Climate activists, the election is on – which means it is time to get hyperactive on climate. Climate action must include political action, and in particular at election time. Here’s some suggestions and ideas.
As elections approach, something strange happens. I’ve seen it over and over again. People in the climate movement – passionate, dedicated people – start falling quiet. They want to be careful not to “get political,” cautious not to offend anyone. And they’ll blacklist and shame anyone who dares to share a post from a particular candidate on their social media platforms. They worry about alienating partners or upsetting their donors. Some of them have charity status, which requires them to be ‘apolitical’ in order to uphold their status and funding.
Consequently, at one election after the other, we end up witnessing these toothless candidate forums where the candidates politely outline their views on “climate policy,” but no one dares say the obvious: it doesn’t matter what a candidate says about solar or wind as long as their party is committed to fossil fuels.
The candidates’ vote in the Parliament in Canberra, once elected, won’t be their own. It will follow the party line. And in this country, that line has been clear – or rather: black as coal – for decades.
Instead of highlighting this flaw to their members, you’ll be seeing photos pop up on social media, where the climate campaigners stand smiling beside Labor MPs – members of the same Labor Party that continues to approve new coal and gas projects. Suddenly the climate activists are ignoring the science, the warnings, the fires, floods, and devastation caused by Labor’s continued support to the fossil fuel industry and the party’s unwillingness to regulate our country’s carbon emissions.
The truth is that Australia’s fossil fuel exports have doubled twice in the last 30 years. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because both major parties made sure it did. And because the movement of climate activists failed to stop them.
Climate active organisations seem to think they can change politics by being “inclusive” and by keeping the conversations “soft” when approaching those in power. In Parliament today, there are two kinds of politicians: those who vote to continue fossil fuel extraction and those who oppose it. Notably, Labor aligns with the former. So why are climate activists holding friendly meetings and taking smiling photoshoots together with them?
Sure, Labor has made progress on clean energy. Rooftop solar. Wind. Big batteries. Here and there. It’s real, and it is worth celebrating. But it doesn’t erase the damage of Labor’s continued support for fossil fuel exports. It doesn’t change the fact that they’re still waving through new gas fields and coal mines, while telling us, the general public, that they’re doing their part. They’re not. And they know it.
The International Energy Agency and the IPCC – the world’s leading climate scientists – have stated this in the clearest terms: No new fossil fuel projects if we want to maintain a liveable planet. None! Yet our Labor government just shrugs and says, “Australia just exports it. What they burn over there is none of our business. Not our problem.”
Worse still, they cling to gas as the backup for renewables, ignoring the ANU’s research showing we could be building low-cost pumped hydro right now – a cleaner and much smarter alternative. Last year, 92.5 per cent of new electricity generation worldwide in the past year came from clean energy sources, evidence to the fact that renewables are cheaper, healthier and more reliable than fossil fuels, and the only thing that makes sense. This exposes the misleading rhetoric around gas and how wrong it is for the Labor government to continue to hand over billions of taxpayer-dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry every year.
This is policy failure. This is Labor’s complicity in a global catastrophe.
We see the consequences. Every week, our tv screens are filled with images of climate disasters – floods, fires, famine. If you’re paying attention, it’s not background noise any longer. It is an emergency siren.
What would that mean if you are a climate activist? It means this isn’t the time for neutrality. For silence. For soft diplomacy with climate criminals.
Climate action must include political action at election time. As a climate activist, you are kidding yourself if you think you can remain ‘apolitical’ when there is an election on. Claiming to be apolitical in a climate crisis is itself a political choice.
When we at the Centre for Climate Safety made this point publicly – that climate action must include political action at election time – we were called “controversial.” Some said we were being “careless.” But what’s really careless is pretending that politics doesn’t matter. That who we vote for – and what we demand of them – isn’t central to everything we’re fighting for.
We don’t have time to keep tiptoeing around party lines, or playing nice in the hope of future favours. We need honesty. Courage. And if needed, a willingness to be uncomfortable.
