Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:00 — 55.0MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS | More
The Sustainable Hour no. 542 | Transcript | Podcast notes
EVs, elections and energising action – with Mitch Pope and Parents for Climate
An inspiring hour of community climate solutions, electric vehicle insights, and a conversation with a local Greens candidate on cost of living, political courage and what it means to be the change.
Our guests in the 542th episode of The Sustainable Hour are Jacqui Dunn and Lauren Ball from Parents for Climate and Mitch Pope, who runs as the Greens candidate for Corangamite in the federal election.
Opening reflections and Global Outlook
The episode begins with an Acknowledgement of Country and of the wisdom of First Nations people. Tony Gleeson recounts a moving cultural experience in Gunditjmara Country in Warrnambool, underlining the importance of protecting sea country.
Mik Aidt highlights a crucial statistic: 92.5 per cent of new electricity generation worldwide in the past year came from clean energy sources, exposing the misleading rhetoric around gas.
Colin Mockett delivers his Global Outlook, covering:
- Just Stop Oil ending its dramatic actions after the UK Labour Party adopts its policy demands
- The disturbing pro-fossil fuel agenda of the Trump administration in the United States
- Japan’s gas usage decline, leading to the absurdity of Australian gas being re-exported back to Australia at a profit
- Success stories from Forest Green Rovers soccer club
- A new climate-themed theatre production, Kyoto, which is sold out in London’s West End
→ Full transcript below
Electric vehicle and e-bike expo in Torquay
Jacqui Dunn and Lauren Ball from Parents for Climate join to talk about their upcoming Torquay EV and E-Bike Expo on Sunday 6 April at 2–5pm at the Torquay Improvement Association.
The free event features:
- Test drives of EVs and e-bikes
- Expert talks by Bryce Gaton debunking EV myths and John Paul Lopez Taberdo from Good Cycles, a social enterprise
- Q&A panels, activities for kids, door prizes, and volunteer-run stalls
The message is clear: electrification is not just about reducing emissions – it also supports healthier, more affordable lifestyles.
→ Find out more here.
Cost of living, climate, and the Greens
Mitch Pope, Greens candidate for Corangamite, discusses his motivations for running: concern about climate inaction, environmental destruction, and growing inequality. A 23-year-old local from Ocean Grove, Mitch works in ecotourism and environmental videography. He emphasises:
- The need for systemic change
- The Greens’ support for housing, dental care in Medicare, free public schooling, and public transport improvements
- Why acting on climate helps ease the cost-of-living crisis – not the opposite
Mitch argues the Greens are often mischaracterised and insists that their environmental focus remains central, but is integrated with justice and fairness. He addresses young voters directly, encouraging hope and participation, while sharing his own down-to-earth lifestyle choices – biking, low energy use, and solar when possible.
Mitch has been very active in getting a seismic blasting company to pull out of its planned activities off the Surf Coast. They openly stated that they did this because of continual and determined community opposition.
→ For those who want to know more about Mitch and what he stands for, go to his Instagram or Facebook pages, or the official Greens website.
Parents for Climate and community action
Jacqui is a nurse, nursing trainer, teaching nursing students, mum and local resident who loves nothing more than a cuppa looking out at the water then a dip in the sea.
Lauren is a full time mum, active community member, part time surfer and lover of all things outdoors and adventure.
At Parents for Climate, they try to get people involved in climate action in ways that suit them – ways that they are passionate about, and ultimately to work towards a safe future for our kids. We do this by engaging with communities, with the media and even with politicians
Jacqui and Lauren love volunteering for Parents for Climate because it connects them with like minded people and gives them real practical ways to make a difference. It’s also a great challenge – sometimes getting them out of their comfort zones, doing things they never thought they would or could – like speaking on radio!
Jacqui and Lauren share more about the ongoing work of Parents for Climate, including:
- Past events like sandcastle competitions and clothing swaps
- Plans for the next One Planet Festival in March 2026, funded by a new grant and to be held in the Bellarine region
- The importance of local climate action and volunteer engagement as a meaningful antidote to eco-anxiety
→ Those wanting to connect with the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast Parents for Climate or find out more about their work, click here.
Musical interludes
Two climate-themed original Sustainable Hour songs are featured:
EV Smile | Lyrics
– a funky and upbeat song celebrating electric vehicles and the clean energy lifestyle
Starting From Today | Lyrics
– an inspiring ballad about hope, generational action, and rising together for change
Closing Thoughts
In our usual reflective sign-off, the team brainstorms alternatives to “Be the difference”:
- “Be the change” (Lauren and Mitch)
- “Be surprised by what you can do” (Jacqui)
Once again, in this episode there’s no shortage of evidence to show how taking action on climate leads to personal growth and improvements in mental health. All three of our guests explain what a difference this has made to their lives. All three – Lauren, Jacqui and Mitch – talk about how they have surprised themselves by stepping out of their comfort zones. After this, they conclude there’s no going back to the world that existed for them before they started to take such action. They’ve all gone from being concerned about the problem to being active participants in solutions. More on this next week. Be the difference!
“I decided to throw my hat in the ring and try and make a bit of a difference where I can here in Corangamite – and hopefully bring other people on board and make other people see the change that we can have. It’s not about the least worst option in politics. We can have the change that we need. But I guess we have to vote for it at the moment, and the Greens want to be that viable third option there for people who are struggling and people who do want to action on the environmental and climate crisis. So yeah, that’s me.”
~ Mitch Pope, 23, Greens candidate for Corangamite in the upcoming federal election
→ Subscribe to The Sustainable Hour podcast via Apple Podcasts or Spotify
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
We at The Sustainable Hour would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we are broadcasting, the Wadawurrung People. We pay our respects to their elders – past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations people.
The traditional custodians lived in harmony with the land for millennia, nurturing it and thriving in often harsh conditions. Their connection to the land was deeply spiritual and sustainable. This land was invaded and stolen from them. It was never ceded. Today, it is increasingly clear that if we are to survive the climate emergency we face, we must learn from their land management practices and cultural wisdom.
True climate justice cannot be achieved until Australia’s First Nations people receive the justice they deserve. When we speak about the future, we must include respect for those yet to be born, the generations to come. As the old saying reminds us: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” It is deeply unfair that decisions to ignore the climate emergency are being made by those who won’t live to face the worst impacts, leaving future generations to bear the burden of their inaction.
“The Indigenous worldview has been marginalised for generations because it was seen as antiquated and unscientific and its ethics of respect for Mother Earth were in conflict with the industrial worldview. But now, in this time of climate change and massive loss of biodiversity, we understand that the Indigenous worldview is neither unscientific nor antiquated, but is, in fact, a source of wisdom that we urgently need.”
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, weallcanada.org
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
#StoryChange: Renewables have taken over
In 2024, 92.5 per cent of all new electricity brought online globally came from the sun, wind or other clean energy sources, IRENA reported.
