlcs1.html You can also find out who your local State member is by visiting: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/menupage.cfm?menuId=1 In an election year, it is also worth contacting candidates other than the sitting member to let them know that their policies on climate change may influence your vote. To find out who your local candidate is contact the various parties listed below: Australian Democrats: http://www.vic.democrats.org.au or ring 03 9419 5808 Australian Greens: http://www.vic.greens.org.au or ring 03 9602 1141 Australian Labor Party: http://www.vic.alp.org.au or ring 03 9933 8500 Liberal Party: http://vic.liberal.org.au or ring 03 9654 2255 Family First: http://www.familyfirst.org.au/victoria.htm or ring 03 9800 5393
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Suggested Activities BREAZE and Environment Victoria, Establishing a Climate Action Group Toolkit
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Write a letter to the Prime Minister, the Premier and to Ministers responsible for climate change and energy policies, but don’t forget your local MP Letter writing is another extremely powerful tool, especially if your letter is in your own words. If you and your members feel strongly about an issue, the more letters your MP receives on the topic, the more they will understand that they need to do something about it. Try not to send all of your letters to the Prime Minister and Premier. While they are obviously important, the only MP answerable to you directly is your local representative. They are the ones who will really feel the heat from your efforts.
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Write at letter to the editor Keep your letters short, sharp and witty and they’ll have a much better chance of getting published. Local newspapers can be really influential, so don’t forget to write to your local paper. Why not tell them about what you are doing to reduce your greenhouse pollution, and challenge your representatives to do more? If you want to comment on a topical issue, it has to be timely. Try to get your letter sent off the same day as the story you want to comment on emerges, or first thing the next morning. For more about letters to the editor, see our briefing on page 35. The Age: Email to letters@theage.com.au Herald Sun: Use the form online at www.news.com.au/heraldsun/opinion The Australian: Email to letters@theaustralian.com.au The Weekly Times: Use the form online at www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/forms/letter‐to‐ the‐editor.html Leader Newspapers: Go to http://leader‐news.whereilive.com.au/ to find your local paper’s details.
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Call Talkback radio Talkback radio reaches a huge audience so it’s a good opportunity to spread the word about why Victoria should get serious about reducing emissions and making the shift to a clean energy future. Remember, you don’t have to be an expert to have an opinion. You might want to say that as a parent you’re worried about your kids’ future and that you want the government to make action on climate change their top priority. 3AW – 03 9696 1278 (frequency 693) 774 ABC – 1300 222774 (frequency 774) You can also send an SMS to 19 774 774
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Have local community groups and local councils pass a resolution on climate change Your council, union, sporting club, local school or church group could pass a resolution supporting a transformation for a clean energy future and urgent action on climate change.
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Send the resolution to the Premier, Opposition Leader and your local MP. You might even want to send it to your local media. A sample resolution: We the X committee urges the Victorian Government and all Victorian political parties to take the strongest possible action on climate change. We know that Victoria is going to be particularly hard hit by climate change. As a community, we’ve been working to reduce our impact on greenhouse gas emissions. However in the absence of strong government action we won’t as a community be able to make the cuts to our emissions necessary to prevent runaway climate change and ensure a safe climate future for our families. All parts of our society must play a part, and government must lead the way. We call on Premier Brumby and Opposition Leader Ted Ballieu to commit to slashing Victoria’s greenhouse pollution by at least 50 percent by 2020, overhauling Victoria’s entire building stock for energy efficiency, and investing in renewable energy to ensure Victoria is at the front of world action on climate change.
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Leaflet local residents on a specific issue, or look to help out other groups who might be leafleting in your area If you want your community to know about a particular issue, leafleting is a great way to spread the word. Unfortunately, leafleting is also expensive and can take a lot of effort. If your group wants to get involved in leafleting, why not team up with another Climate Action Group or environmental group who is already active in your area.
Community Bulk Buy schemes
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A number of community groups have expressed interest in starting community bulk buy schemes for sustainable technology within their community. BREAZE is particularly experienced in community bulk buy schemes and is able to share their experience and learnings with other climate action groups. If your community or group is considering a bulk buy of sustainable technology there are some basic questions to ask before you decide to go ahead: o
Why are you doing it?
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Can someone else do it better?
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Will it provide best value and quality?
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Does it help achieve the strategic objectives of your group?
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Do we have the capacity to deliver?