The truth is not a threat. It’s a tool. And as climate activists, it’s time we made better use of it, holding politicians accountable for their inadequate policies.
If you care about climate action, speak up. Ask the hard questions. Challenge candidates who are trying to hide their role in subsidising the climate havoc. Support candidates who want to make a difference on climate. Share what matters. Tackle the trolls. Because silence at election time isn’t neutral, it is consent. And the planet can’t afford any more of that.
To solve the climate crisis, we need to change the system – and if we want to change the system, we have to stop pretending we’re not part of it – especially come election time.
The future will be shaped by those who dare to tell the truth – and act on it. That starts with holding our leaders accountable, naming the party lines that block progress, and demanding more.
This is our chance to be honest, courageous, and loud – while there’s still time to change course.
“A lie doesn’t become truth, and wrong doesn’t become right just because it’s accepted by the majority.”
Putting more Australian’s in harm’s way
Here’s what Climate Council has to say about the major parties and independents:
- The Albanese Labor Government has made significant progress on cutting climate pollution and ramping up renewables, but failed to curb fossil fuel expansion.
- The Liberal-National Coalition’s policies would actively unleash 6.3 billions of tonnes of climate pollution. This would turbocharge climate-fuelled extreme weather, putting more Australians in harm’s way.
- Crossbenchers, including the Australian Greens and key independents, pushed the Government to deliver stronger climate reforms, and their influence is expected to grow in the likely event of a hung parliament.
→ Crikey – 1 April 2025:
Neither major party wants to talk about climate. It might still be a major election issue
“In the lead-up to the election, digital advertising has been dominated by climate and energy groups, suggesting a concerted push to force the issue into the spotlight.”
‘Climate’ has fallen out of Labor’s annual budget
| Future Super wrote in their newsletter: A quick CTRL+F for “climate” in this year’s 64-page federal budget overview reveals… nothing. Just last year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers used the budget speech to talk a big game on Australia’s path to net zero. You’ll have to dig deep into the supplementary papers to find any mention of net zero this year. Climate change has fallen out of the headlines with cost-of-living relief very much the focus of this federal budget. But scratching the surface of the budget, the renewable energy revolution is alive and well. While tax cuts will be dominating the headlines, this budget did deliver some serious investments in renewable energy. Specifically, the budget included an $8 billion additional investment in renewable energy and low emissions technologies through a $2 billion expansion of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. From September this year, the government will be implementing a “Front Door” for investors in major transformational proposals with a specific focus on renewable energy projects. This Front Door is aimed at unlocking private capital to fund the energy transition, and the superannuation sector could be part of that. In 2021, Future Super funded research from the University of Technology Sydney finding that just 7.2% of the money projected to be in superannuation by 2030 would need to be invested in clean energy to 100% fund the decarbonisation of Australia’s power generation. ~ Future Super |
So what about the Liberal-National Coalition?
The Liberal-National Coalition have voted against every single law to cut climate pollution in the past three years.
The Coalition has indicated it would “consider relaxing” the Safeguard Mechanism, designed to keep a cap on Australia’s biggest polluters, and withdraw a bid to host COP31.
Dutton’s ‘National Gas Plan’ promises more gas wells and to fast-track a decision on a 50-year extension to Woodside’s North West shelf export project. This project will be Australia’s biggest fossil fuel project with horrific implications for climate, land, and cultural heritage – and for your gas prices.
The gas lobby has an enormous amount of power in Australia’s democracy because it has been able to maintain one big lie: that the gas industry provides enormous benefits to Australia’s economy. “It’s complete rubbish,” says Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute.
80 per cent of Australia’s gas is exported overseas, tripling your gas prices. Over half of Australia’s exported gas, worth $149 billion, was given away, with zero royalties paid. In the Western Australia and Northern Territory economy, where Big Gas has a stronghold, WA and NT drivers pay more in rego than the gas industry pays in royalties to those states. The gas industry is making billions in profits while driving up the cost-of-living for all Australians.