Rewiring Australia’s latest report, The Electrification Tipping Point, shows that the economics in Australia have passed a crucial milestone: buying an electric appliance or vehicle is cheaper than the fossil-fuel powered alternative, even when you consider the upfront costs.
The average Australian fossil fuel-powered household will end up saving $4,100 per year by switching to all-electric as your appliances and cars come up for replacement.
→ 9 News carried this report:
→ Climate Action – 26 March 2025:
Record-Breaking Annual Growth in Renewable Power Capacity
“With 585 GW of capacity additions, renewables accounted for over 90% of total power expansion globally in 2024.”
Report: Why renewables make electricity cheaper
A report released by the Clean Energy Investor Group to showcase the downward impact of renewables on power prices contained a stunning and timely reminder: nothing has crushed household energy bills quite like rooftop solar, and not just for solar households.
The report models counterfactual scenarios for 2024 where consumer demand is met by coal and gas plants, rather than firmed renewables.
The idea was to test the relentlessly repeated claims of federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, that Labor’s progress on renewable energy – such that it is, after just three years in government – is to blame for a forecast jump in default retail electricity prices.
The report found that without wind, solar and battery storage, Australian households and businesses would have faced wholesale electricity prices up to between $30/MWh and $80/MWh higher than they actually were in 2024, and paid an estimated $155 – $417 more for household electricity bills.
But it also found that without rooftop solar the 2024 cost of electricity would have increased by a whopping $400-$3,000/MWh.
→ One Step Off The Grid – 27 March 2025:
“Cheapest domestic energy there’s ever been:” How rooftop solar has slashed bills for all
Report: 84% of businesses don’t listen to Trump
PwC’s second annual State of Decarbonisation Report finds that out of 7,000 Carbon Disclosure Project disclosures, 37% are increasing their climate goals – all together, 84% of companies are sticking or increasing their climate goals.
→ Trellis – 21 March 2025:
The state of sustainability? Healthier than the media would have you believe
“A PwC survey of 7,000 CDP disclosures finds companies are on track to hit emissions goals and upping investment in climate projects.”
Community resilience and reliable energy
Mothers’ rebellion
Excerpt from Extinction Rebellion Victoria’s newsletter:
Join us at our regular spot every month between the Arts Centre and the NGV in Melbourne. In this time of strident politics we will sit in a circle and hold space in silence with our banners and signs, with readings and music.
We do this to acknowledge the unstable climate and perilous world our children will inherit. By gathering together, we bolster our resolve to continue to do what we can; we bear witness to this moment of unfolding climate collapse and hold a silent space for future generations to breathe into.
Please bring your own sign with a message you would like passers-by to read and remember.
10 May 2025
11am – 12pm
National Gallery / Arts Centre Forecourt, 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank
We’ve changed the date of our May gathering to 10 May, the day before Mothers Day. The first Saturday, 3 May, is election day and our priority is to have pro-climate volunteers out in force at polling booths!
- Find out more and register on the Events page of the national website: ausrebellion.earth/events.
- Sign up for updates here actionnetwork.org/forms/join-mothers-rebellion.
Friday Vigil
Being with other like-minded rebels builds personal connections but also builds our resolve to keep going in our rebellion in defence of the planet. Being together also generates ideas about future actions and the logistics of planning for them.
At the Friday Vigil, we often have good discussions with members of the public, sometimes for extended periods of time, on issues around climate. This has often included speaking to school groups who are visiting Parliament on an excursion. The positive interactions outweigh the ‘get a job’ type abuse.
The Friday Vigil shows the public a consistent witnessing of the havoc being reaped across the world by the climate crisis. Our banners get read, they get seen and they start crucial conversations.
Come and join us on any Friday.
Fridays between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm
Steps of the Victorian Parliament House, Spring Street, East Melbourne.
Find out more on the Events page of the national website ausrebellion.earth/events and invite friends via the FB event here.
Citizens’ Assemblies Q&A
Democratic lottery expert Sonia Randhawa, a passionate advocate for citizens’ assemblies, is hosting a monthly Q&A on all forms of deliberative democracy and inviting members of XR to come along.
Find out more about Extinction Rebellion’s third demand: BEYOND POLITICS – Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
No questions are off the table, from the simplest about what a Citizens’ Assembly is, to strategising on how we can make them happen, or how to get them institutionalised. Bring curiosity.
3rd Sunday of every month
5pm
Online via Zoom. View the Facebook event to get the link.
Outreach with the Climate Choir
Photo credit: Lesley Walker
The wonderful Climate Choir Melbourne performs all over Melbourne roughly fortnightly. Lovely Lesley Walker gets to enjoy choir performances while handing out the leaflet with the choir’s lyrics and message, as well as XR materials. She would love to have another person to share or alternate with her sometimes.
If you think you might be able to help with this, please contact the choir at climatechoirmelbourne@gmail.com. You will of course be well supported in the role.
The unpredictable impacts of climate change and the perceived inaction from local, national and international leaders, is creating anxiety that is contributing to deteriorating mental health, particularly in young people. The health impacts of climate change will increase in the future if nothing is done to curb greenhouse gas emission. We need action to deal with the climate crisis while improving the health, security and income of the very poorest people in our global society.
~ Mark Maslin et al (2025)
→ ScienceDirect – Future Healthcare Journal, Volume 12, Issue 1, March 2025:
Climate Health Emergency: Understanding the health impacts of the climate crisis
“The climate crisis is the greatest threat to global health. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have increased the temperature of the Earth by over 1.5 °C and caused sea levels to rise by over 24 cm since the beginning of the 20th century. 2024 was the warmest year on record and the last 10 hottest years have all occurred in the last 10 years.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
| EARTH.ORG: HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH |
| Glaciers once deemed ‘eternal’ will not survive 21st century, warns UN. 36 fossil fuel giants responsible for half of world’s CO2 emissions. Just Stop Oil to ‘hang up the hi-vis’, final protest in April. All but 7 countries faced unsafe air pollution levels in 2024. Rising temperatures boosted electricity use globally in 2024 as renewables, gas covered majority of additional energy demand. Over 400 Olympians call for bold climate action from incoming IOC president. La Niña event likely ‘short lived’, WMO says following third-hottest February on record. |
| TEMPERATURE TRACKER Surface air temperature anomaly for February 2025. Image: C3S/ECMWF. Global temperatures in February were the third-highest ever recorded for the month, breaking a 20-month streak of record-breaking or near-record temperatures. At 1.59C, the average global surface temperature last month came in third after February 2024 and 2016.Last month also marked the 19th month in the last 20 months for which the global-average surface air temperature was higher than 1.5C above the pre-industrial level. 2024 was the first year on record to surpass the 1.5C mark. Read the full article. |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Transcript of The Sustainable Hour no. 542
Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General:
The climate time bomb is ticking.
Jingle:
The Sustainable Hour. For a green, clean, sustainable Geelong. The Sustainable Hour.
