The last of the leaflets

Today I posted the last of the leaflets into the letterboxes of the electorate around Macquarie Hills. There’s a fair few hills in them thar Hills on the other side of Munibung.

Macquarie Hills is one of the chunks of Charlton that are changing. There was the full spectrum of views, beaut bits of bush, birds, lots of hills and innovative stormwater management.

There have been a lot people pounding the paths this week, and a big thank you to all of them, my mum, my friends and Greens supporters of every shade. Everyone wanted to do something to change the way things are and one step at a time was one way to do it.

The largest event of the campaign

Today I went to the monthly meeting of the Morisset Senior Citizens and Pensioners. It was the largest audience of the campaign, and apart from getting diverted by detours and not realising I had 10 minutes to talk all went reasonably well.

The 10 minutes contained a bit about me, a lot about Climate Change, a few policy points and some examples about my experiences with seniors. We had a very scrumptious morning tea and I got to talk to a few people.

It's been a bit of challenge to get the word out but thank goodness for active seniors and the internet.

Local Candidates understand local issues

Just heard some news that Mr Combet, Labor's candidate may not be living in Charlton. Is this an issue?

Well I think it's one to consider because how can you understand the importance of a 40-60 minute commute to Newcastle if you never have to do it?

Is the health care crisis critical if you don't have to wait a week to see a GP?

Can you understand the need for public transport if your area is serviced by it?

Can you appreciate the importance of the local environment if you're not emmersed in it?

I guess there is an argument that you don't have to experience everything first hand to understand it but surely when it comes to representing people there is a strong case for living in the area to experience the issues and be motivated to attend to them.

Charlton Choking on its own Greenhouse Gases

Eraring Power station is the highest CO2 emitting power plant in Australia, producing 18,321,400 tonnes of CO2 annually from a ‘dirty’ style power plant according to the Carbon Monitoring for Action Database at the Centre for Global Development that went online this week.

“The carma.org website makes it easy to see who is producing how much CO2 and it’s certainly a shock to find out that we have a major global issue on our doorstep” said Greens Candidate for Charlton Suzanne Pritchard

“We all new that Lake Macquarie was the best place is Australia but being best at producing a major greenhouse gas is not good for the region or the planet” Ms Pritchard said

New South Wales is home to the two largest CO2 emitting power stations in Australia, and worldwide our nation is ranked 7th according to the CARMA database.

“There is unequivocal evidence that greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming. The local impacts of rising lake levels, increased storm surges, floods and bushfires are going to be major challenges for the future. Unless there is political will to set us on a new course the course we’re on will doom us all.” Ms Pritchard said

“The coal and power industries are heavily subsidized by the government, they have three centres for research and yet the renewable energy industry has been starved of funds to the point where our international edge and expertise is hanging on by a solar cell. The Greens will invest in renewable energy research” Ms Prichard said

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently stated that current global warming effects that we are experiencing can only be matched by the models if the ‘worst case scenario’ is followed and that is a 6 degree rise in temperature. The Greens will base all climate policy on constraining global warming to less than 2 degress” Ms Pritchard said

“Politicians have a duty of care not just for the economy but to ensure there is a planet to live on now and in to the future, the current policies of both the major parties are ignoring the fact that the planet is in crisis. They are concerned about interest rates from 20 years ago and yet have no interest in the next 20 years.”

“We get the politicians we want, and we will get the planet we want as well at this election. We have to start turning the titanic mindset of the politicians or we will hit the iceburg, we may not sink but the rising sea levels will get us anyway.” Ms Pritchard said.

Some good news at last!

It is possible to save the world from devastation and disaster and make it a better place for the future if and it’s a very big if, there is political leadership on implementing renewable energy strategies and putting some resources into research and development.

That is the message that Dr Mark Diesendorf is trying to get out and he did it very convincingly at a public lecture last night at city hall organised by Climate Action Newcastle.

I’ve got to admit that whilst in my heart of hearts I knew renewables were the way to go I was often put in a position of doubting my gut instincts when the news was bleating ‘Clean coal and nuclear solutions’. I was sceptical and there didn’t seem to be any news about the alternative scenarios.

Dr D put it all into powerpoint perspective though and cleared the clean coal haze that had been swirling around my non nuclear noggin. Below is some of what he had to say.

The first message that we were given was the urgency of the ‘Greenhouse amplification issue’ also known as global warming. There are many things happening on our little planet that when combined are real worldly worries.

For example the ice melting around the poles isn’t just bad for polar bears and penguins it also affects how much heat is soaked up or radiated back into space. White surfaces reflect heat, dark surfaces absorb heat and so melting ice means heat is being retained on earth not bounced back into the great unknown.

And there’s more …the permafrost, frozen ground that use to be frozen ground for a large part of the year, also use to hold greenhouse gases in it. So you guessed it, defrosting not-so-permafrost is now releasing greenhouse gasses.

But wait there’s more…and it’s not a set of steak knives but our lives at stake, because warmer air holds more water and water is a greenhouse gas too. These three things and a few more once they kick in, they can keep amplifying the greenhouse effect, and the signs are already there that it’s starting to happen. So it becomes very important to have targets that everyone can work towards to slow down these well known processes.

The people in the know reckon to have a liveable world we need a long term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. To get to this target we’ll have to be working towards 30% less greenhouse gases by 2020. To get to this target action has to start now or in the next 6 years at least.

This is where it’s important to understand the problem with the ‘Clean Coal’ conundrum. The technology will not be viable before 2025, so it cannot contribute to the short term target. It is also very expensive to develop and no one knows at this point in time if it’s going to work. Dr D reckons that it should be a big superpower to actually do the R&D to get it up and running not a relatively small economy like Australia.

Other on the ground problems are ’clean coal’ still depends on burning coal and so still contributes land degradation, air and health problems and if it leaks out of its capture cavern all animal life forms in the immediate area suffocate. So if we have to try and save the planet depending on something that isn’t there and may not even work it seems like a pretty risky option.

The other nightly news solution that has been offered is ‘new generation nuclear power’. The facts on that one are it doesn’t exist either. To build a new nuclear power plant it would be of the 1970’s style. It would also be expensive and very slow to build and if reducing greenhouse gases is the aim of the game the process of getting 1kg of uranium out of the ground from low grade oar requires 10tonne of rock to be extracted crushed and mushed, a very diesel and digger intensive process, i.e. lots of greenhouse gas production. So this option doesn’t help with meeting the short term targets either.

But don’t despair because we have the technology to make a difference and it could be rolled out the day after the election if the political will was present. Genuine solutions exist in energy efficiency, renewables and natural gas. It seems so simple you have to wonder why we aren’t doing it, of course the answer is there is no political leadership in fact the renewable energy industry has been cut up, drawn out and dehydrated of funds thanks to Johnny H and his coal compatriots.

Back to the good news…
Energy efficiency is the cheapest and fastest way to reduce greenhouse gasses.
It also involves education and saving money and helps us all to realise how to live in a greenhouse world. Things like pointing your house in the right direction, insulation, efficient appliances and heating can make real in roads in to reducing emissions. If all off peak hot water systems were changed for solar hot water ¼ of the energy demand would be gone. These approaches can help meet the short term greenhouse gas reduction targets, they are doable now.

Renewable Energy options are also ‘now options’.
One of the technologies Dr D is an expert in is wind power. The pooh-pooh people reckon it can’t do ‘base-load’ but Dr D begs to differ. A large scale windfarm, spread over hundreds on km can capture enough wind continuously to provide energy efficiently and if you really want to make it super base load compliant like coal, a gas turbine peak load assister is all that’s needed.

The base-load argument is a bit of a furphy really because most demand for power is in the day time when the sun is a shining and so solar photovoltaic is part of a solution. The exciting news on the horizon though is that solar thermal electricity where the suns rays are used to store heat in water, rocks, graphite or salt is capable of providing the baseload power that the Power People want and this technology will be up and running way before the first clean coal carbon atom is captured or the ninth neutron is annihilated in a nuclear reactor.

Other exciting renewable options that won’t kill if unsuccessful are hot rock geothermal, a process as simple as two holes in the ground. Water in-steam out-turbine turns and it’s a closed system so it’s not water intensive. France and Australia are blazing the hot rock trail.

So after an hour of Dr D I felt a bit better about the future. What became very clear though was that what is driving our political processes is not the people’s will, climate change is an issue to most mere mortals, but the Power & Industry perpetrators who have the government’s ear and chequebooks.

If we are to meet the short term targets government policy has to change within the next two terms, and the sooner the better.

• An integrated public transport system will reduce dependence on cars
• No new coal powered electricity stations should be built, they have a 40 year legacy that we cannot afford to take on.
• Energy ratings should be on all energy consuming appliances, buildings and equipment
• Mandatory renewable energy targets need to be set.
• And research funding needs to be supplied.
  

It is a sorry state of affairs when there are 3 research centres for coal and not one for renewable energy. Australia has been leading the world in many areas of renewable research only to have their projects and prospects thwarted by a coal crazy government who cuts funding quicker than you can say ‘make it count in this election’.