Here’s what we recently have written about the Liberal’s and the Coalition’s climate policies:
→ The Conversation – 27 March 2025:
Dutton unveils plan to force more gas into Australian market and expand production in major pre-election pitch
“Dutton pledged a national gas plan that he claimed would “prioritise domestic gas supply, address shortfalls and reduce energy prices for Australians”. Under the proposed reservation policy, gas companies would be required to divert more gas to the Australian market, rather than sell it overseas. Dutton also pledged measures to speed up development approvals for proposed gas projects.”
CLIMATE ACTION = POLITICAL ACTION
Posters and snap actions
| Extinction Rebellion Victoria wrote in their newsletter: Just four weeks till the election – only two weeks till pre-polling starts! Here are four ways you can make a difference: 1. host house signs, 2. come on a postering blitz, 3. join snap actions, 4. do artwork for banners and placards etc. Want to meet other rebels also working on making a difference? Come to the Hive this Sunday 6 April, from 11am to 1pm for artwork, from 1pm to 2pm for a potluck lunch (bring food to share), and/or from 2pm to 4pm for election actions planning. Find out more and let us know you’re coming here. 1. Host a house sign – or two or three or four!  Hosting a house sign is a great way to help make climate an issue in the election. It is a powerful and persuasive statement to your neighbours – and it could help you connect with other activists in your area. A house sign is a message that is more effective than paid advertising because it comes from a trusted messenger – you!The three house signs on the left in the picture above go well in inner-city electorates. The one on the right may work better in more conservative areas. How can I get one? Simply scroll further down and hit the ‘Count me in’ link to fill in the request form and we will be in contact about how to get one or more house signs to you. In the inner city, we can probably come and put your sign(s) up for you. This will be more difficult if you are in the outer suburbs or a regional area, but we can discuss the options. 2. Join a postering blitz  Rebels have already put up hundreds of posters. Help us put up hundreds more! This is an excellent way to reach the public with messages about the climate emergency and our broken political system. Commentators are focusing on the cost of living crisis and ignoring the risk of climate breakdown. But the two are closely linked. The greed of a tiny number of billionaires ensures that the obscenely wealthy continue to get richer while the rest of us struggle. The vast wealth of the fossil fuel billionaires gives them an unhealthy level of influence over both the major parties and prevents the rapid phase-out of coal, gas and oil. Come postering in the early evening with: – XR Port Phillip in Balaclava on Saturday 5/4 – XR Westside in Footscray on Monday 7/4 – XR Northside in Coburg on Tuesday 8/4 Or go postering independently. We can deliver posters to you, or you can collect some from Northcote – or at the Hive this Sunday after 11am. Scroll further down this email and hit the ‘Count me in’ link to let us know which postering options you are interested in. IMPORTANT: You will need to scroll down past the house sign question on the form to get to the postering options. 3. Take part in snap actions  Have you seen the disruptive actions by Rising Tide? Would you like to be involved in actions like this? Or in quieter actions like a banner vigil outside events with federal politicians? Or in outreach to journalists outside media outlets, pushing them to cover the climate emergency during the election? Let us know what type of action you would like to take part in and we will connect you with a rapid-response team that does the type(s) of actions you prefer. IMPORTANT: You will need to scroll down past the house sign and postering questions to get to the snap action options. HERE’S THE LINK FOR HOUSE SIGNS, POSTERING AND ACTIONS: COUNT ME IN! 4. Join us at the Hive on Sunday Join us this Sunday, April 6, from 11am to 1pm for artwork. Help create placards and banners for upcoming actions. You are welcome to stay afterwards for a potluck lunch from 1pm to 2pm. Please bring some food to share. After that, there will be an election period planning meeting from 2pm to 4pm, both in person and on Zoom. All welcome. We hope you can join us! Let us know which sessions you are coming to on Sunday here. Got questions? Email xrvic@protonmail.com and we’d be happy to help you become part of the rebellion.   Love and rage XR Vic Newsletter team Extinction Rebellion Victoria |