Tony Gleeson:
Welcome to The Sustainable Hour. We’d like to acknowledge that we’re broadcasting from the land of the Wadawurrong people. We pay tribute to the elders – past, present, and those that earn that great honour in the future. We’re on stolen land, land that was never ceded, always was and always will be First Nations land. We have so much to learn from the ancient wisdom that they honed from nurturing both their land and their communities for millennia before their land was stolen. And in that ancient wisdom lies so much of the knowledge that we’re going to need as we deal with the climate crisis.
This was clearly shown on the weekend on Goonginchimarra country in Warrnambool where Yarran Bundle took us through a number of ceremonies that are part and parcel of their culture. And one in particular at the end was a dance group, First Nations people, and they encouraged all of us. that was the feelings, the atmosphere around that was just so engaging. And it brought home to me just how important that sea country is, and the importance of protecting it.
Mik Aidt:
It’s election time and if you want to discuss electricity, energy prices and so on, there’s one number you need to remember, there’s one number you need to understand. And that is that last year, 92.5 per cent of all new electricity which was brought online globally came from the sun, from the wind and other clean energy sources. 92.5 per cent of all new electricity that came online last year. What that tells you is that the coalition takes you for fools when they’re saying that gas, a fossil fuel, is good for households and it will get prices down. No. There’s a reason why 92.5 per cent of all new electricity brought online globally last year came from the sun, wind, and other clean energy sources. It’s because gas, coal, fossil fuels is yesterday’s way of powering our communities.
9 News tv clip:
Thanks to volatile fossil fuel markets and falling EV prices, we’ve reached an economic tipping point. New modelling shows the average household upgrading from gas appliances and petrol vehicles over to electric in 2025 will save $4,100 a year over a 15-year period.
Mik:
Heard on Nine News – and that’s when you know the story has changed. We’re going to be talking more about election and electrification in the sustainable hour today. But first, let’s hear what’s been happening around the world. And for that we have Colin Mockett OAM, ready with this global outlook.
COLIN MOCKETT’S GLOBAL OUTLOOK:
Hello, Mik. Yes, well look, it’s quite a crowded program this week. My World Roundup begins in London where the militant climate active group Just Stop Oil announced that it will end its high profile campaigns and shift its approach to tackling climate change. The group revealed it would hang up the high vis vests after one final big demonstration in London at the end of April, but they’re not saying what it’s going to be. Just Stop Oil rose to prominence with attention grabbing stunts targeting artworks and big sites such as Stonehenge. Behind their decision was that the group’s demand for the UK government to end new oil and gas exploration was adopted as policy last week by the Labor government. Just Stop Oil took credit for this, calling their work one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history.
Now what I found really interesting in the release that told us of all this was the announcement that also listed who was funding them. Most of the group’s money came from the U.S., the Climate Emergency Fund, and that’s supported and partly funded by Aileen Getty, who’s a granddaughter of the Petroleum Oil Tycoon J. Paul Getty. It’s nice isn’t it? It’s got a nice little closing of the circle part to it. Staying in the U.S., the Trump administration is doing everything it can to make CO2 emissions grow again. It’s bestowing favors on the fossil fuel industry, opening up more land in Alaska for oil drilling, plus halting leases for offshore wind development.
On social media, the US president actually said that he wanted the country to burn more coal. And he also appointed Lee Zeldin as administrator to the nation’s EPA. Mr Zeldin is a Republican politician, former lawyer and reserve soldier. In the two months since he was confirmed in the job, he announced his intention to roll back dozens of environmental rules and shrink his agency’s spending by two-thirds. Reportedly, he wants to eliminate the EPA’s scientific research arm, which employs more than a thousand people. The EPA, he said, would work to lower the costs of living by making it cheaper to buy a car, heat a home, and run a business. Nowhere, the Times noted, did he refer to protecting the environment or public health.
Now to Japan, where thanks to the adoption of renewable energy measures, the nation is currently using a lot less of our Australian gas than we export to them. So you know what? Such is the structure of trade agreements and past price deals that they’re considering exporting it back to us in Australia at a profit. Now this is partly because in Victoria our politicians are being advised by fossil fuel companies who are forecasting that we’re heading for a gas shortage over winter. But in fact our gas use is falling too, just as Japan’s is, because households are going all electric. Anyways, because Japan’s domestic gas use has declined so much. Experts there are saying that Japan is now exporting to other Southeast Asian countries an equivalent amount to what it buys from Australia. The US financial giant Bloomberg has calculated that Japanese companies generated profits of about $14 billion US dollars ($A22 billion) in the year ending March 2024 from this LNG exporting alone. And what they are basically doing is importing from us for cents and selling elsewhere for multiples of cents. And we haven’t got the nouse to even spot it.
Now you would think that an obvious solution would be for the Australia to simply keep Australian gas here, but that isn’t the way the world trade system works. Perhaps we should invite Aileen Getty and her Climate Emergency Fund to come and have a little look at what’s happening here.
Now to the world’s greenest sports team, Forest Green Rovers, which played Solihull Moors at the weekend and won 1-0. This keeps the Rovers in third place on the ladder, primed for promotion. Then nine points clear of the fourth-placed team Oldham Athletic. The Forest Green Rovers women’s team won 2-1 against Poole Town. Poole Town ladies, they’re not women. The female Rovers, Forest Green women, are in fourth place on their ladder.
And for once, the Rovers’ news is not my feel-good final item. That comes from London’s theatre district where a new play called ‘Kyoto’ is playing to sold out audiences. It’s produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance Productions. It dramatises the 1997 UN climate agreement in Japan. It explores the politics and the personalities behind that first global deal that limited greenhouse gases. And apparently, and quite ironically, it’s the hottest ticket in town. It also ends my roundup for the week.
. . .
Jingle (at 09:59)
Listen to our Sustainable Hour – for the future.
Tony:
Our first guest today, Jacqui Dunn and Lauren Ball. These two women… Jacqui is a nurse, a nursing trainer. She’s a mum and a local resident who loves nothing more than a cuppa, looking out at the ocean, then having a dip in the said ocean. Lauren is a full-time mum, active community member, part-time surfer and lover of all things, outdoors and adventure. So welcome, ladies. Tell us what is it that you’ve got a big event coming up. Let’s know all about that, what’s happening and your motivations in running that day.
Jacqui:
Thanks so much, Tony. So at Parents for Climate, we really like to try and get people involved in climate action in ways that suit them. So ways that people are passionate about and ultimately we’re working towards a safe future for our kids. So we do this by running a lot of community events and trying to engage our communities. And we even engage the media and local politicians. We’ve got one here today. Hi Mitch!
And this event is called the Torquay EV and E-Bike Expo and it’s a free event and our aim is to provide information to community members about the benefits of moving towards more sustainable methods of transport. So we’ve got a lot of EVs and E-Bikes and we’re trying to make those a part of everyone’s daily routine.