I’m really glad I went to hear Dr D. What was really inspiring though is what he was saying is what the Greens are campaigning for. I even bought his 2007 book Greenhouse Solution with Sustainable Energy. It’s on the to-do list for after the 24th.

Charlton's Officially Unofficial Campaign Song- The Magic Position

Evey campaign needs a tune that makes you want to change the world...one that inspires and makes you perspire and features xylophones!

Patrick Wolfe's Magic Position does it for me and it's so relevant to the magic position that the Greens could be in with a strong presence in the Senate. I've spent many a commuting hour constructing the perfect campaign clip but alas due to copyright and a virtually non existent promo budget the images will have to be supplied by your imagination.

So imagine the the perfect pictures to the (campaign commentary) and enjoy the catchy tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeR9_7cACUc
The lyrics are bold and my commentary(is in brackets and italics)

The Magic Position by Patrick Wolfe

(Kids running along a beach and being free and happy, the woosh whoosh of waves and squawking seagulls- Greens Senators standing on the middle of a a see-saw and rocking it from side to side with Labor and Liberal party heads on each end)

So let the people talk this Monday morning walk

(thousands of people walking against warming
then Johnny Howard in his tracky dacks)

Right past the fabulous mess we're in

(glaciers breaking up, drought parched land, floods
v's Johnny H and his dollar signs)

It's gonna be a beautiful day

(seas of windmills and
photovolatics shimmering in the sunlight)

So do the bluebirds sing

(Sacred Kingfisher-kookaburras laughing)

As I take your hand, And you take my kiss (kids)

(Smiling Green people running along the beach with kids)

And we take the world

(Montage of all the Green politicians and people across the globe
at every level in every democracy)

'Cause out of all the people I've known

(Dalai Lama, Al Gore, and other famous folk)

The places I've been

(Scenic pix of Barrington Tops, Tasmanian wilderness)

The songs that I have sung

The wonders I've seen

(More pretty pix of all the beautiful places under threat by global warming)

Now that the dreams are all coming true

(Bad dreams of the melting iceburgs, bushfires)

Who is the one that leads me on through

(puzzled person deciding who to vote for
walking through the election day throng)

It's you

(Insert image of self,
feeling strong,
empowered and happy )

Who puts me in the magic position, darling now

(Greens Senators on a see saw)

You put me in the magic position

(Image of self ticking the Greens #1 on the Senate ticket)

To live, to learn, to love in the major key

(Senators on the See Saw and the words of Greens Principles wafting by
"Social & Economic Justice,
Grassroots Democracy,
Ecological Sustainability
Peace Non Violence and Disarmament")

a Major key, a Major key

(Senators see sawing holding a big green key with an Australia on the end)

And I know how you've hurt

(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,
refugees in detention)

And been dragged through the dirt

(People marching for Your rights at work)

But c'mon get back up now , It's the time to live

(People marching for peace and
walking against warming)

As you give your love to me

(Happ yvoter lodging their Greens #1ticket)

I'm gonna keep it carefully

(Greens Senators sincerely thanking you)

Deep in the treasure chest below my breast

(A Green triangle treasure chest morphing into a Green heart)

'Cause out of all the people I've known

(all of your friends and family, young and old))

The places I've been

(all the wonderful, beautiful places you've been to)

The songs that I have sung

The wonders I've seen

(the best of the most beautiful places you've been to)

Now that the dreams are all coming true

(your beautiful places underwater,
or parched or destroyed by the impacts of global warming)

Who is the one that leads me on through

(Bob Brown, Kerry Nettle talking in Parliament
and challenging George W Bush)

It's you... Who puts me in the magic position, darling now

(Image of self ticking the Greens #1 on the Senate ticket)

You put me in the magic position, darling now

(Sentors filling up the seats in the Senate)

So let me put you in the magic position,darling,

(Senators standing up and speaking for you in the Senate)

'Cause I'm singing in the major key,the major key, the major key

(A great big green key, with an Australia shape on the end,
opening a door labelled 'democracy')

Let me put you in the major key

(on the other side of the door is you)

Walk Against Warming- I was an O

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered and strolled along Nobby's beach to make a human sign saying 'Vote for the Climate'. I was part of the 'O' in 'for' but it was also great just being around other like minded people that come in all different shapes sizes and letters.

Can you ever hear enough about Climate Change?

Well I guess it depends on who you’re hearing it from. Recently I had an opportunity to listen to a public lecture with three speakers that are on the UNs Intergovernmetnal Panel on Climate Change. They talked about the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of what we’re in for.

The good news is that there is no doubt that people are responsible for the warming of the earth, the bad news is that unless there is political will things will get ugly. The ugly part does have a good bit though and that is there is a fair bit of work going on in ‘adaptive management’.

The first of the Climate Change speakers was Scott Power waving the Bureau of Meteorology flag. He gave us the low down on the temperature warm up and its effects.

There is an unequivocal acceleration and rise in sea level over the past 50 years, there is an underlying upward trend towards hotter temperatures and the only way to explain these aspects of climate is with models that fit the ‘people input factor’.

We have been experiencing these effects in Australia as a decrease in rainfall, especially in the South West of Australia; the Murray-Darling Basin is having its driest and warmest year on record, and there is a weakening of the global, thermal, tidal patterns.

Scott’s take home message was major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to avoid ‘dire projections’.

Hmmmm. Things were starting to seem a little gloomy at this point of the proceedings but then Kevin Hennessey a CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Scientist stepped up to the podium. He’s been working on global adaptation and vulnerability.

The back room boys have been undertaking a scientific review over the past 4 years to try and work out what might actually happen on our little blue and green ball we call Earth. They reckon that the negative impacts of climate change will become more severe, and the positive one is that the northwest passage will be open to shipping ‘cause the ice will have melted.

So what is in store? More heatwaves, more fire, droughts and storm surges. More intense cyclones and hail storms. Less snow and frost. Large areas of the mainland will have less soil moisture.

• Potential impacts-Water
  o 45% less stream flow in Victoria by 2030
  o 25% less water in the Murray Darling
• Potential impacts-Ecosystems
  o Kakadu will get saline infiltration
  o Bleaching of coral reefs
• Potential impacts-Agriculture
  o Decline due to drought and fire
• Potential impacts-Coastal
  o Exacerbate risks due to severity and frequency of storm surges
• Potential impacts-Industry & cities
  o More blackouts
  o Increased storm and fire damage
  o Less water for coal based power stations
• Potential impacts-Health
  o Increased deaths from heat stress
  o Mosquito borm diseases increase
  o More food borne diseases
• Potential impacts-Tourism
  o Some tourist destinations may be more favourable
  
  As far as adaptation goes us 2-legged folk have a real advantage over the natural systems and wildlife. Natural systems that are fragmented and urbanised don’t have a lot of room to move, especially if there are no corridors.
  
  People can adapt because we have the ability to change our environment. We can reduce demand, conserve and become more efficient in our energy and water usage. We can build dams and desal plants.
  
  The really scary part of Kevin’s session though was the revelation that current global warming effects that we are experiencing can only be matched by the models if the ‘worst case scenario’ is followed and that is a 6 degree rise in temperature. The take home message, we need action NOW, in the next 5-10 years..
  
  The best was saved till last, Roger Beale. He was tasked with the message of hope and there is some because the technologies already exist that can make a difference, they just have to be implemented. Under the current political policies greenhouse gas emissions are still rising at about 25%.
  
  Some of the areas where greenhouse gas reductions are possible include
• Energy supply and building design. Reductions in greenhouse gasses can also be achieved by fuel switching and renewables
• Transport solutions include Biofuels(next generation), higher efficiency, hybrid vehicles, Landuse planning and Cycling
• Buildings need better Heating lighting insulation and Information about design
  
  The goal that Roger was aiming for was emissions trending downwards by 2015-2030 and to avoid the really nasty future it has to be well and truly on the way down by 2020.
  
  Politically Roger offered some solutions too. Climate change is a global problem so we all have to take action. It has been costed that 0.05% of global GDP would address the issues that need to be tackled to get things under control. I Googled the current world military spending, it is 2.5% of global GDP.
  
  Roger mentioned some other political incentives that were needed to get things moving in the right direction included climate change policies, regulation by taxes and charges, tradeable permits, financial incentives and funding for research and development of renewables.
  
  Whilst it appeared that Roger could see some solutions and there was a way forward his final statement was that he felt there was too much inertia in the system to meet the needed targets and he predicted that a 3 degree rise was probably what we were going to end up with, in which case ‘we better have a very good adaptation plan’.
  
  This public lecture was sponsored by the Office of Corporate Development and Community Partnership and Tom Farrrell Institute for the Environment
  

A good reason to vote Green...a future

A vote for the Greens is an opportunity to send a strong and direct message to the major political parties that urgent decisive action addressing climate change is needed. It is a double value vote with the full value being passed on to who ever you choose as number two on your ballot paper.

As a scientist I am in no doubt that our future is hanging in the balance and this election is at a critical time. There is no real leadership being taken by the major parties to address the current climate chaos creating conditions that are jeopardising not only our children’s future but the world as we know it today.