Build a ballot
| Future Super wrote in their newsletter The Switch: Tegan Lerm’s journey into the climate movement began during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. Distraught and feeling an urgent need to do something to help, Tegan spent lockdown studying for a Masters’ Degree in Sustainability. She graduated feeling that everyone should be able to access what she’d learned so it wasn’t “stuck behind a $60,000 paywall”. In 2021, Tegan teamed up with Lizzie Hedding to found Project Planet, which gives people ways to do something about climate change according to their comfort level, passions and skills. It’s full of brilliant and simple ideas. Now, with an election coming up on 3 May 2025, Project Planet has launched the Build A Ballot campaign. Not 100% clued up on what’s going on in politics? Build a Ballot cuts through the noise with clear, easy-to-understand explainers and resources to help you compare where candidates and parties stand on the issues that matter to you. With this info, you can head to the polls confident in your choice. The web tool is due to launch around mid-April. Sign up for launch alerts to start exploring your options – and share it with your mates who might need a hand figuring it all out. “People care deeply about issues, whether that be climate change or other issues like access to housing or the cost of groceries,” says Tegan. “Build a Ballot is there to help people do their own research, cut through the noise of the current headlines, and really engage with Australia’s political system in a way that empowers them to vote in line with their values on election day.” |
Climate nonsense on social media
| Fossil Ad Ban wrote in their newsletter on 31 March 2025: Coal baron, Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots, spent more than a million dollars in 21 days on Google ads, including all sorts of climate nonsense. In one YouTube video, the party claims to “expose the truth about climate change”. How? By drawing on decades-old, superseded studies and completely bastardising ice core research, obviously – which Carbon Brief unpacks in detail here. The best part about the video is the comments below it – including; “Climate science from a man who owns a coal mining company, definitely looking out for everyone’s interests”. The Australian Citizens Party has posted an absurd six and a half minute video advertisement on why Australia should lift the moratorium on nuclear energy. Spoiler alert: it’s riddled with selective evidence and claims that are easily debunked with a 30-second Google search. So far, the ACP has spent at least $9,000 on the ad, and it’s been viewed an estimated 6-7 million times – six an a half precious minutes that viewers will never get back. |
#SheVotes: Mobilising women to prioritise clean energy
| 1 Million Women wrote in their newsletter: We’re heading to the election on May 3 and this time it’s all about cost of living and the climate. This is personal. It is affecting us all. That’s why we are mobilising women across the country to prioritise clean and affordable energy now. Our power comes from connecting with each other and bringing the real stories of women to the table. Are you with us? #SheVotes We need politicians who will prioritise:  Solutions for permanent reductions in our energy bills now Solar-powered, healthy homes Renewable energy for all communitiesWILL YOU JOIN US? We are prioritising affordable, clean energy now at this election. Join us and spread the word so others will prioritise it too! OUR #SHEVOTES ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE. Choose any or all: 1. I’ll share #SheVotes across my social media channels. Send me the ‘#SheVotes Social Media Assets’ of pics. 2. I’ll host a get together with some women in my community to talk about prioritising clean, affordable energy now at this election (do this over a cuppa, at home or anywhere). Send me the ‘How to Host my #SheVotes Gathering’ guide. 3. I’ll talk to the candidates in my electorate about their plans for clean affordable energy now. Send me the ‘#SheVotes Talking to my Candidates’ guide. SELECT YOUR ACTIONS HERE |
Nic Seton from Parents for Climate wrote:
With a federal election looming, the major parties are watching the polls and playing it safe—even as families struggle with the rising cost of living and a worsening climate crisis.
They’ll stay quiet unless we speak up. Loudly. Clearly. And together.
That’s where you come in.