Lauren:
So the happy side effects of moving away from fossil fuels method of transport are a healthier and more active lifestyle and also a cheaper mode of transport which in these times where cost of living is such a real issue for everyone is obviously very important. The event is also going to showcase a number of EVs. We’ve got Rex Goral who’s actually loaning us some cars for test drives and we’ve got some fantastic volunteers who are going to be taking people for a spin.
So if you’ve ever been interested in actually trying out some of the electric vehicles, this is a great opportunity. And we’ve also got a number of local bike shops along as well. So Good Cycles are here from Geelong and we’ve also got Bare Bikes and Odian who are local e-bike dealers in Torquay who will be along as well. So people can come on the day and test ride some of these bikes too.
Colin:
And where is this all taking place?
It’s at the Torquay Improvement Association, which is on Price Street. So really central as well. So even if people are in the area, hopefully they’ll be able to come down. We’re encouraging people to RSVP on the day, because that’s the best way if you actually want to get involved in the test rides. And we’ll also have some fantastic door prizes as well. So if you RSVP, you can get in the drawer for them too.
Colin:
And what day and what hours during the day, please, Lauren?
Lauren:
It’s on this Sunday, so it will be the 6th of April and we’re starting from 2pm till 5pm. People can also come in for as much or as little as they want. We’ve had a couple of people kind of ask if they had to come along for the whole event, but we will have the test rides happening, the test drives. We’re going to have demonstrations as well. So we’ve got heaps of volunteers with some of their lovely EVs are actually going to come along with the day and chat to people about their personal experiences as well.
So even if people are only able to come along for one of the talks or just for a test ride or just to kind of look at the vehicles, they can come along, bring the family members too. We’re going to have a kids area as well with some crafts and activities. So there’s really something for everyone. So we’re just encouraging people to come in, have a chat and just, yeah.
If you wanted to check out a particular talk or presentation, can check out our run sheet which is on our website and it’s also on the Facebook and Instagram pages. We’ve got the wonderful Bryce Gatton who’s arguably the region’s foremost expert on EVs. He’s going to give you couple of presentations on dispelling all those ridiculous myths about EVs that come about.
We’ve also got John Paul Taberto, forgive my pronunciation John Paul, from Good Cycles who’s a local bike shop manager in Geelong but also Good Cycles is a social enterprise, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, they help create job opportunities for youth facing barriers into the workplace. And he’s going to guide you through why you should be riding an e-bike and why you don’t need that second car and which e-bike is right for you.
Colin:
Good. And what are the subjects of some of the talks? Which one are you looking forward to?
Jacqui: (at 14:49)
It’s hard to choose actually because we had a similar event in November last year and both presentations were excellent. I loved hearing Bryce Gatton talk about all the myths associated with EVs and just squashing those and why those rumours are not true. But I also loved John Paul’s enthusiasm about riding bikes and he’s one of those people that goes and rides in amazing crazy adventures in South America or Europe or wherever he’s off to next. He’s always off doing something exciting so he’ll have a chat with you about that as well. So some great stuff coming.
The speakers will be hosting a panel of volunteers and local community members too who will be answering some questions about their personal experiences. We’ve got a real array of different volunteers including one gentleman who’s actually a firefighter and he educates people about the misinformation around batteries and EV batteries which could be very interesting for people as well. So there’ll be some fantastic speakers there.
Colin:
Have you got anybody on the drawbacks? Because I mean I could I could I’ll be happy come along and tell you about the drawbacks that I’ve found at one point I was stranded in Colac because although they had on their website that there was a charging station in Kholak at that time it was only for Teslas and I wasn’t able to charge my Nissan Leaf and had to put it on a trickle charge in a garage and then go and buy a book and sit and read for a couple of hours in order to get enough power to get myself back to Geelong again. I believed what I saw on the website that there was a charging station. When I got there the website said the nearest charging station is Geelong and I was stranded. I thought shall I stay overnight in Colac but the idea didn’t really appeal.
Jacqui: (at 16:55)
The good news Colin is that we have got some people from the AEVA, which is the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, who will be there on the Q&A panel to answer that question for you. I don’t know what the latest updates are on where the charges are, but they certainly do.
Colin:
Yeah. All I can say is that during the years of the conservative government, and I’m here talking between Tony Abbott through to Morrison, the rollout of charging stations for EVs was probably slow motion at its best. It was all in the hands of the Fox people at one point, and then they’re no longer involved and it’s another group that’s doing it now. Compared to some other nations we are particularly poor when it comes to rolling out EV charges and for example you would think there would be EV charges in all of the service stations on the Hume Highway. They’re not. You have to go and find a supermarket car park to find where you charge your car. As far as I’m concerned, that’s not really a winch. It’s a discussion point leading to who you vote for in the next election.
Mik: (at 18:14)
Exactly! Colin, I think you need to update your knowledge on two aspects. First of all, don’t use websites. You need to use the app. There is an app for charging and that will give you very precise information about which plugs there is in each of these different stations. And secondly, there’s new charging stations coming. Almost every week I see just in our region, a new station, a new charging station popping up, which wasn’t there last week. So there’s development happening as we speak, and that’s important to notice as well, that things don’t stay the same.
Colin:
I’m aware of that Mik. It’s also current for me because, look, I made the decision probably a year ago that I wasn’t even going to bother because there were so many charging stations just weren’t operating or you had to queue up to get to the one and there was already a list of cars already there. So I now simply have reorganised my life and I charge using my trickle charger during the day.
I tell everybody my car runs on sunshine because we’ve got solar panels on the roof and if I charge my car every day around about the sunniest time, around about midday, I don’t need to pay for electricity and it runs on. And I don’t have to worry about A) the number, or B) the availability of local charging stations.
And what I do do, I will be going on a trip to Canberra and that’s why I was concerned about the number of charging stations on the Hume. What I’ve done now is that I just say to my daughter who’s got a little petrol living car, do you want to swan a belt over the Easter weekend in my EV and she said ‘Yes I do, thanks dad!’, so I borrow hers and I drive back to Canberra and don’t worry about the charging stations.
. . .
SONG
“EV Smile”
[Intro – spoken/sung with attitude]
No tailpipe.
No rumble.
No drama.
Just sunshine.
E.V. smile.
Let’s roll.
[Verse 1]
I glide out the driveway – smooth and silent
Kids wave, magpies sing
I’m not choking my kids with exhaust anymore
When I roll down my windown, I can hear the trees breathing
Pull up at the lights. Waiting for green
Arm out the window, and the E.V. smile
While the SUV next to me’s guzzlin’ dollars every mile
I drive for free – by clean powers of the sky
[Chorus]
- My sunshine powered car
Goodbye petrol, I for one won’t miss you! - My sunshine powered car
My car runs on sunshine, no smoke, no roar - My sunshine powered car
Cutting the carbon, while saving money too - My sunshine powered car
That’s the E.V. joy – that’s what we’re doing it for
[Verse 2]
Cost of living’s up, I feel it as too
But I don’t feel it at the bowser
I skipped that queue
Charge at home, off my rooftop
While I make a cup of tea
It’s freedom – not just for the rich
But for people like me
[Funky Breakdown – mid-tempo groove]
Through the forest – windows down
Can hear the kookaburras laughin’
No drone of diesel, just that smell of life
And I’m still tappin’ into the sun
[Bridge – punchy, call & response]
No oil changes! (None.)