At a recent forum in Newcastle, CSIRO scientists outlined the findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and it was truly scary. Climate change is happening. It is happening in line with the worst case models and there is still more change to come due to the expansion of the global economy being fuelled by coal fired energy, the lag that exists in the global climate system and fewer forests to soak up the greenhouse gases. You have to wonder ‘why are the major parties fiddling while the planet warms’? The Greens oppose the expansion of the coal industry and federal takeover of ports to accelerate coal exports.

The claims that Australia’s economic future depends upon ‘coal business as usual’ are not true. Australian wind technologies are delivering huge profits in Germany, Australia’s competitive edge on solar panel production has been reduced to a mere ray of hope for industry support. The Greens support the creation of a regional hub of sustainable and renewable energy industries in the Hunter. The Charlton electorate is well placed and has the professional capacity to be a part of this new energy future.

The only hope we have to ensure our future is to demand action on addressing climate change. It is up to the community to take the leadership role on this issue and that can happen by voting Green in both houses. A Green vote for the Senate will ensure that there is a diversity of political debate and a progressive and independent body. This is the only possibility for taking real action on climate change.

The Greens policies are underpinned by the principles of Social & Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Ecological Sustainability and Peace, Nonviolence & Disarmament. It is a party that has a true belief in empowering people, respect for all and I urge you to look at the rest of the policies at www.greens.org.au. Most sincerely Suzanne Pritchard , Greens Candidate for Charlton

Candidate Announcement...I'm back

Suzanne Pritchard is standing as a Candidate Charlton because she wants to provide people with the power to have their voice heard. The Greens offer credible economic policies and a political paradigm for empowering people.

Suzanne has a passion for science and the environment and is Director of her company Springboard Science which presents hands-on science shows to children and undertakes environmental education projects with community groups.

Suzanne has a Science Degree from Wollongong University, which provided a foundation of learning about the state of the planet, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Newcastle University which gave insights into the world of mass media which dominates our lives.

Suzanne describes herself as a teacher and learner and empowering people through knowledge sharing is at the core of all her undertakings. She has been working with Trees In Newcastle for the past two years has been employed by Lake Macquarie City Council supporting Landcare groups to learn about the environment and has been President of the Coal Point Progress Association for 12 years.

Suzanne’s voluntary role as a community advocate initiated her political interests dealing with local government, advocating for the resourcing of the community’s needs and engaging in the constant battle against inappropriate developments.

State Election 2007- Concluding comments

A sincere and hearty thankyou to all the Greens members and supporters who gave their time, enthusiasm and feet across the electorate to make the campaign for marginalisation a success.

The Greens vote for the Legislative Assembly in Lake Macquarie was 6%, and whilst down on the previous State election this was expected with a strong independent candidate in the campaign.

In the Legislative Council the vote in Lake Macquarie was 8.15% and this contributed in getting the two Upper House candidates Lee Rhiannon and John Kaye elected.

The campaign was an amazing experience and there were a lot of positives. The community was actively engaged in the election and The Greens messages were heard. In Lake Macquarie there was regular coverage in the local papers, the ABC included the Greens as one of the major parties in their forums and The Greens were also invited to the major community and business forums.

Whilst this may seem to be stating the obvious what has become clear is that the Greens are now being considered with the major parties as key political decision makers and our votes count.

The size of the Lake Macquarie electorate makes it a logistically challenging seat. Over 18,000 leaflets were distributed and all but the remotest of booths were covered on Election Day. This is an amazing achievement made possible by amazing people.

Thank you again for your dedication, support and belief in The Greens and making that Saturday in March a memorable experience in securing a change in the political climate.

Most sincerely
Suzanne Pritchard
Greens candidate for Lake Macquarie

Reuse it or lose it

The power of preferences lies
in the pencil of the people.

The whole election process is an interesting affair. I've been able to learn a whole lot more about what State governments do...and don't do. I've had the chance to meet lots of interesting people who I wouldn't normally bump into, let alone get to hear their perspectives on life and I’ve had the chance to try and put across The Greens policies through the mass media.

What has become glaringly obvious is that it is really hard to get the message out what Greens policies are. Thank goodness for the internet I say, as more people are taking personal responsibility to look at the policies for themselves they can see that often what is reported can be so far from the truth you wonder how it can be called ‘journalism’.

Towards the final stages of this election it is also becoming apparent how the process of electing representatives also gets sidelined.

Everyone wants to know who are you preferencing? What is not made clear to the voting people is that it is their choice, their preference not any party ‘ticket’. In the State election there is no registered preference ticket. The How to Vote cards are a recommendation only.

What ever someone marks on their voting slip, that’s what is counted. If you only mark one box, your vote stops after that vote is counted. If you mark 2 or 3 or more boxes then your vote keeps on getting counted over and over again until it stops at the person with the most, or second most votes, it is the most powerful reuse strategy about.

In Lake Macquarie numbering the squares is the best way to make sure you get the government you want.

After much consideration about the merits of the other candidates The Greens are recommending on their How to votes that Greg Piper, a progressive independent be preferenced and then the Labor Party. Following this strategy sends a clear message to the Labor Party that this electorate does not want to be taken for granted anymore but it also is saying that if it came down to Labor or a Liberal coalition, we’d be better off under a Labor government.

Media Release: Have they missed the ‘tipping’ point?

Suzanne Pritchard, Greens candidate for Lake Macquarie wants climate change to be the number one issue when votes are cast on Saturday.

”Whilst the election has been a chance to highlight all the issues that a State government deals with the most pressing issue of our time, the Climate Change point has been underplayed, overlooked and avoided by the major parties who are committed to business as usual with their coal companions” Suzanne said

“Our future can only be assured if we start looking beyond coal, not just our immediate future in terms of jobs and regional security but we are in a critical time for implementing decisions for the future of the planet, and it starts where the coal is dug out of the ground, and the energy is produced”

The Greens support a just transitions package, funded through carbon taxes, that would mean coal industry communities will have access to renewable energy jobs of the future.

The Greens want to make NSW a leader in the manufacturing and export of renewable energy technologies.

“We can be at the forefront of this new age of renewable energy, it could be a very exciting future with real promise and action to address the most pressing issue humanity is facing.”

The Greens support a moratorium on any new coal infrastructure. A one kilometre exclusion zone around water sources must be applied to all long-wall coal mines. Protecting our catchments is crucial.

"In Lake Macquarie campaigning for fairer and more sustainable communities will be vital otherwise we may push our environmental gains to the point of no return. You can’t have development without infrastructure or services, a point that has been missed in the regional strategy.

“The Lower Hunter Regional (development) Strategy proposes massive increases in the population over the next few years. This will be nothing more than a developer’s land grab if there are not suitable processes in place to allow the community to respond. If the Minister has undisputed powers of approval the community will be exhausted and silenced by having to continually fight the same battles.”

The Greens have a credible record of keeping the government accountable to the community not the corporations with the fastest EFTPOS machines or fattest chequebooks.”

Donations to political parties from developers must end and the powers of the Planning Minister to approve development without due process repealed.

Voting in the State election is optional preferential. Every number that is placed on the ballot paper makes a statement about what the community wants. A Green primary vote can send a very strong message to the major parties that they need to raise their environmental credentials. The vote then gets counted again and again depending on how many numbers are marked. A Green vote is not a wasted vote it is reused, adding value to the election process

Confessions #5 The things you never get to say

Today was my final 'forum' live to air on the ABC. The topic, general issues affecting Lake Macquarie, this was good I thought, pure Green policies. So after a good night sleep, which I found to be the best thing for being able to think clearly I put together some notes, the big points I wanted to mention, the 'here's your last chance to bring it home baby' speil.

Alas not being public speaking savvy enough to twist questions to include my answers no matter what the question, and missing the opportunity when it arose to get in a few key points as well as the whole forum running out of time when it got to the really big issue of Life after Coal, I didn't get to mention a few things I really wanted mention so I'm putting what I wanted to say here.

• There is a need for who ever is in government to start doing something about climate change, and our role in its perpetuation and expansion.
  We live on the coast and many of us live around a Lake rising sea levels will affect us all.
• In Lake Macquarie we are complicit in climate chaos, and as the residents of this electorate we have a chance to say we want to start to look at a different future.
• We can’t keep doing things the same way because that’s what’s got us into this predicament in the first place and unless we start planning and making a pathway towards a different energy future we are up the creek without a paddle and floating on a rising sea of uncertainty.
• The thought of trying to relocate people or even to move back the building line because the cost of holding back the oceans has the potential to bankrupt our community.
• We need to keep a watchdog in the Upper House that is beholden to the community not a company with a fat chequebook, or fast EFTPOS machine. Policies from a people’s perspective not for profit.
• The Upper House crew Lee Rhiannon, Ian Cohen, Sylvia Hale have done a great job in keeping community issues in the spotlight. Lee Rhianinon has been supporting the Coal Communities to fight against the effect of coal extraction, dust and social dislocation on the communities around the Hunter, and highlighting the problems with the public private partnerships which results funding infrastructure to run at a profit not for people.
• With John Kaye on the Upper House ticket we are giving people a chance to put someone in to the house of debate that actually has credentials and knowledge about renewable energy options and has spent his university career looking for solutions, he’s found them too, he has something to offer.
• The Greens stand out from the rest because we don’t accept developer donations, it compromises the political process when one entity has more clout than thousands of individual voices.
• The Greens are also a party that has policies, processes and the resources of a team of people who are all abiding by the same principles.
• A Green vote is about making a statement to whoever is in power that you want the major parties to do something about climate change, you want the infrastructure and services to make living in Lake Macquarie viable for the future, that want your society to be more socially just.
• It’s an opportunity to send a clear message that the electorate doesn’t want to be taken for granted anymore. Lake Macquarie provides a significant amount of state revenue through coal and energy production and what we have to show for it is one of the most impoverished health services in the region, ineffectual public transport and an environment that increasingly compromised by massive development proposals.