The BREAZE website holds a comprehensive review of the BREAZE experience with bulk buy processes, and draws from the experiences of other groups where possible. If your group is interested in investigating the potential for bulk buying within your community, check out the review and summary on the BREAZE website at http://www.breaze.org.au/groups/bulk‐ buy
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Suggested Activities BREAZE and Environment Victoria, Establishing a Climate Action Group Toolkit
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Host a social event like a Trivia or Film night Showing a film about climate change, or the action we need to stop it is a fun way of getting people together to talk about climate change. You can attract new members, and even use it as a fundraiser to get some money together for your group.
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Write a Petition A petition is a great way to show your representatives that the community wants action on a particular issue. It gives concrete evidence that you have support for your campaign. Unfortunately, a petition has no legal force, no matter how many people sign it. So while you’re entire school committee, church congregation, or even electorate might sign your petition, the government or MP it is directed at isn’t actually required to do anything about it. It’s therefore really important that you consider what impact you want your petition to make, and what level of support you think you’ll need for your petition to grab the attention of the government or your MP. Once you’ve decided that a petition is the best next‐step for your campaign, it’s important to get the structure right. Decide who the petition is going to. Keep the wording short and direct. For petitions to the Victorian and Federal Government, certain drafting requirements must be met for the petition to be received. For more information about petitions to the Victorian government, read a briefing paper from the Victorian Parliament on our website at ‐ http://www.environmentvictoria.org.au/library/presenting‐petitions‐legislative‐assembly For more information about petitions to the Federal House of Representatives, click here ‐ http://www.aph.gov.au/house/work/petitions.htm For more information about petitions to the Senate, click here ‐ http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/work/petitions/index.htm. Note: The Senate Petitions Officer recommends that any petition drafted for the Senate be emailed to them first to check that it is in the right format. It’s much easier to check you’ve got it right, than to gather names for a petition that can’t be received. There are even online services that will host your online petition for you. See GoPetition to find out more at http://www.gopetition.com.au/howtowriteapetition.php If you want to know more about the power of petitions in Victoria’s history, you can read about the ‘Monster Petition’ to give women the vote at http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/WomensPetition/
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Visual petition If you find that a written petition just isn’t what your campaign needs, perhaps you could consider a visual petition. A visual or picture petition gathers together pictures of
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individuals or groups calling for an action. It might not be submitted formally to parliament like a written petition, but can be just a powerful directed at an MP or government. A Climate Action Group in NSW started a visual petition in 2008 calling for policy that would cause Australia’s greenhouse emissions to peak in 2010, and decline steadily after that. They called the campaign Turn The Tide, and asked other Climate Action Groups and community groups across the country to send in their pictures all with the same message. For footage of the Turn The Tide campaign, go to http://turnthetidekevin.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html. A visual petition can also come from individuals, and doesn’t have to rely on other groups getting involved. Some Melbourne Climate Action Groups are now running a visual petition where individuals can tell the Prime Minister what they want done about climate change. See this link for more information: http://www.flickr.com/photos/getthepicturekev/3427842829/in/set‐72157616484902891/
‐ Protest or rally Holding protests and demonstrations are important parts of our democracy. Some people don’t like to attend protests as they might see it as too confrontational. But protests allow for a group of people to join together and show their support for or opposition to a particular issue in a way that is sure to get the attention of decision makers. You’ve written letters, held meetings and made submissions but still the government doesn’t listen. A well formed and well attended protest outside your MP’s office is certain to get their attention – particularly if you can get a story about it into your local paper.
Protests have formed an important part of almost every social or political movement in modern history. From civil rights demonstrations in the US to the Save Our Sons rallies here in Melbourne against the Vietnam War. Focused on climate change, the Walk Against Warming rallies have been held in capitol cities around Australia for the last four years, peaking in 2007 when over 50,000 Melbournians and 100,000 people across Australia hit the streets to call for action on climate change.
A local protest doesn’t need to be about ‘angry greenies’ – in fact, most of them aren’t. They’re just regular people like you who want the government to take stronger action on climate change. Keep your messages simple, and targeted. Make sure you’ve got a good attendance from across your community. Have colourful banners and signs. Try to have an activity planned that is the focus of the protest. You might like to place sandbags outside your MPs office to hold back rising sea levels. Some protests for renewable energy have lined up solar panels outside Parliament House. Others have children making a banner or sign which is presented to the MP. Whatever you do, remember to let the local paper know what you’ve got planned, and remember to bring your camera!