No tailpipe tax! (Nope.)
No engine heat, no huge repair bills!
This is the life! I’ve got the E.V. smile.
[Chorus]
- My sunshine powered car
Goodbye petrol, I for one won’t miss you! - My sunshine powered car
My car runs on sunshine, no smoke, no roar - My sunshine powered car
Cutting the carbon, while saving money too - My sunshine powered car
That’s the E.V. joy – that’s what we’re doing it for
[Outro – with bounce]
This car runs on sunshine
Clean. Calm. Clever.
I’m cruisin’ past the servo signs
Like “nah, not ever.”
So come to Torquay, take a spin
Talk myths, ride bikes, get the E.V. grin
The future’s here – keys in hand
Let’s drive it together, across this land
(Spoken)
No fumes. No fuss. No fortune required.
Just sunshine – and the will to do the right thing.
Let’s move.
. . .
Tony:
Back to our guests, Jackie and Lauren, what is it like at Parents for Climate? Is that the group that you guys are involved in? Yeah. So how’s that going? Iwhat’s the support been in the past and what are you hoping for on Sunday?
Jacqui (at 23:27)
Yeah, that’s correct.
Lauren:
It’s been a busy few months for Parents for Climate and we’re very lucky to have a strong community as well who have been supporting us on all of these events. This specific event is also in partnership with the Surf Coast events as well. But yeah, we’ve had really good community engagement and we’ve got quite a few people who have put their hands up to be involved in the event this weekend as well, which is fantastic. So we couldn’t do it without our volunteer community. We’ve also had a number of events we’re planning to host for the rest of the year. So we’re going to have clothing swaps on. We do a toy and clothing swap. We’ve just done the sandcastle competition down in Ocean Grove Beach as well, which was a fantastic event. We had a lot of the community along and it was a really great day.
We almost got blown off the beach, but everyone’s always in there and don’t really mind, especially the kids. I think the last one we hosted was rained out too, but everyone still got down there and built. As someone said, wet sand moulds better. So everyone was still keen to get involved and it was a great, yeah, really great morning. What else have we got coming up, Jac?
Jacqui:
So we’ve got the One Planet Festival. So last year down in Torquay we ran our inaugural One Planet Festival, which I believe you were involved in, Tony. You came down for the day, I believe. And we had something like 1,800 attendees. So this next event will be next March, so in 2026. And we’ve won a grant through COG to run the event in the Geelong region. So hopefully, we’re thinking – on the Bellarine.
We’re not sure of an exact destination, perhaps Ocean Grove, perhaps Portarlington, and hoping for an even bigger event this time, just to engage all the people doing great things in the sustainability space and bring them all together in one place, so that if you’re interested in sustainability and you want to get involved and you’re not really sure where you fit in the movement, you can come down and speak to people, listen to some live music, eat some wonderful food, and just connect with people that think the way that you think, which is I think one of the big reasons I’m involved.
I love talking to people about sustainability issues. I have this byline that everything can be made a sustainability conversation. No matter what you’re talking about, something can be talked about involving the environment. I’ll probably drive people a little bit nuts with that, but it’s so nice connecting with other people who think that way as well. And if nothing else, that’s what you can do through parents. I think connecting with other parents who think that way, concerned about the future for their kids but can find really practical ways to act on that.
Tony:
Yeah, I say the antidote for being concerned is doing things, doing stuff, meeting people.
Lauren:
That’s it.
Jacqui:
Absolutely and as a nurse we see that in research proven practice all the time with patients that are committed and active on working towards their own health. Those are the patients that improve more quickly than others.
Yeah, absolutely.
The One Planet Festival is such an exciting event and a really wonderful one for volunteers to get involved in because there really is just so many different roles that we do need filled and so many different areas of interest. So we will be looking for more people to get on board even now. The event’s probably about a year off, but just even to volunteer a couple of hours. We need, we’re going to be doing a working group soon because we really want to get the whole community involved and allow this event to cover all of the areas that people do want represented, I guess.
So it’s like the more voices that can get involved from the beginning and let us know actually what you want, the better the event will be for the whole community. So if people are interested in getting involved, they can go online to the Parents for Climate and just look for the local group and find the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast group. Get in touch with us and we’d love to hear from you because we do really need a lot of hands on this to make this event successful and it is a really rewarding event to be involved in.
Tony:
If you look back, say, five years, are you surprised at what you’ve been doing in terms of organising for these events and other things that have really stretched you?
Jacqui:
The answer is hell yes. I mean I’m a nurse, this is not my skill set at all. I do not do event organising apparently five years ago but now I’ve organised a major festival with nearly 2,000 people coming with the help of some incredible women like Lauren and Laura. We are going from strength to strength and creating some amazing friendships along the way so absolutely.
Lauren:
Yeah, I agree with Jackie. I think definitely being a part of the group has stretched me in different ways. I’ve always had a bit more of a background in events, with stuff like coming on a radio and stuff, a bit more out of my comfort zone. And just actually taking an active part, I think, especially for me having kids, it kind of was that point where I went, OK, I can’t just sit around anymore. I really have to do something about this. So the group has enabled, allowed me to find a group of like-minded people and really start to take some action because yeah, as we said before, you can’t just sit back and watch. You’ve got to do something.
. . .
Greg Mullins, Climate Council tv advertisement:
I’ve been holding a hose for 50 years, the fires we’re fighting now are nothing like the past. Our climate is changing and our communities have suffered enough. The greatest tragedy of the Black Summer bushfires is that we saw it coming. We can’t afford leaders who ignore the warning signs. The Federal Coalition still has no credible plan to cut climate pollution. This is a critical climate election. Vote like our lives depend on it, because they do.
Authorised by A. Mackenzie, Climate Council of Australia, Ltd, Melbourne.
. . .
Tony:
Our next guest is Mitch Pope. Mitch is the Greens candidate for Corangamite in the upcoming election on May 3. Mitch, tell us a little bit about yourself so people can get to know you as a person and get to know who they’re to vote for, your background and why you’ve decided to stand.
Mitch Pope:
Yeah, well, thanks for having me on. Yeah, I guess I’ve decided to put my hand up as the Greens candidate for Kerangamite. A little bit about me: I’ve grown up on the Bellarine Peninsula in Ocean Grove. I’m a surfer, I’ve been growing up around the ocean. I love the natural environment. I work in ecotourism, taking people snorkeling out in Port Phillip Bay. So I’ve been doing that for quite a long time.