We have reached a critical point in time where every year of political indecision and inaction digs us deeper into a black coal hole that’s going to be harder to climb out of.

We need political leadership to set a new agenda and support innovation.

We need to do things differently.

The Greens are thinking and doing politics differently.

Vote for tomorrow, today

The Potential of the Preference- Media Release

The Greens will be recommending voter preferences be directed towards Greg Piper and then Jeff Hunter in the Lake Macquarie electorate on Saturday 24th March.

“The Greens have historically always preferenced progressive independents and although we may not agree on everything, after discussions with Greg Piper we have concluded that he has progressive views on several key issues,” Lake Macquarie Greens candidate Suzanne Pritchard said.

The Greens support a ban on developer donations and Greg Piper stated he would support legislation to level the playing field on political donations by developers.

The Greens oppose the development of any new coal mines and Greg Piper also supported this stance and the need to ‘close the loophole’ in the LEP to ensure the prohibition of new open cut mines.

The Greens are committed to protecting workers from the socially destructive WorkChoices legislation; Greg Piper has stated he would not support the Federal Government’s Industrial relations package.

“At the end of the day every individual will have the choice to preference as they choose, we have identified an order on our ‘how to vote’ cards that rates the views of the candidate’s in relation to the Greens policy,” Suzanne said.

In many seats across the State Labor will be preferencing the Greens in the NSW Upper House on their how to vote cards, but not in Lake Macquarie.

“The agreement that was entered into by the Greens and the Labor Party identified key seats where Labor wanted the Greens primary preference. Lake Macquarie was one of those seats. After much discussion a decision was made by the local group that we preferred a progressive independent to a constrained Labor candidate.”

The recommended preferences put Labor ahead of the Coalition. The Greens acknowledge that Labor is better on issues like workers' rights, protecting national parks and a little better on climate change.

Greens MP and Lead Upper House candidate Lee Rhiannon said: "The Labor government has been very disappointing, but a Debnam Coalition government would be a living nightmare."This gives NSW a good chance of avoiding a Coalition government while maintaining a strong Upper House that will hold the government to account."We have also agreed with Labor to establish a preferencing framework for the Federal election in NSW to both defeat the Howard government and rescue the Senate from Coalition control."We will work towards Greens recommending preferences to Labor in key federal marginal seats and Labor directing preferences to the Greens in the Senate.”

More forum fun...Hunter Business Chamber Forum

I have a business. I’m the major share holder, company director, and have been voted employee of the year for the last 10 years. It’s a small business, actually it’s a micro-business but even so I have all the reporting requirements of being in business, I understand what it takes in time and human resources to keep a business viable

At this forum a list of 9 issues were provided to address which the three Greens Candidates present shared in discussing. I covered Regional economic stability in light of environmental pressure on coal and Reliable public infrastructure.

It was interesting that not one other candidate even mentioned Regional Economic Stability in the light of environmental pressure on coal and yet our future depends upon considereing it.

If you had to identify the major point of difference between the Greens and the other parties it is we believe whole heartedly there is a future beyond coal, a viable, jobs rich, skilled manufacturing industry based around renewable energy technologies.

The Stern Review and the IPCC both made it clear that we must reduce emissions from coal now, not in ten years time. The renewable energy industry offers a larger and more resilient source of jobs. Each unit of energy generated by wind creates four times more jobs than coal. A planned transition to renewable energy would swamp the number of jobs lost in a phase out of the coal industry and would address high levels of youth unemployment.

Between the mid 1980s and 2004 the coal industry shed 18,000 jobs largely because of technological changes. Based on the experiences in other countries where governments have taken responsibility to ensure a planned transition from coal to renewables, a conservative estimate is that 25,000 additional jobs could be created over the next 10 years.

The Greens are about providing a future, not only for people but for the planet. The impacts of burning coal are changing our world and this region is making quite a contribution to that change. We need to accept some responsibility and provide leadership, the business community needs to be supported in this transition, if we don’t start now, in the next 4 years we’ll miss the boat and the opportunities that were on board it.

Reliable public infrastructure was a big issue. A viable interchange with a bridge to provide better access for all users and an integrated transport plan drew lots of questions.

Whether it’s hospitals, housing, buses or bike tracks, reliable public infrastructure can maintain quality employment, lead to reductions in energy and protect the public interest.

Public infrastructure is vital not only to pick up the pieces that for one reason or another don’t make the corporate cut but to provide services for all people so that everyone can continue to live comfortably and therefore contribute to and feel a part of society.

A strong public sector use to be the prime training ground for apprentices and trainees, with the decline in the public sector we have also seen an increase in the skills shortage. The role of government is to prepare for the future not plunder the good planning of the past.

It has become increasingly apparent the there is a conflict in allowing profit driven corporations to provide necessary public services for example ABC Learning, Child Care Corporation Last year received 44% ( $278 million) of its revenue from taxpayer funded subsidies for child care. The Australia Institute found corporate centres provided poorer quality care than community based centres. ABC Learning staff expressed concerns about low food budgets, onerous cleaning duties and paperwork. Only 15% of ABC staff said their centres hired more staff than the legal minimum, compared with 40% at non-profit centres.

The Greens support

• public funding, ownership and control of public schools, hospitals and transport;
• provision of core government services by government enterprises, not out-sourcing;
  a complete ban on PPPs for essential infrastructure and services including school buildings, roads, transport and prisons;
• public ownership of the NSW electricity industry and water utilities; and
• where possible, a return to public ownership of privatised public services, infrastructure (e.g. motorways) and enterprises.

A regional transport strategy was discussed and the Greens position was to implement the Five Point Plan to improve public transport in the Lower Hunter .

1. Integrate the ticketing between the buses, trains and ferries for everyone, so commuters can buy a single ticket for their entire journey. Currently this is available to some pensioners, so it can be done and it can be expanded to include all commuters.
2. Integrate the timetables between buses, trains and ferries, so commuters can catch the bus to the train station and know that they won’t have just missed the train. This is not rocket science but it does require good planning.
3. Establish a locally-controlled Hunter Transport Authority to look after roads, rail, buses, taxis and ferries. Too often decisions about the transport in our region are made in Sydney. We need local control. If the budgets of the Roads and Traffic Authority, State Rail and the Buses and Ferries were combined into a single authority then we could truly get integrated decision-making.
4. Develop an Integrated Transport Plan for the Future developed by local expertise, encompassing the whole of the Hunter, with the Newcastle rail line as the spine of the system. With a population of 500,000, the Hunter is a genuinely self-contained regional area. The Plan needs to include public transport to the airport from Newcastle and Port Stephens.
5. Set a public transport patronage target of 20% by 2020. The current level is about 5%. The new Hunter Transport Authority would need to develop cost-effective strategies to increase the patronage level by 2020. Especially with the climate crisis we need to make transport more efficient and that means getting more cars off the road. There’s a big benefit in having less cars on the road. It not only saves the individual in petrol, parking and other costs, but also saves the community in lives, health impacts and environmental benefits.
   

Confesssion... Forums are fun

I guess it depends on your idea of fun though. If you enjoy hearing about other people's perspectives then forums are fabulous. If you like to get a deeper understanding on what the real issues are from the people with the concerns then forums are informative.

I attended two forums today, The Lake Macquarie Teachers Federation and the Hunter Business Chamber, I learnt a lot from both.

The Teacher's Federation attendees were all experienced teachers, many of whom were the ones that are going to be leaving the system over the next 5-10 years, one of the questions this raised was who will carry their representative flag? The Greens Education policy has had a large degree of teacher input into its development and so there was some consolation on this front.

We were supplied with a list of issues that needed addressing and what became obvious was that the solutions offered by the Greens are real, practicle and would help strengthen public education and therefore the social cohesiveness of society.

Some of the isssues I addressed were:

Preschools, I work in the preschool industry and see first hand the difference that quality preschool education can make.

The Greens NSW are committed to 2 years of free universal public preschool for all children in this state. We believe that this is best achieved by locating preschools on the same sites as existing public primary schools where land is available. The development of universal public pre-schooling should begin with communities with high concentrations of socio-economic disadvantage, where it will have a significant impact on the progress of children through school and into later life.

