Liberal councillors decline to act

 

Readers this is going to be a longer post than we usually prefer to make.  But information on council candidates’ positions on climate can be hard to come by and Tuesday’s council meeting gave us some important clues about some of the sitting councillors.

Councillors Ryan Tracey (Labor) and Tony Hay (Labor) brought a motion to join the Cities Power Partnership to council on Tuesday night.  Congratulations to both of them for that - and for speaking passionately in support and defence of the motion. (Refer to About the Cities Power Partnership near the bottom for more information about this nationwide partnership of diverse councils for a thriving, zero emissions future.)

Three members of the community also spoke in support of the motion:

  • Dr Kim Loo, a local GP and driving force in the medical community’s response to climate change;

  • Dr Mila Kasby, Hills resident and veterinarian and an active climate advocate, who is also standing for Council in the North Ward for the Greens;

  • And your correspondent, Hugh Vaughan, Kenthurst resident and climate advocate, and administrator of this page.

So, the short version: the motion was defeated, largely along party lines sadly.  There’s a little more to it than that though, and the “debate” yielded some revealing insights into the “thinking” of several of the sitting Liberal councillors.  So please read on …

Setting the scene

An earlier motion, also put and supported by Clrs Tracey (Labor) and Hay (Labor), proposed that council take steps towards establishing a Social Inclusion Advisory Committee.  An amendment by Clr Haselden (Liberal) - that the motion be held over for consideration by the new council after the elections - was successful, in effect defeating the motion.  (This gave a very clear indication of what was to come.)

The Cities Power Partnership (CPP) Motion

Then came the Cities Power Partnership (CPP) motion, introduced by Clr Tracey (Labor) and supported by Clr Hay (Labor). The ensuing “debate” and the contributions of several of the Liberal councillors was replete with sophistry and spin, denial and delay ...

Clr Jackson (Liberal) sought to establish his own climate credentials by reference to his own personal measures, which did indeed sound commendable.  But then he sought to downplay the necessity for council to act on this issue, seeming to claim that measures already taken by council were sufficient.  News FLASH: They are not!  It should be noted however that Clr Jackson was (as far we  know) the sole dissenting Liberal voice against the amendment that effectively defeated the CPP motion.  And congratulations to him for that!  We understand from media reports [*] however that Clr Jackson is not seeking re-election in December.

Clr Haselden (Liberal) again proposed an amendment to hold over the CPP motion for the new council in a move clearly designed to delay and defer.  In doing so, he rolled out an old, tedious and discredited series of “arguments” against climate action.  We will briefly respond to just a couple of items:

  • Australia is amongst the highest emitters in the world, both in total and on a per-capita basis.  Our historical emissions place us in the top four nations responsible for climate change on a per-capita basis (*).  We are the world’s largest exporter of fossil gas and the second largest exporter of coal.  When our exported carbon is included, we are responsible for more than 5% of global emissions.  We may have only 0.33% of the world’s population but our carbon footprint and our share of responsibility are both huge.

  • Australia probably has the largest potential renewable energy resources of any nation on this planet.  A tiny fraction of our land surface could theoretically power the world with solar energy.  The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) recognises that Australia’s energy grid can and will be 100% powered by renewable electricity in very realistic and achievable time frames.

    The notion that Australia would invest in hugely expensive, hugely risky nuclear technology that exists only in concept, has not yet been licensed and is not yet being manufactured is absurd in the extreme.  Apart from anything else, such technology cannot be brought on-line within the timeframes within which it is necessary that we decarbonise our electricity grid.  So-called Small Modular Reactors as a solution to our climate challenge here in Australia makes no sense whatsoever - we don’t need them, we don’t want them and we can’t afford them.  Suggesting otherwise, as Clr Haselden seemed to do, is no more than a transparent device to prolong climate inaction.

Clr Gangemi (Liberal) is reported (*) to be the NSW Liberal State Executive’s cherry-picked candidate for mayor at the December election.  His contribution to the debate was to praise Clr Haselden’s defeat-by-deferral amendment and his arguments and express his support for this course of denial and delay.

Clr Thomas (Liberal) also spoke for the defeat-by-deferral amendment and against the CPP motion but seemed to have little to say that is worthy of note here.

In speaking for defeat-by-deferral and against the CPP motion, Clr de Masi (Liberal) made the extraordinary claim that “we are a progressive council”.  We will not dignify that with further comment!

Clr Uno (Liberal) sought to distract and deflect by citing the amount of greenhouse gases saved by council with their LED street lights and solar panel installations - reportedly 13,366 tons.  That is good, but he did not make any reference to council’s remaining and unaddressed carbon footprint, nor to the footprint of our community as a whole.  In 2019, the Hills Shire was responsible for two million, three hundred and thirty-six thousand (2,336,000) tons of carbon emissions (*).  Looked at another way, our annual emissions are equivalent to the weight of 13,125 bags of sugar for each and every man, woman and child in the Hills!