I’m a videographer as well, so I used to do sort of surf and photography and I do a of environmental activism as well. know, when I sort of realised that we need to do more than just getting angry at the world and getting angry at the big polluters and the politicians with fossil fuel interests. We need to do more than, you know, despairing about what’s going on. So I decided to get into environmental activism and sort of played a role in the campaign here in Victoria to stop seismic blasting and offshore gas. And so I’ve been doing that for the last sort of two years.
And the change that we need to see has to come from a political level as well. It can’t just be people in the community advocating for change. We need change on both sides. So, yeah, I’ve decided to put my hand up as a candidate in the federal election to push for more climate action, environmental action, but also the, you know, inequality, the rising inequalities in our society now is just, it’s just horrible. Like the, big gas and coal corporations in Australia are making billions of dollars, record profits every year while everyone else is struggling more and more every year to get by with rent and paying their mortgage and, you know, groceries and everything like that. So we really need big, bold changes and I haven’t seen that from our governments over the last few years.
So I decided to, I guess, throw my hat in the ring and try and make a bit of a difference where I can here in Corangamite and hopefully bring other people on board and make other people see the change that we can have. It’s not about the least worst option in politics. We can have, you know, the change that we need. But I guess we have to vote for it at the moment and the Greens, want to be that viable third option there for people who are struggling and people who do want to action on the environmental and climate crisis. So yeah, that’s me.
Colin:
When you drive along the Bellarine Peninsula, which is the outskirts of the Corangamite, that’s where you’re vying to be voted for, you will see large signs for the liberal candidate, which just say three words. It says, ‘Tradie. Soldier. Dad.’ – if my memory serves me right. If you were to choose three words to put up, if you had the money to put up a sign, which would be a three word sign for you? Would it be ‘Surfer. Activist.’…? What words would you have bearing in mind that if you put down surfer and activist, you’re probably not going to get voted in?
Mitch:
That’s a really good question, Colin. You’ve thrown me on the spot here. I haven’t thought about it. To be honest, I’m more for good policy over three-word slogans. So I haven’t thought about my own three-word slogan because I want people to see, you know, what’s the policy that we’re advocating for? And, you know, the Liberal Party doesn’t have much behind them. So…
Colin:
You’re standing for the Greens in a very winnable seat. It’s swung from the Liberals to Labor. Libby Kocher in Labor has consolidated, but it’s still winnable. And many people, of the analysts have said that there is a high likelihood in this election that neither of the major parties are going to have a majority and it’s likely to be a hung parliament with the Greens and Independents taking in coalition with one of the big parties. Were that the case, do you think your Green party would be able to work with both parties? And if you did, what would be the conditions?
Mitch: (at 34:57)
Yeah, totally. No, so we’ve been very clear that we wouldn’t form a minority government with the Liberals. And I guess, you know, we’ve been saying if you vote Green, you can keep Dutton out and push Labor to act. In 2010, it was a minority Labor government with support of the Greens when Adam Bandt was elected in Melbourne. And that was one of the most productive parliaments ever. The Greens got world leading climate legislation and ‘Dental into Medicare for kids’. So, yeah, that’s right. Yep.
And there’s a lot of fear that a minority parliament would be a disaster for Australia. But just look what happened last time. It was so productive and it worked for the people, but we wouldn’t support Dutton because, you know, we know that he’s not there at all for the people. only big corporations. We won’t support Trump-style politics in Australia, people don’t want that. so, you know, that would be the outcome that we’d like to see is a hung parliament and, you know, a Labor, you know, with the support of the Greens could be very productive.
What it means is that we can push Labor to act on the climate crisis and get dental intermedicare, get, you know, real action on the housing crisis and cost of living with free public schooling and things like that. And if we, you know, have to give Labor the support, then they have to act on the things that we’re asking for.
Mik:
Mitch, obviously with the name ‘The Greens’, you are very actively involved in the green transition. When I talk with people about the Greens, they’re telling me, the Greens have moved to somewhere different now because they talk a lot about other topics. So how would you say about, for instance, let’s talk about the Palestine issue? Where do you stand on that?
Mitch:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I guess I’ll start by saying that, you know, the Greens, we’re for people and the planet. You know, all of the issues that we’re facing today, none of them are in isolation from one another. We’re for humanity. And a lot of people have been saying that, you know, we’ve shifted away from the environment with focusing on, you know, justice for Palestinians, because what’s happening in Palestine is absolutely atrocious. You know,
What happened in Israel on October 7 was horrific as well, but the ongoing genocide that’s been happening after that has just been absolutely atrocious. people have been saying that the Greens aren’t who they used to be. Bob Brown back in, I can’t remember the year, in the early 2000s stood up in parliament and interrupted George W. Bush’s address to the Australian parliament on a social justice issue. And Bob Brown said in a podcast the other day that they’ve been, when he was in parliament, they’ve been telling him that he’s not the person he used to be.
And so this sort of attack line that the Greens aren’t who they used to be, they’re not for the environment anymore. It’s really because, you know, from a lot of these right-wing lobby groups, right-wing media that know that the Greens are… we’re building power because people see that we’re standing up for people and we’re standing up for the planet. And we are pushing for cost of living issues and just as much as we’re pushing for climate action, because as I said, these things don’t happen in isolation from one another.
We need a more equitable and fairer future for everyone as well as the environment and the climate. And so, yeah, I guess that’s what I would say there.
Colin:
Hey Mitch, the results of recent polls have all showed a similar decline in both of the major parties, whereas the Greens have stayed relatively static around about, I don’t know, somewhere around about 10 percent. And the big winners have been independents and Teals. And the thing about the Teals is that they’re virtually all females and middle-aged females and as such they’re seen as being, they’re counted as a group which annoys them. I’m aware that that really does annoy them because they are all independents but they have that in common and in common they are not the average politician which is stale elderly males.
Now you’re standing as a young male. How are you going to get the females that would prefer to get a middle-aged woman in, because we know that the support for teals is rising. How are you going to get their votes over to a young male?
Mitch (at 39:59)
Yeah, I think, you know, like as a young person, there’s a lot of issues that young people are facing a lot of a lot of these issues today. But I guess just, you know, I’ve been getting out and about and talking to people who, know, middle aged women like my mum, who my mum’s a single mum, who has, you know, struggled for quite a while, being a single parent trying to pay rent, pay for schooling, pay her energy bills. And I talked to mum about what’s going on all the time. she never used to be a Greens voter.
And now when I sort of told her and showed her what we stand for in our policies about supporting young parents and people who are doing it tough with action on the housing crisis and free public schooling and dental intermedicare and cheaper energy and things like that, that’s really appealing to someone like her and I might be a male, but I’m not there to only represent one, I guess, cohort of people. I would be there to represent everyone. And that’s why I’m doing it. Seeing people like my mum who have been struggling and have been left behind by the system. Yeah, definitely one of the big reasons why I chose to put my hand up.