School Counsellors; It became apparent when my children needed to access school cousellors how inadequate the numbers were to be able to adequately address the issues and provide real support in a time of crisis.

The Greens remain committed to achieving the Vinson recommendation of increasing the number of school counsellors by 700 to achieve 1 counsellor for every 500 students. The increasing counselling needs of students and changing family structures suggest that the number of counsellors may need to be further increased beyond this target.

The Teaching Service:I was once a beginning teacher and have been High School Science trained, I understand how important mentoring for beginning teachers is and the need to capture the know how of the expereinced and give due recognition for the amazing job that teachers do.

The Carr/Iemma government has failed to plan for the rejuvenation of the public education teaching service. Large numbers of teachers are planning to retire in the next 5 years and 33% of beginning teachers do not expect to be in the profession in the next 10 years. Public education is facing a teacher shortage and a depletion of experienced teachers.

The Greens are also concerned that concentrations of new and recent entrant teachers are occurring in hard-to-staff schools. These teachers are beginning their careers in difficult classrooms, often without a the benefit of a large number of experienced teachers to advice, support and mentor.

Managing the teacher workforce is not just about protecting public education. It is also about delivering workplace justice.

The Greens welcome and endorse Lyndsay Connors’ report “Time and Tide ….”, which makes a number of valuable suggestions for investment in the renewal of the public school teaching service.

In particular The Greens would work for:

• increased Commonwealth investment in teacher education in universities
• funding for professional learning for new and recent entrant teachers, including online induction and support, and a time allowance for new teachers to develop their professionalism;
• programs in hard-to-staff schools, including an additional leadership allowance;
• incentives to recruit and retain teachers;
• the establishment of 50 professional practice schools in areas with concentrations of beginning teachers; and
• massively increase the resources for teacher mentoring, so that more experienced teachers can engage in the process. The current number of 50 is inadequate and will become more so as the proportion of beginning teachers increases over the next 5 years.
  
  In addition, we recognise that many older and experienced teachers have made personal sacrifices over many years to compensate for the under-funding and poor resourcing of public education. They are tired and worn down. As a matter of priority, The Greens would fund programs that increase the number of teachers to reduce class sizes and face to face teaching times to relieve the pressure on teachers and enable them to remain in active service longer.
  
  The Greens are opposed to “performance based” pay. It is not only impractical but would also put pressure the cooperative relationships which are essential to public education.

Campaign Launch-Health in Lake Macquarie

Today was the official campaign launch for the Newcastle Green's six candidates across the region. The event was held at the GUOOF Hall in Hamilton. Each of the Candidates had a topic to cover and mine was health. This is what I had to say.

Health in Lake Macquarie is a dichotomy. One the one hand, people choose to live in the area because of the rolling hills, the glistening lake and the fresh air, now Pasminco has closed. The mental health and active lifestyle benefits are considerable. Bit on the other hand the aging population, the physical isolation of many communities and the semi rural infrastructure that exists throughout western Lake Macquarie and Wyong make servicing the needs of the ‘not getting any younger’ community a challenge that requires a unique approach.

The Greens, as a party, are full of creative thinkers that work on a different political paradigm than the major parties. The Greens take a long term approach on all issues and health is no exception. Unless there are long term strategies put into place the projected population expansion of 60,000 people and minimal infrastructure will put this electorate in a desperate situation.

GP access in western Lake Macquarie is the 6th worse for GP shortages in urban NSW, 37th in urban Australia, and there has been a constant decline in bulk billing in Lake Macquarie over the past 5 years. The Greens support training more medical people and providing support for health professionals in rural and remote areas, like Lake Macquarire. The Greens also support the expansion of the community health Centres. This strategy seems one of the most realistic options to enable health services to be provided throughout the electorate close to the people to reduce the travelling time by patients.

Mental Health services are pitiful in Lake Macquarie. The closure of the Morisset hospital, with limited thought to accommodation and support services required to address outpatient care, has resulted in mental health issues becoming social issues within the western Lake Macquarie community. The Greens support accommodation, community care initiatives to support the needs of the people who need support.

Disability associated with an aging population is a social equity issue and as such a foundation principle of the Greens ethics. Safe pedestrian to be able to walk to the local shops and services are essential. Ramps, rails, toilets in public places and appropriate public transport options are all policy initiatives the Greens feel will make our communities remain accessible to all.

And let’s not forget about our youth. The health of our youth needs to be addressed. High unemployment and the remoteness of many Lake Macquarie suburbs, means that local ‘partying’ with excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main entertainment outlets. The Greens are committed to harm minimisation, exploring approaches which treat drug use as a health and social issue.

These are just some of the strategies and issues the Greens have on health within this electorate. Lake Macquarie has its own unique set of challenges, resourcing a geographically large electorate requires an innovative approaching I believe that the Greens have strong social and community ethics that will ensure the needs of people come first. If you have your health, whether its physical or mental you can deal with most other things.

Vote for you health tomorrow, today.

Confessions of a Clean Up Oz Day candidate

My confession is that I'm a big fan of the warm and fuzzy feeling.

Clean Up Australia is one of those events that you can’t help get a warm a fuzzy afterglow from. This Sunday ranked highly on the Clean-upometer. We cleaned up a wetland, nature’s filter. This wetland had been filtering plastic bottles and Styrofoam. We collected bags of bottles and plastic bags full of plastic bags. No matter when you decide to do Clean-Up, you’re always guaranteed of finding a plastic bag to put the rubbish in.

As I was carefully and creatively swinging through the mangroves (to avoid damaging the roots) I was thinking about the beauty of these amazingly diverse ecosystems and wondered where would we be without our wetlands?

Wetlands are fish nurseries. Some of the items we considered cleaning up had been in place for so long that they had become habitat, a plastic bottle with a hole in both ends is probably considered quite an up market crevice in the Piscean community. There were lots of little fish flitting between the mangroves, and this was just a small patch of wetland. In Lake Macquarie where recreational fishing is a major pastime, wetlands contribute to the local economy too.

Another item which was left for habitat purposes was a length of silt-mesh, a fabric designed to stop soil particles from entering the stormwater system or water ways, it had been in the water for some time, the mangrove roots were growing through it and there were a few crustaceans clinging on. The irony here is that wetlands are the best sediment stoppers we have. Wetlands trap the soil, that’s why they grow on the edges of rivers and lakes and why in some places they are becoming more abundant. As sediment stabilisers, wetlands contribute to the water quality of Lake Macquarie.

Wetlands also act as natural flood mitigation devices and foreshore protection. They slow the peaks flows and hold the water. These wet patches of paradise provide abundant food and shelter for a huge variety of animals. Wetlands, because they are a combination of wet and land mean that birds can nest and dine alfresco as they desire. Wetlands are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems around, they contribute to the abundant wildlife we have in Lake Macquarie and they also have a role in preventing the foreshore from disappearing.

Wetlands have had a hard time in the past though. They have suffered from ‘reclamation’ for residential, commercial and recreational purposes. The Toronto Workers Club and the fields use to be a part of the local wetland system. Wetlands have suffered agricultural and industrial pollution and invasion by exotic species and mining, some of these impacts are now being addressed by the Coastal Wetlands Park proposal in eastern Lake Macquarie.

Wetlands continue to cop a bashing too. At Teralba they are being treated as dumping grounds by a local industry who thinks pushing mountains of dirt into a wetland is a good way to gain a few extra meters of space. Many wetlands are now severely stressed by the drought, you can see the high and dry not-so-wetland from the Five Island bridge that is feeling the heat.

The Greens recognise wetlands as a vital component of our environment and the policy identifies areas that we will work towards including

• action against land use which results in degradation of wetland areas such as grazing, stormwater pollution and nutrients from runoff and other sources;
• increasing the participation of local communities and community-based groups in wetlands management;
• education of the broader community about the important functions of wetlands;
• encouraging management and recovery plans for all degraded wetlands with funding to implement plans prepared under the NSW Wetlands Management Policy;

On a role?

Greens MP and Upper House candidate Lee Rhiannon has joined Suzanne Pritchard candidate for Lake Macquarie to urge young people that time is running out to make sure they are on the electoral roll to vote in the upcoming NSW election."The electoral rolls will close 3 working days after the election ‘writ’ is issued, that’s very soon, so people need to register to vote before it is too late” Suzanne said

The electoral roll is continuously updated, however, following the issue of the ‘writ’ for an election , which sets the election timetable, the roll for the election is closed. The roll for the election closes at 8.00 pm local time on the third working day after the writ is issued and cannot be updated after that date.

"AEC data shows that only half of all 18 year olds are enrolled to vote yet it is young people that will inherit the legacy of foot-dragging by this government on climate change.”

“Now is the opportunity for the young to force the older generations to take more responsibility for the environmental mess which they have created and will be leaving for future generations to clean up”

Suzanne Pritchard said: "Each election, there are more young people voting for The Greens. We are a party that is committed to making sure there are opportunities for all young people in our state.