Clr Collins (Liberal) did not speak to the motion but made several interjections, as though he was a supporter on the sidelines at a football match.  Note to Clr Collins: climate change is not a spectator sport; it is not Parramatta Eels vs Sydney Roosters; it is not Ford vs Holden at Mount Panorama; it is about YOU and the rest of us preserving something of the security and prosperity that we have enjoyed for future generations.

On the positive side, the two Labor councillors spoke in favour of the CPP motion and sought to defend it from the attacks of some of the other councilllors...

Clr Hay (Labor) spoke passionately in defence of the CPP motion.  The most recent IPCC report spelt out very clearly and unambiguously that if the world does not act sufficiently now the consequences will be catastrophic and Clr Hay echoed this with his question “When will be the right time?”.

Clr Tracey (Labor) also valiantly sought to defend his motion, reeling off a long list of actions and pledges that other councils have made.  “Council does not even have a renewable energy policy,” he exclaimed, incredulously.

The outcome

Clr Haselden’s amendment to defer was carried on the voices, effectively defeating the CPP motion.

Clrs Tracey and Hay along with Clr Jackson requested that their names be recorded in the minutes as opposing the deferral - and full credit to them for that.

Because it was carried on the voices, we cannot say with certainty which of the Liberal Councillors sided with the defeat-by-deferral amendment.  Based on their spoken remarks or interjections we can reasonably assume that the following councillors did so:

  • Clr Haselden (Liberal)

  • Clr Gangemi (Liberal)

  • Clr Thomas (Liberal)

  • Clr Uno (Liberal)

  • Clr Collins (Liberal)

We can’t be sure of the positions of the following councillors (but the defeat-by-deferral motion would have required six votes to avoid the necessity for the mayor to cast a deciding vote):

  • Mayor Byrne (Liberal)

  • Clr Russo (Liberal)

Clr Jethi (Liberal) was absent with apology.

Our observations

The “debate” on this motion was an unedifying spectacle.  It didn’t matter and never mattered how eloquently or persuasively our three community members or the two Labor councillors made their case.  Some or all of the Liberal councillors had made up their mind and their course of action before the meeting began according to their pre-conceived notions and their seeming impermeability to new information or ideas.

There is no excuse for anybody at all to have so little grasp of the predicament that climate change presents for all of us and the urgency of taking decisive action now - least of all our elected representatives.

We urge the councillors who opposed the CPP motion to make sure that they are better informed on the matter before again participating in climate-related debate or decision-making in any capacity.  They could begin by reading the recent IPCC Summary for Policymakers or the Climate Council’s summary of the findings (both linked below).

Recent media reports indicate that, of those who explicitly opposed joining the Cities Power Partnership, only Clrs Gangemi and de Masi will be endorsed as Liberal candidates in December’s election - Clr Gangemi as the mayoral candidate.

According to those reports, the Liberal candidates will have been hand-picked at state party level, denying local Liberal branches any say in the matter.  Of course, we do not yet know who the other candidates will be or whether their positions on these matters will differ from those of Clrs Gangemi or de Masi or the other sitting Liberal councillors.

If you are reading this, you are probably as deeply concerned about climate change as we are.  Regardless of your usual political persuasion, this is no time for slavish party adherence.  It is our belief that, in this and all elections for the moment, climate transcends all other presently known issues.

We all have to vote in the December council election - let's make that vote count for climate and our future! 

Sign the petition

Our petition to the in-coming Hills Shire Council will be one means of putting this matter back on the agenda for the new council soon after the election.  If you haven’t signed  already, please sign now here:

Petition: Act on climate in Sydney’s Hills Shire

About the Cities Power Partnership

The Cities Power Partnership is an initiative of the Climate Council. It is Australia’s largest network of local councils acting, collaborating and sharing knowledge and experience in support of a thriving, zero emissions future.  It presently comprises over 155 local government areas, over 500 cities and towns representing more than 60% of Australians.

Every one of our immediately adjacent councils have joined: Blacktown, Hawkesbury, Hornsby and Parramatta.  Here is partial list of member councils in our neck of the woods:

  • Blacktown City Council

  • Blue Mountains City Council

  • Hawkesbury City Council

  • Hornsby Shire Council

  • Hunters Hill Council

  • Ku-ring-gai Council

  • Lane Cove Council

  • Mosman Council

  • Newcastle City Council

  • North Sydney Council

  • Northern Beaches Council

  • Parramatta Council

  • Penrith City Council

  • Ryde City Council

  • Sydney City Council

  • Willoughby City Council

More information about the Cities Power Partnership is linked below.  The first link is an excellent video overview.

More information:

We have done our best to make a fair and accurate account of the proceedings - but it also contains judgements that are our own and truly and sincerely held.  If you see anything that is factually incorrect please let us know so that we can correct it.

This blog and our Facebook page and our administrators are not affiliated with any party or candidate standing in The Hills Shire Council elections in 2021.  Nor do we receive funding from any individual, party, institution or corporation.  Our very constrained expenditures are financed by the page administrators themselves acting in a personal capacity.  Our only interest is in a safe climate for current and  future residents of the Hills Shire.

Email: climate.matters.hills.2021@gmail.com

Message: m.me/ClimateMattersHills2021

Facebook: facebook.com/ClimateMattersHills2021.

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