Mik:
How old are you, Mitch?
Mitch:
I’m 23.
Colin: (at 41:28)
A couple of personal questions, Mitch. What’s your level of education? What’s your job? And are you living a green lifestyle? Do you have solar panels? Do you drive an electric car or an electric bike? Because I’m pretty sure that Lauren and Jackie would be interested in that.
Mitch:
Yeah, totally. Great questions. The first one: I finished high school and I didn’t go to university. I started uni, I was going to do a marine biology degree, but I decided higher education wasn’t for me. I’ve copped a bit of nasty comments online of people stereotyping me as an arts degree inner city person. It’s not who I am. I didn’t go to university.
And as I said, I work in ecotourism and do sort of videography and environmental campaigning as well. And I’ve tried my hand in a lot of different things. I haven’t gone down, I guess, the traditional pathway of getting a specific trade or university degree. I like trying different things.
And yeah, absolutely, I think you got to be the change that you want to see in the world. So I’m trying to live the absolute greenest lifestyle I can. I ride my bike everywhere I can to work in Queenscliff and back. I’m a renter, so we don’t have solar panels on the house, but we don’t have gas, which is good. We’re pretty, we live a pretty sort of low consumption lifestyle. And I try to drive as little as I can because as a, I am a young person, I can’t afford to buy an EV. So I do have a car that I try, you know, as I said, I try and ride my bike as much as possible and also get public transport.
And I think that’s what we need around these regional areas, we definitely need better access to public transport because people who want to get around sort of in a low carbon way who, you know, not everyone can afford an EV. And it’s also, you know, there are environmental consequences which could come with giving everybody an electric vehicle as well.
So we need to really expand public transport and that’s part of the Greens policy as well and also making it cheap and accessible for everyone. But the public transport down here on the Balearine and around Geelong as you would all know is pretty atrocious. There isn’t even a bus that goes from Ocean Grove to Torquay. I would use that many times over this campaign if there was but unfortunately there isn’t.
Colin:
Would that be in your list of priorities? Service on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast?
Mitch:
Yeah, absolutely. It’s something, you know, it’s part of the, you know, the National Greens policy platform as well is just more cheap and accessible public transport. So I was talking to my mum about it the other day and she said that when my sister and I were younger, it would have been very helpful for her to have more buses around so she didn’t have to drive us around being a single parent. And so for, you know, teenagers to be able to just jump on the bus and have more access, it would be a lot easier for parents and just everyone else in general.
Mik:
Mitch, speaking about the 18-year-old, 19-year-old, the teenagers who can actually vote. And I have a special interest there I have to declare because in my family, I have two kids who are 18 and 19. So they’re new voters. What would you say to them? You know, we’ve talked about different policies and so on, but how do you speak to someone who’s just entered this possibility of voting?
Mitch:
I mean, you know, first of all, I’m a young person as well. I was 18 not that many years ago. I’m facing all of the challenges that young people are facing today. Like the prospect of buying a house is so much more difficult than it used to be. The climate crisis is getting worse. You know, everything is just, it doesn’t sound very hopeful, but things are getting more difficult. The major parties are not taking the action required to solve these major crises. You know, we just had a budget, a federal budget, and the conversation was around a small tax cut or a small fuel price reduction. Like our conversation should be so much more than this. We need to be aiming so much bigger. And that’s what the Greens are really aiming to do.
For young people, like, don’t give up hope. It can feel, you know, hopeless seeing the way the world is happening at the moment, but change, big change can happen when it’s unexpected. And that’s really what we’re pushing for. Like, you know, one in three big corporations in Australia pays no tax. We want to make them pay their fair share of tax. Make these big gas corporations who aren’t paying tax, pay their fair share of tax so we can fund the support and the big changes that we need, like, you know, fixing the housing crisis, building more public affordable homes so people can afford to be in a place, ending new coal and gas, expanding publicly owned renewable energy, making energy prices cheaper, ending native forest logging, all the climate and environmental action that we need, but also the housing and the cost of living support.
We can make these big corporations pay their fair share of tax so we can make the changes that we actually need. We don’t have to keep letting things getting worse. And so I guess, you know, I would say vote for the Greens is, you know, a vote for supporting young people, supporting those who are doing it tough. We can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting something to change.
Tony:
You mentioned before some disparaging comments that you’re getting online. To me that’s always a sign that what you’re saying is spot on, that people are that worried that they feel they have to try to drag you down. What’s that like for you seeing those comments?
Mitch:
Yeah, to be honest, I think quite sad. It’s a shame that people feel the need to write nasty comments. I mean, you know, it’s all part of it. It’s part of our democratic process. But, you know, we get a few people who write a comment on every one of my posts, which is a shame. You know, especially if I say something like a teacher pays more tax than some of our biggest gas corporations. People don’t like other people knowing that because that is such a big problem.
But yeah, I don’t really take it to heart. You know, it’s not personal. There was a comment about, you know, being a Tesla driving arts degree person. You know, I don’t own a Tesla. I don’t have an arts degree. So when I see things like that, it’s easy to take the personal aspect out of it. And it’s purely just sometimes, you know, hatred at the system. And yeah, it is a shame.
Lauren:
We often meet with politicians as part of Parents for Climate, engaging with the local politicians. One of the things we always get told is that this election is all about cost of living, that people can’t even afford to go to the dentist or send their kids on school excursions. That’s nothing to do with environment. So what would you say to people who say that to you?
Absolutely. I mean, it is this election is a cost of living election. Last election was the climate election. This election, people are worried about, you know, the issues that are facing. They’re worried about their immediate pressures and issues. We’re pushing for dental intermedicare. We’re pushing for free public schooling to support people who are, you know, especially young families who are really struggling and doing it tough while also advocating for climate action. If you vote for the Greens.
You can vote for support on cost of living and housing and climate action. It’s not one or the other. We can do it all and we can do it by making these big gas corporations and just big corporations in general who aren’t paying any tax. We can make them pay their fair share of tax to fund climate action and fund cost of living support. Yeah, as I mentioned.
Lauren (at 49:45)
Thanks. Our standpoint is that you can’t have a healthy child without a healthy climate. Also, if you take action on climate, then you are going to affect cost of living because it’s all intrinsically linked. I’m hoping that some of our politicians can do that for us.
And yeah, we all know that climate crisis is driving up the cost of living as well with increasing insurance premiums and the expenses with cleaning up after natural disasters. And that’s just going to get a lot worse in the future. Food’s getting more expensive. And so we need to act on the climate crisis to reduce the cost of living in general.
Plus your electorate, Mitch, is particularly low lying by the sea. It’s something that none of the candidates seems to have brought up so far but you’re threatened by rising sea levels that’s happening as part of the climate change.