"The election is really soon, so I am urging all young people in Lake Macquarie to get down toany post office or get on line and register to vote” "Young people are being totally ignored by the major parties.

The Greens are committed to improving services and transport for young people to make sure they have the best opportunities in the years to come," says Suzanne

10 cent deposit scheme would help Clean Up Australia

A 10-cent deposit on drink bottles and cans would dramatically improve recycling rates in NSW and force industry to take more responsibility for the waste it creates, according to the NSW Greens.

”Clean Up Australia Day is very satisfying, you find somewhere with rubbish, you pick it up and then next time you look it’s not there, so simple but it seems to work. This year the area around Stoney Creek near the Lions Park is the target. Plastic bottles and cans around the Lake edge are always a big pick up item because they float” Greens Candidate for Lake Macquarie , Suzanne Pritchard said

“Clean Up Australia Day this year is the 11th I’ve participated in with the Coal Point Progress Association. When we first started we tackled rubbish that had been dumped in the reserves for years, then we circumnavigated the roads in the area, we spent a few years at Trade Fair Lookout, truck loads came out of there, and more recently we’ve cleaned up the Woolies carpark garden”

Survey figures released last week by Clean Up Australia show that 83% of people in NSW believe a ten cent deposit and refund scheme would encourage more people to recycle bottles and cans, and that 89% think drink manufacturers should be involved in setting up such a deposit and refund scheme.

A container deposit scheme (CDL) would create a level playing field where consumers and producers shared responsibility for dealing with waste. Landfill space is fast running out and more effective ways of recycling are urgently needed.

In South Australia, where they have a deposit scheme, the recycling rate is over 80 per cent. ”The ratepayers of Lake Macquarie already pay for waste removal via council’s kerbside recycling. The businesses that profit from these products should be prepared to pay their fair share as well” she said.

“If you provide businesses with a greater incentive to find an even better solution it’s amazing how innovative industry can be, especially if they feel they can make a profit out of something when society demands it.”

Council recycling can’t help reduce the large amount of waste consumed outside the home. A 10-cent deposit scheme would increase recycling rates and force industry to be more responsible for its own waste, said Suzanne

It is also a good way to raise the issue of waste and litter with children. People who grew up in the seventies would remember cash a can encouraging kids to recycle both their own litter and that of others. CDL creates an extra incentive for the community to recycle their waste. This would be a vast improvement on the current situation, where manufacturers profit and ratepayers foot the bill, said Suzanne

Cooranbong Gazette Candidate Profile

Why should the residents of Cooranbong consider me at the upcoming election?

The Greens are a party whose policies are underpinned by the principles of Social & Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Ecological Sustainability and Peace, Nonviolence & Disarmament. This means that Greens think about and do politics differently.

Grassroots Democracy means that the Local group is the highest level of decision making because these are the people most in touch with their constituents. The Greens do not accept developer donations because this corrupts the democratic process. The Greens have moved a Private Members Bill to ban developer donations to political parties to make sure Government decisions are free from improper influence.

An example of the principle of social and economic justice can be seen in the Planning and Development policy which says the public interest must become the dominant consideration in all planning and development decisions. Obtaining approval for developments that are over sized, unsustainable and inappropriate has been made easier than ever under the current Government, while the ability of the community to resist such developments has been diminished. The Greens are working to reform the Land and Environment Court to protect the rights of the community.

Ecological sustainability emphasises the need to consider the long term implications of our everyday decisions upon the environment that sustains us. The Greens have policies on managing our water resources efficiently, looking towards renewable technologies to provide for our future energy needs and protecting our wild places for their inherent worth and the vast variety of life that exists in them. The Greens are committed to no new coal mines or coal infrastructure and transforming the electricity industry into a renewable energy industry that provides a job rich future and protects the environment.

The Greens might be a small political party but they are seen by many as the true opposition in the NSW Parliament. We are looking for a future beyond coal, not just for our communities but also for our children and humanity. We are committed to advancing an agenda of social and economic justice, environmental protection and democratic values.

Intellectual Disability Forum

Today I travelled to the southernmost part of the Lake Macquarie Electorate to attend an Intellectual Disability Forum hosted by the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability.

The forum was structured to hear from the political representatives but more importantly to hear from the people who advocate and care for the intellectually disabled.

It was a heart wrenching experience to hear about the lives of the carers in their quest to get support and ensure the care of their children into the future.

One mum, in her late 70s still caring for her almost 50 year old daughter, shared her frustration in trying to find suitable accommodation for her daughter. She recognised she was tired, physically tired, with not as much enthusiasm or energy any more, she said she was just ‘worn out’, and was well aware that her capacity to continue to cope was diminishing. You have to wonder what sort of system allows this to happen. Where is the compassion, where is the appreciation and gratitude for having cared for so long? Where is the planning to support the life time of needs of the children and their carers?

Another mum told of how the only reason her son found accommodation was because she was the most neurotic and closest to a breakdown of the parents all vying for the place!

All the parents spoke of having to fight for a place for their child to live. It shouldn’t be a battle. What became apparent is that it is hard to keep fighting. All the parents spoke of the exhaustion they live with.

A dad in his late 60s spoke about the 3 hours travelling he has to do each day to take his son to a day care facility. How they have lost their case worker and the desperate need to get transport assistance. He spoke about how he and his wife use to receive 4 weeks of respite a year which has gradually been cut back to one. This family have also had their paperwork repeatedly lost which has added to the frustration of trying to get through the system to gain some support for the care of their son.

Another dad spoke of the struggles with the education system. Having to fight to get his children accepted into mainstream education, something that was the norm in England where they had lived prior to returning to Australia. Whilst it was acknowledged that there was adequate support at present within the school system the real stumbling block for the children was challenging the mindset of the ‘establishment’. A suggestion was raised to develop a ‘one stop shop’ of professionals to enable the multitude of support services to be integrated in a way where the pressure was taken off the parents to negotiate the bureaucracy.

There was discussion about the Governments Welfare to Work program and how increasingly employment agencies were not putting intellectually disabled people forward for placements or providing the support needed to assist in the transition into the work environment. This has created higher unemployment and underemployment. One jobseeker stated the ‘Agencies’ were useless as she had tried to get work for over 12 months.

At the end of the forum it had become glaringly obvious that there was little in the way of long term planning happening to support the intellectually disabled community and their carers. This is a quiet community, because there is no energy to shout, muted by a system that doesn’t listen. The voices of the advocates cry out in frustration, looking for lifetime solutions to a lifetime of disability and a generation of caring.

The Greens policies on Disability Support Services, Health, Housing and Education all address the needs that were expressed in the forum. The Greens foundation principles of social equity ensure that all members of society have access to the services they need to lead fulfilling lives

Over the top development

Lake Macquarie Greens candidate, Suzanne Pritchard has been supporting the Toronto Brighton-Excelsior Action group to oppose a 56 unit development spanning the Toronto ridgeline that is setting a frightening precedent for the local community.

“This development is laying the foundations for the future of this community and it’s a future that is not wanted,” Suzanne said.

The Greens believe that the urban and regional built environments will continue to be degraded unless there is a complete overhaul of the current laws, codes and practices. This will not be possible until there is a complete ban on developer donations to political parties. The public interest must become the dominant consideration in all planning and development decisions.

“The Lower Hunter Regional Strategy which will be guiding development in our region for the foreseeable future is a flawed document with a flawed process. It overrides the Local Environment Planning and it gives the Planning Minister Frank Sartor indisputable control over all development. He can rezone and approve development with a sweep of his pen and in the blink of an eye,” Suzanne said.

The Greens are working towards restricting the Planning Minister’s ability to ‘call in’ and approve developments.

“The situation at Toronto is set to be replayed constantly throughout the city unless planning laws are changed. It’s an enormous ask to expect the local community to have to keep fighting the same battles over and over again,” Suzanne said.

The Greens are working for placing the onus of proof on the developer, to establish that the development does not damage local amenity, heritage, environment, transport and infrastructure facilities.

“The final version of the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy bore little resemblance to that which was put out for community consultation. The development lobby had access to comment and Frank Sartor long after the community were shut out of further input. The original intent of the document as a planning instrument became nothing more than a land use plan. The Greens are calling for a re-exhibition to allow genuine comment on the proposed document.

56 units…Get used to it!

Members of a residents group opposing a 56 unit development straddling Brighton Avenue to Excelsior Parade were told they “better get use to it (medium density zoning)” in a recent meeting they had with the developers and real estate agents.

The Toronto Brighton-Excelsior Action Group has reformed and are opposing a six and four storey high density application on the grounds that it is not in keeping with the existing character of the area, goes against the intent of LMCC’s Lifestyle 2020 and sets a disastrous precedent for future development.

“The developers told us that they were within the Council’s development guidelines but we have identified numerous breaches of the development Control Plans and associated guidelines,” Greg Tate residents’ spokesperson said.

“The medium density zoning is aimed at encouraging people to walk to town and yet there is nowhere to walk safely, the footpaths are unformed, the road is so narrow that if there are parked cars the traffic is forced over the centre lines, and if you’ve got a pram or ride a bike it’s a major risk going over the hills.”