To see what a local protest outside your MPs office could look like, check out this footage from outside the office of a Federal MP in Melbourne’s outer east: http://www.envict.org.au/inform.php?menu=5&submenu=722&item=2024
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Hold a Sit‐In A Sit‐In is a form of direct action where protestors ‘sit‐in’ either outside or inside the office of the government or MP they are targeting. Protesters will either sit‐in for a set period of time or until their demands are met. In early 2009 Climate Action Groups around Australia held Sit‐Ins in the offices of their local MPs in protest against the Rudd Government’s proposed 5‐15 percent emissions reduction targets. For more information about that action, and how to prepare for a Sit‐In at your MPs office, click here: http://www.climateemergencynetwork.org/images/resources/step_in_to_step_it_up_on_cl imate_change.pdf
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Media release Sending out a media release to your local papers is a great way to get coverage for your group, attract new members, and get the issue of climate change onto the agenda. Try to develop contacts with local journalists who are interested in your views on current climate change issues. With a little bit of practice and a little bit of luck, you could end up with a monthly column on climate action in your local paper. You can send out a media release to announce the formation of your new group, to comment on new or proposed government policies, to draw attention to an issue you are campaigning on, or to let people know of an event you are running. Anything that you are doing that you think is going to be new and interesting to your community is worth a media release. For more information about writing a release and interacting with the media, go to the Working with the Media section of this document on page 35.
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Submissions Writing submissions are an important way you can let the government know what you think of their planned actions or policies. When the government is preparing a new policy or infrastructure investment etc, they will often open the process to submissions from the public. Your CAG can make a submission as a group, or you can encourage your members to make individual submissions. The more submissions a government receives on any planned policy or action, the more they know that the community cares about it. Therefore, it you want more support for renewable energy instead of coal, it’s important that you say this in a submission if the government is developing a new energy policy. While submissions are very important, it’s equally as important not to spend too much time on them. With all the various policy processes and planned activities by both the Federal and State governments, it’s easy to slip into submission obsession. You’ll find that you’re
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doing less and less campaigning in the real world and haven’t got time to be speaking or working with your community about climate change. Some groups avoid this by finding a volunteer who has a good understanding of policy and enjoys writing submissions (surprisingly to some, these people do exist). Others will sign onto the submission of another group, or encourage their members to make one page submissions with a simple message of greater action on climate change. Not sure of the submission process? Government departments will usually have information online, but you’ll also hear about the various processes open to submissions through the climate group networks. If you want more information, contact an environment group working on climate change for advice.
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Human Sign Human Signs are a fun way to get a community to make the call for climate action. People gather together to form the shape of letters spelling out your message, and a picture is taken from above. Human Signs can be created with a school group of 50 people, or a whole community of thousands. Two Climate Action Groups in Australia have been leading the charge on Human Signs over the last couple of years, and now have the logistics down to a fine art. Read more about how to create your own Human Sign in this briefing from climate group Clean Energy For Eternity, based in NSW. Victorian based group Bayside Climate Action are also happy to provide advice about Human Signs. LINK http://austcom.org.au/humansign.html
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Candlelight vigil Candlelight vigils provide an alternative way for large groups of people to gather in a call for action. These can be held with large or small groups, in a park, at a public landmark, at a church or school service, outside an MPs office etc. You can have speakers and maybe even a choir or prayer, or it can be silent. The same general principles apply as for other events you might host. Make sure your vigil is well advertised, the messages are clear, there is a positive vibe, and that you notify the local paper. You’ll need to remember to bring banners, a camera and importantly candles and a lighter.
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Holding a Stall Climate Action Groups and environment groups have been holding stalls to provide their community with information about climate change, their group and how people can get active for years. If you’ve got the people to man it, stalls are a great way to get out into the community and sell your message. You can ask an environmental group as well as your local council and government for information and materials you can hand out. Environment Victoria and other groups have
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campaign materials you can use, and ideas to get you started with you stall. You might also have a specific activity that you are asking people to do to attract them to you stall. It could be to sign up to your email list, sign a petition, have your photo taken as part of a visual petition. The more creative you get with this, the better. Think about your target audience, and what would attract them. You can host stalls at local fetes and markets, community events, or on the street where there is lots of pedestrian traffic. You might need permission from your council and possibly even public liability insurance, so it’s always worth checking. There is lot’s of information online about how best to prepare for running a stall, and some local councils will have documents you need too. Try these websites for information: http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigner/stall.html http://www.freedomchallenge.org.nz/wp‐content/uploads/2009/05/holding‐an‐effective‐ stall.pdf
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