Mitch:
Yep, in Corangamite we’re a coastal electorate. The Bellarine is completely surrounded by water and there are some really low lying areas around Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff, around Swan Bay and rising seas are affecting those areas. And also, you know, the coastal dune erosion in the last sort of 10 years since I’ve been surfing around Ocean Grove, 13th Torquay.
The erosion is getting so much worse. We’ve had staircases being washed away in big tides and all the changes we’re seeing, yeah, we know they’re not normal and these areas are going to be affected. And also I think, yeah, bow and heads as well is really low lying. The insurance premiums for the houses there are going up as well. So it really is affecting this area and whether people see it or not, it’s going to get worse.
Mik: (at 51:48)
It’s worse than that Mitch. They’re actually getting to be uninsurable.
Mitch:
Yeah, wow! So we really need, and you all know this, we really need to act on the climate emergency and that’s one of the main reasons I put my hand up to run as a candidate, to try and put that on the agenda.
Tony:
Another thing that doesn’t get mentioned about sea level rise is that the majority of food bowls all over the planet are within one metre of sea level rise and they’re talking metres now, not centimetres or millimetres in rise.
Jacqui:
Just leading on from your question Mik, I have an 18 year old who is looking at voting in her first election but she is very disillusioned by what politicians can do for young people and do for the climate and do for her future. So what would you say to her, Mitch? I mean she has no hope basically that politicians will do what they say when they’re elected in. What would you say?
Mitch (at 52:55)
I would say that most of the Greens candidates, including myself, never thought that they would find themselves getting into politics. What got them into politics was a really urgent issue like the environmental or climate crisis or the housing crisis or something like that. So people like us, and especially me, we really care. We’re not in this for raising our profiles or making money or using it as a pathway to become a fossil fuel industry lobbyist. We care!
Like, I never thought I would get into politics, but it’s these issues like the climate crisis that really sort of forced me to look at what we need to do and put my hand up for that. you know, there are really good people out there. Not all of them are good, but there are some good ones, especially the Greens candidates around the country. And so we just need to get more of the good people into parliament. And I think also encouraging young people to not just vote on election day, but get involved in the process of volunteering with their political candidate, their Greens candidate, but also pushing for change at a community level, like what you guys are doing at Parents for Climate, and helping make that change. Because the other thing is the politicians who do go in there for the wrong reason, they still have to listen because if their votes are under threat, because people are speaking up about something, they will have to listen, otherwise they risk not getting voted in again. So there is hope for young people and choose the right candidates.
Colin:
Just as an aside, Mitch, I am old, stale and male, but I have a granddaughter who is in her second year studying marine biology at Queenscliff, at Deakin University’s place there. And yes, I do bore her silly with environmental arguments, and she will be voting, I’m quite sure, for you.
Mitch: (at 54:59)
Well, that’s really nice to hear.
Tony:
Mitch, are there any candidate forums that you know that are coming up that people can go to?
Mitch:
Yeah, so there is, we do have a candidates forum coming up on the 10th of April that’s been organised by the Real Deal, Geelong and a bunch of other awesome groups. It’s a cost of living forum and it’s at Club Italia, I believe it starts at 6.30. It’s around that time.
Tony:
Yeah, we’ll put it in the notes, the show notes.
Mitch:
Yep, sounds good.
. . .
Jingle
Mik:
Thank you very much to the Parents for Climate, to the EV enthusiast and to Mitch Pope who represents the Greens in Corangamite. We’ve come to the end of a Sustainable Hour once again and we tend to ask our guests when we get to this point, ‘What would you be?’ Because we used to say ‘Be the difference’ and we have found that there’s many other things that it’s good to be. So let’s have a little brainstorm on how do you think we should end the hours instead of saying be the difference? How can we upgrade? What should we be saying? I’ll ask you first, Lauren.
Lauren:
I like ‘Be the change.’ It’s my favourite.
Mik:
Jacqui?
Jacqui:
Be surprised by what you can do.
Mik:
Mitch?
Mitch:
I’m going to copy Lauren and say, be the change that you want to see in the world.
Colin:
I’ll go along with that. Be the change.
. . .
SONG:
“Starting from today”
Verse 1
Looking at your face right now
As you scroll through the headlines
I see the worry in your eyes
About the world we leave behind
And I know you’re wondering
If anyone will make it right
But baby, let me tell you something
That keeps me up at night
There’s still time to change the way
Things are going day by day
And when you feel like giving up
Remember what I say
I can be that difference
I can be that change
I can be that difference
Starting from today
Dad, I’ve seen the videos
Of how things used to be
Clear skies and clean waters
It’s hard to believe
But I’m not just sitting here
Waiting for a miracle
Got my friends beside me now
We’re making it possible
Every small step counts, they say
Little changes pave the way
When it seems too much to bear
Listen close, I swear
I can be that difference
I can be that change
I can be that difference
Starting from today
We rise together
Hand in hand we’ll find a way
We rise together
Every choice we make today
Shapes tomorrow’s way
I can be that difference
I can be that change
I can be that difference
Starting from today
We rise together
Starting from today
. . .
Colin:
Hey Mitch, what are you doing Sunday afternoon?
Mitch:
I might come along to the EV Expo.
Colin:
So, bring a couple of posters and some flyers.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Events we have talked about in The Sustainable Hour
Events in Victoria
The following is a collation of Victorian climate change events, activities, seminars, exhibitions, meetings and protests. Most are free, many ask for RSVP (which lets the organising group know how many to expect), some ask for donations to cover expenses, and a few require registration and fees. This calendar is provided as a free service by volunteers of the Victorian Climate Action Network. Information is as accurate as possible, but changes may occur.
Petitions
→ List of running petitions where we encourage you to add your name
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Live-streaming on Wednesdays
The Sustainable Hour is streamed live on the Internet and broadcasted on FM airwaves in the Geelong region every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time).
→ To listen to the program on your computer or phone, click here – or go to www.947thepulse.com where you then click on ‘Listen Live’ on the right.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Podcast archive
Over 570 hours of sustainable podcasts.
Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows as well as special Regenerative Hours and Climate Revolution episodes in full length.
→ Archive on climatesafety.info – with additional links
→ Archive on podcasts.apple.com – phone friendly archive
Receive our podcast newsletter in your mailbox
We send a newsletter out approximately six times a year. Email address and surname is mandatory – all other fields are optional. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Find and follow The Sustainable Hour in social media
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheSustainableHour → All podcast front covers
Instagram: www.instagram.com/TheSustainableHour
Blue Sky: www.bsky.app/profile/thesustainablehour.bsky.social
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SustainableHour
(NB: we stopped using X/Twitter after it was hijacked-acquired by climate deniers)
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/thesustainablehour
Great if you’ll share the news about this podcast in social media.
→ Podcasts and posts on this website about the climate emergency and the climate revolution
→ The latest on BBC News about climate change
Sharing solutions that make the climate safer and our cities more liveable