“ This development is in an area which Council has classified as a Scenic Management zone where buildings should not extend above the physical ridge line and are limited to three storeys. This application would be highly visible from across the Lake and as far away as Warners Bay and once and for all break the ridgeline corridor,” Greg said.

“The developers told us that this is the first of this ‘new’ style of development allowed under the LEP and they couldn’t see why we were upset. The ridge from Toronto to Carey Bay has now become a developer’s goldmine and if this application is approved it will be the start of high density, high rise buildings stretching from Toronto to Carey Bay.”

“This is not why we have chosen to live in this area. Over 60 people attended our community meeting and over a hundred objections have been lodged at Council, which is not bad considering we only found out about the application the week after Christmas and had three weeks to comment. It wasn’t a very good way to start the year.”

“The State Government’s Lower Hunter Regional Strategy is planning for 117,000 new dwellings in the region in the next 25 years, a lot of them in Lake Macquarie yet the infrastructure isn’t here or even in the plan. This is well and truly putting the cart before the horse”

“We’re not opposed to development, but we are against inappropriate development and we’re fighting for everyone in the area to keep the values and character of the area intact.”

“It looks like we are going to have to fight the same battle over and over again unless LMCC can make it clear that developers must respect the rules and guidelines which were formulated in consultation with the community,” Greg said.

Have you got big feet?

Tonight I went to the Community Environment Network’s Network meeting. Over 50 people from a variety of environmental groups and local council were there to share their current projects and hear Associate Professor Glenn Albrecht talk about Ecological Footprints, and it was a great talk. Here are some of the notes I took from the night

Our ecological footprint is a way we can measure the load imposed by people on nature. It represents the land area necessary to sustain current levels of resource consumption and waste discharge by that population.

The Ecological Footprint is gaining global acceptance as ‘The Tool’ to measure sustainability because it is a concept that people can understand. Ways of measuring sustainability in the past have created confusion, mixed economic with environmental, have not been able to be applied generically around the globe and just weren’t user friendly.

The indicator of a good indicator is that it should tell you where you are with enough information that you can make informed decisions to respond to the that information. Just like the fuel gauge when its hovering below the empty line, you know you have to get petrol…and soon.

The ecological footprint is an indicator of a population’s current and projected level of resource use. It compares the renewable resources consumed and available to a population, individual, city, organisation or region with the waste that is produce as global hectares/person.

The ecological footprint is the sustainability equivalent of the GDP and All Ords Index only what it is measuring is the human relationship to the environment.

The Ecological Footprint (EF) is an easy to understand equation

The Ecological Footprint equals the biological productivity from land and water required to produce all goods and services that are consumed minus all the waste .

The Ecological Footprint is measured in global hectares which is a productivity weighted area used to report both the biocapacity of the earth, and the demand on biocapacity.

The Ecological Footprint shows who’s using the resources, in what proportion and which activities are using them, so it’s a very handy educational tool.

If all of the world’s population had an equitable share of the available resources and their use the ecological footprint would be 1.8 biological productive hectares per person. But this isn’t how it is.

For the Sydney region the ecological footprint is 8ha/person. If everybody lived by these standards we would need 3-4 planets to survive. In Bangladesh the ecological footprint is 0.5ha/person, at this rate the planet could support 22 billion people.

I did the Ecological Footprint quiz and found out my footprint is 3.9 global hectares. The average Aussie footprint is 7.6 global hectares. If everyone lived like me we’d need 2.2 planets to sustain ourselves.

The real surprise though was how I was making the most impact and it was my food. By eating meat a couple of times a week it made a huge difference. It was a really quick quiz, it only took a couple of minutes, and it gave me a really great insight into how I can make a difference.

The Greens are about treading lightly on the planet all of our polices reflect concerns for the global sustainability of our actions. It’s great to be a part of an organisation that cares about the cumulative impacts of all the small decisions we make every day.

Confession #4 I’ve been SCAMming

Tonight was Southlakes Communities Against Mine’s Annual General Meeting and public forum. My first speaking adventure into the great unknown with the other candidates Greg Piper (Independent Mayor), Jeff Hunter (Labor) and Ken Paxinos (Liberal). I was nervous so I prepared a few points. A valuable lesson I learnt was if you do make notes it’s sometimes helpful to remember to take them with you.

Congratulations to all the SCAMmers who were re-elected to their positions with the hope that in the very near future there would no longer be a need for the organisation and the high conservation land of western Lake Macquarie would become part of the Green Corridor as a park for perpetuity.

There was a lot of discussion about Frank Sartor’s Part 3A powers that allow him to rezone and approve anything he deems of State significance. There was a general feeling from the other candidates that in exceptional circumstance the State probably does need to have that power and as long as it’s used wisely. There was a general feeling from the meeting that Frank was taking it a bit too far and who could you trust to do the right thing in the future?

The Greens were the only ones with a firm policy to restrict the Planning Minister’s ability to call in and approve developments and we were the only ones who mentioned the importance of banning developer donations because they compromise democracy.

Some of the points that I covered in my talk were

The greens are a party where decisions are made locally. Grassroots democracy is a foundation along with social equity and economic justice, peace and non-violence and ecological sustainability. These principles underpin everything we do, so we do things a little bit differently

When we look at the coal industry we don’t just consider export dollars, we consider the social impacts on the communities around the mines, and the environmental damage, and the long term impacts on the region and the country.

The Greens are not compromised by donations from big business, developers or banks, our backers are the people, so people come first.

The Greens have people in the NSW Upper House who have a proven track record of influencing and improving government policy. Lower house candidates can make a difference too by introducing private members bills to open up discussion.

Voting Green is sending a clear message to the major parties that you want a different agenda on the political platform. Climate change is upon us and we’re all a little bit responsible because we’ve kept people in power that refuse to even look to making a plan for a transition from coal to renewables for a better future regionally and globally.

Want a job?

When you get a group of Greens together you’re guaranteed the conversation will be interesting. The Hunter Regional Greens have been gathering every month to hear guest speakers on all sorts of topics. This Sunday we heard from Victor Quirk from the Centre of Full Employment & Equity.

It’s great when you hear about different ways of doing things that can work. Like giving people work, keeping their job and social skills in tact whilst transitioning between jobs. How do you get rid of a skills shortage… by training people to have skills, it seems so simple. How do you to keep developing a society that has people fully employed assisting communities to develop…you identify the jobs in the community and find people for them.

The Cof FEE approach is about giving people a Job Guarantee of the minimum wage which the Federal Government pays for. It’s so easy because in Australia we have functional finance. That is wehave a government who can create and issue money, that means the Australian government has the ability to make as much money as they want, the Reserve bank gets a credit and then it’s there.

What a Job Guarantee guarantees is that people will have a real job, not stigma. They will have a real wage not poverty and they will have meaningful community work as valuable members of their community.

Around about 1974 was the abandonment of full employment as a government policy. The Government services and utility providers who were the main providers of apprenticeships decided the private sector would pick up the skills development of the workforce.

Unfortunately it didn’t happen, what did happen was a deepening and broadening precariousness of employment, systematic disempowerment of the labour market, loss of the public sector as a net trainer of skilled workers, and coercive management of underutilised labour supply…some call it WorkChoices

The other really interesting thing Victor talked about was the “Record jobs growth” we’ve been experiencing as Australia has become one of the most casualised workforces in the OECD.
What happens when you have the casualisation of jobs and count people not hours of employment it leads to over estimating number of people in work and does not reflect how much work is being done or people being underemployed. The Government counts 1 hour of work a week as employed. Cof FEE have come up with a new measure which better reflects actual unemployment /underemployment, currently it is 9.2%.

Victor had a lot to say and it certainly resonated with the Greens employment policy, both of which are on the think links.

Confessions # 3 floating for a future

It’s been a fun weekend. On Saturday the people’s blockade of the world’s largest coal exporting harbour was a festive affair. A flotilla of like minded individuals drifted about on a beautiful sunny day enjoying the relatively warm water of a working harbour.

There were several hundred people at the event organised by Rising Tide, double the numbers from last year. Holding it in summer not winter was definitely a good idea. We are so lucky to have a glorious coastline. The opportunity to bob about with a banner for a few hours and get up close and personal with a tanker full if woodchips was a memorable peaceful protest action.

The Greens were well represented with Federal Senator Kerry Nettle on the shores with Charlestown Candidate Jane Smith whilst Upper House MP Lee Rhiannon, Newcastle hopeful Michael Osborne and Maitland’s Jan Davis were onboard a dingy that was kept afloat with ham sandwich plugs. In true Greens spirit they fought against the sea level change, using their No New Coal banners to paddle safely back to shore.

For many urban electorates climate change is a philosophical issue but in Lake Macquarie where there are so many mines and mining proposals keen to extract as much as they can, to the detriment of the local communities and the environment coal is an in your face topic.

Bob Brown’s call for the government to begin the process of developing a plan in the next three years to start the transition out of a coal based economy is a very reasonable request if you want a future for your community as well as the planet as a whole. Thank goodness someone realises that before you do anything you should have a plan. The fact that he was so grossly misrepresented in the media probably means it was a good idea, why else would you not want people to know what was actually said?

