It’s time to talk about climate

 

Someone close to me saw the letterbox flyer for one of the political parties standing for election to council in the North Ward.  They saw four smiling, relatively young fresh faces and some fine, flowery short bios.  And they commented "They look like a nice, bright, hard-working group of young people.  Seems like a better option than some of the dinosaurs on the present council."

I fell off my chair.
But I continued the conversation, even from my position flat on the floor...

So, are they "nice"?  I don't personally know any of them and I couldn't say.  Nor can most of you, I expect.  It doesn't matter much - it's what they stand for that matters.

Are they bright and hard-working?  Very probably, I imagine.  And so too (I imagine) are many of the candidates - from other parties and the independents.  These are important attributes for anybody seeking public office - but it's not enough - it's what they work for that really counts.

Are they young?  I guess.  At my age, loads of people look young.  But youth does not equate to wisdom or understanding or balance.  And certainly not benevolence.  Peter Dutton looks young to me. Sir David Attenborough doesn't look young at all - but I would vote for him in a flash. Youth is not everything.

And what did the card tell us about what they stand for?  Well there were several bullet points - about 50 words in all - which all looked like fine aspirations in isolation, if a little thin on detail - the picture showed them listed on a Post-It note, which sums it up pretty well, I think.

But here's the crunch ...

There was not a mention of the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT HAS EVER CONFRONTED HUMANITY.  No reference to climate or the environment.  No plan to slash emissions as science unanimously tells us we must do.  No plan to adapt our shire to the rising heat we will endure in years to come.

Nada. Nothing. (Entirely consistent with their record, of course.)

It’s time to talk

If you are reading this, then I'm sure you already know not to be fooled by appearances.  You know to look for the substance - to cut through to the things that really matter at this crucial time in human history.  You know that this is no time to stick with the comfortable voting choice that has served well in years gone by.

You know these things.  But so many do not.  So please, please do this.  Please talk with others in your household about it.  Your neighbours.  Your work colleagues.  Your tennis partners.  Don’t waste your breath on those that will never be moved.  But anybody else, everybody else, when the opportunity arises.

Do this because, presently, there are not enough of YOU.  We need more voters to know and understand the things that you know and understand.

Frankly, I personally am not great at these conversations.  But I know so many of you can be.  For all of us, leading to council elections and then a federal election, it might be one of the most effective things we can do. I'm not great at it - but I'll still give it a go. Will you?

PS: There are only two parties fielding candidates in the North Ward - Liberals and the Greens.  This flyer was not from the Greens.  But I reckon you guessed that already.

More information:

There are so many on-line resources about having constructive personal conversations about climate that I simply can’t remember or list them all.  Here’s a starter list - if you know of others please DO post them in the (Facebook) comments ...

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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