Media Release: More Jobs Fewer Holes

“A booming industry producing renewable energy technologies could be the future for Lake Macquarie if the political will existed” Greens Candidate for Lake Macquarie Suzanne Pritchard said

On a visit to the Hunter on Tuesday Greens Upper House candidate John Kaye said the Iemma government’s failure to develop a plan for the Hunter to make the transition from coal to renewables would cost the region 25,000 jobs over the next decade.

Between the mid 1980s and 2004 the coal industry shed 18,000 jobs largely because of technological changes. Based on the experiences in other countries where governments have taken responsibility to ensure a planned transition from coal to renewables, a conservative estimate is that 25,000 additional jobs could be created over the next 10 years.

“We’ve got 12.8% of the population already in the manufacturing industry so we have a strong skill base, we’ve got land at the old Pasminco site able to provide the place for the industry so we have the location and we have the transport infrastructure with good access to rail on the doorstop so, all that is needed is the political will to make it happen” Suzanne said.

“The Greens are about providing a future, not only for people but for the planet. The impacts of burning coal are changing our world and this electorate is making quite a contribution to that change. We need to accept some responsibility and that means looking for alternatives. Fortunately we don’t have to look too far because the answer is obvious, renewable energy technologies that create lots of jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Coal is under our feet everywhere in this electorate, many of us live with the impacts of subsidence in our communities and dust in the air. Moving to a renewable energy industry that creates jobs instead of big holes and environmental devastation would be a much better long term future for this area” Suzanne said

“ Lake Macquarie is a major electricity producer for the region and the State, we could still contribute to electricity production not only locally but globally if subsidies were given to kick start a local industry that is in such demand world wide”

“ In an area where water restrictions are a way of life expanding the coal industry that consumes massive amounts of water seems ludicrous”

War chest v's Poor Chest

There was an article published in the Herald today describing the political ‘war chest of funds’ for the local candidates. Jeff Hunter, the Labor incumbent was doubling his campaign expenditure to about $40,000, Greg Piper, high profile independent candidate and currently Mayor of Lake Macquarie was hoping to raise $40,000- $50,000 for his campaign.

If the major parties and independents have a war chest the Greens campaign would have to be described as a poor chest. The Lake Macquarie campaign budget at a whopping $5000 is small pickings compared to the other candidates in the up coming election. In fact the Newcastle Greens are running candidates in six electorates on less than Jeff Hunter’s budget of $40,000.

Why is this so? The Greens do not accept donations from developers, it is seen to compromise the process of democracy. There was also a statement in the Herald article that the Johnson Property group have ‘occasionally’ donated to the Greens, this is untrue. An attempt to donate online, on Monday before the article was published was reversed as soon as it became apparent who the source of the donation was. Electoral records show that the Johnson Property Group donated $74,250 to Sydney Labor in 2005/05 and $39,500 to the Liberals in 2005/06.

Research by the Greens on developer donations shows the NSW Labor Party has raised $9.88 million from the property sector since 1998-99, and the NSW Liberals and Nationals received $7.01 million. Donations by developers can be searched at The Greens Democracy4Sale website which is based on official electoral funding returns.

So one question that needs to be asked is who is funding the campaigns of the independents? As they say whoever pays the piper gets their tune played.

Confession #3 How green was our valley?

What happens when the rivers stop flowing,
and the mountains of dirt just keep blowing?
and the wide open scars are a message so far
from the eyes and the minds of knowing.

But who knows? Those in Sydney perhaps?
Cause it’s full of such clever type chaps.
Friends from companies large, through townships they barge
and watch as communities collapse.

How green was the valley we saw?
Massive holes where was once forest floor.
It was painful to see this proposed destiny
when renewables offer so much more.

I was one of nine Hunter Greens candidates who went on a bus tour to the Upper Hunter today. The view …spectacularly devastating. It seemed like it was one big hole from the back of Broke to Muswellbrook.

Couldn’t help feel that Muswellbrook was a town in the way of a mine. The local residents live with constant blasting, low level vibrations which “just send you mad” and dust.

It was a ‘good’ day for dust on our visit, not too much wind, you could see the constant dust haze, but you could see. The ‘crusties’ in my nose after the day trip told a different story though.

We had a look at the proposed Anvill Hill mine site, it stretched as far as the eye could see. We travelled the road that gives the residents from Sandy Hollow and Denman access to Muswellbrook, this road is set to go should the mines go ahead. An extra 1 ½ hours on the trip to town for some.

We stopped at Denman to hear from the local grape and lucerne growers. These farmers livelihoods are being jeopardised by the lack of water they have access to. Mining is a water and energy hungry industry and it gets a priority on the available water. Some of these farmers who have always received 100% of their water allowances found out late last year they were only going to get 8%, just enough to keep the cows alive, and not much more.

Greens Upper House representative Lee Rhiannon has been very active in supporting the mine ravaged communities of the Hunter if you want to see for yourself, have a look at her site and the on line photo journal.

Confession #2 Green is more than a colour

The world has changed a lot since our parents voted for the major parties; green was still a colour then.

But now it’s a way of life. Green bags, say we’re thinking about the environment when we make our purchases, green power is a way of fuelling our energy needs sustainably, we even put out green waste to reduce landfill, and not too long ago a greenie was a ‘tree-hugger’ now they are environmental activists.

Being a Greens candidate is about providing people with a choice to have representatives that care about the long-term impact of our everyday choices.

The Greens aren’t afraid to stand up and say it’s time to change the way we do things. We’ve been saying it for a while, only now a lot more people agree. We’ve spent a lot of time developing policies too, and costing policies and we know that there is a way to have a future that we can live with.

There is the potential within this region to maintain the energy production focus without destroying our environment in the process. The Greens are about creating an alternative relationship between the State and its energy objectives. Greens believe in a jobs rich future driven by renewable energy technologies, their production and distribution throughout the country and the world.

The Greens already have people in the State Government who know how governments work. Governments can work by having Green issues on the agenda and by encouraging green policies that offer different way to think about our future. Our Upper House representatives Lee Rhiannon, Ian Cohen, Sylvia Hale have been putting out a different viewpoint and it makes a difference to what gets discussed, new thoughts, about a better future.

If you want to know the detail have a look at our policies, they are a great read because when you read them you sense there is hope. It’s a different paradigm, a different way of thinking about how we do things. It reminds me of the wisdom my 94 year old friend, tread lightly, use what you need, respect each other and don’t take what we have for granted.

We’ve taken water for granted for far too long, strange really when we live on the driest continent on earth. For a long time we thought about water as just coming out of a tap, now it can come out of a tank too. We need water, reliable and reusable. Tanks for toilets should be a priority. The Greens aim to support personal actions that make a difference.

In this election people might feel they’re a little green around the edges, a bit inexperienced in understanding the way Greens think. But this is an opportunity to learn about different policies that can affect the future in terms of more than election cycles.

Candidate Announcement-Media Release 23/1/07

MEDIA RELEASE

23 January 2006

GREENS PRE-SELECT
CANDIDATE FOR LAKE MACQUARIE

The Newcastle Greens local group has pre-selected Suzanne Pritchard as The Greens candidate for Lake Macquarie in the March 2007 NSW state election.

“I’ve become active in the local campaign to provide people with a choice that would see politics return to the people and the environment protected for people, not plundered for profit,” Suzanne said.

“One of our key objectives for this election is to help increase the number of Greens in the upper house of state parliament. Greens MP Lee Rhiannon is a fantastic example of how effective a Green can be. She has campaigned to stop new coal mines and has effectively exposed the extent and impact of developer donations on the major political parties. Dr John Kaye is second on the ticket. He’s a sustainable energy and greenhouse expert, just the right credentials to support an electorate dependent on energy production. He is a tireless campaigner for public education and public transport, “Suzanne said.

Suzanne is a science and environmental educator. She has lived in the electorate at Carey Bay for 16 years, sole parenting her three children to adulthood whilst being actively involved in the local community.

“The Lake Macquarie electorate is big, and with it come big issues that affect how and where we get our water, the role of coal, and employment options for the future, and the impact of urban development in destroying our quality community lifestyle” Suzanne said

"Coal extraction has increased, whilst jobs in the industry continue to decline. It’s time to face facts and plan for a future of sustainable energy technologies that will provide jobs, maintain our role as energy providers and build an industry based on skills, not just bigger machines and bigger holes.

“A sustainable water supply for the Central Coast is another issue that’s looking for a economically, socially and environmentally viable solution. The Lake Macquarie electorate is a major part of the catchment that’s in crisis. Dams where is doesn’t rain don’t make sense and cost big dollars. Recycling water and subsidising water tanks where rain falls make sense to all but a few. Those few unfortunately are the ones calling the shots.

“I decided to be a candidate to give the people of Lake Macquarie a choice; a choice to do things differently and more sustainably. It’s the choice between letting Sydney politics drive the agenda for our region and ensuring that the local communities still have a say about the place they choose to call home”.