Right now, candidates in your electorate are competing for your vote. You have the bargaining power—and it’s time to use it.
Tell your candidates you’ll only vote for those who commit to real, cost-cutting clean energy upgrades for homes, schools and early learning centres.
More than 220 candidates from across the political spectrum have already signed on. Those who haven’t still have time — but they need to hear from you.
This is the moment all our work has been building toward.
It starts with a simple, powerful step: your pledge.
Because our kids can’t vote — but we can.
Let’s show them that love means taking action.
Take the pledge now and tell your candidates to step up
With hope and determination,
Nic
 Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action wrote in their newsletter: I wanted to share with you a favourite photo of me that I took on the morning of Saturday 18 May 2019. I’d run my 3rd UltraTrail Australia 22km trail event the day before, and was chuffed with my middle-of-the-pack personal best time. I was volunteering that day for the 50km and 100km events, with the spectacular Blue Mountains scenery behind me. The sense of purpose, cameraderie and joy of being ‘crew’ for such an event is really amazing. Some of you will recognise that date as the day of the 2019 federal election when Scott Morrison pulled off a “miracle” win. Not coincidentally it was also the day I became a climate advocate. A day when I realised I could no longer sit back and watch climate action spiral in Australia – I had to actually DO something. Last Friday Prime Minister Albanese fired the starter’s gun on the 2025 federal election – and that means it’s Game On for climate advocates! Will you join the BSCA crew to get the message out to voters, MPs and candidates that there is no time to lose on climate action.  Election campaigning is a true team sport and we’re thrilled to have you on our side! To help fit you out with every advantage we’ve put together the BSCA Climate Election Toolkit to make sure you have the gear and the moves to make your mark this election. Play to your strengths and pick out the actions that you can tackle, knowing every single one of your efforts are appreciated by the team. Individually we can feel small, but together many actions build the momentum and can help us get the best result when the umpire’s whistle blows for full time on May 3. Take me to the Climate Election Toolkit What’s on offer in the Climate Election Toolkit Sign and Send the Australian Bushfire Survivors Declaration Social Media Day Of ActionTips for meeting with your MP Tips for asking your candidates questions at forums or street stalls How to get a climate yard signHow to boost engagement on social media A messaging guide for having impactful conversations with family and friends Dob in a climate misinformation ad As a nonpartisan charity our role is to make sure MPs, candidates and voters across the country understand that climate change is harming Australians NOW and there is no time to waste on policies that delay action, and every reason to vote like our lives depend on it – because they do. Have some questions? Need a chat first? Join one of our zoom lunchtime drop-in sessions to ask questions to meet some of the BSCA team and get some tips on how to play your best game this election season. We will be on zoom with our lunch and available for coaching tips, moral support and any questions you have about using the Climate Election Toolkit. Drop in anytime over the hour. We’d love to see you! Zoom drop-in sessions 12-1pm Wednesday 9th April – Register here 12-1pm Tuesday 15th April – Register here We say it every election, but this really is the most important election for climate action in our time. And when we act together we are powerful. Will you join our climate election crew? In solidarity, Serena Joyner CEO, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action |
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Two thirds of Australians want stronger climate action by their government
Globally, 80 per cent of people want stronger climate action by governments. There’s a real hunger for honest leadership that listens and acts – without spin or party games.
A survey of 73,000 people in 77 countries reveals support for stronger climate action in 20 of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters. In five big emitters, Australia included, women were more in favour of strengthening their country’s commitments by between 10 and 17 percentage points. In Australia, 10 percentage points more women than men want their government to act on climate.
69 per cent of the Australian population – seven out of ten Australians – are in favour of transitioning away from gas and coal quickly, according to the survey. An almost similar number of Australians think their country should provide more protection for people at risk from extreme weather events, and also want their country to protect and restore nature – and think that schools should teach more about climate change.
Other researchers have come up with very similar findings: According to the report ‘Climate of the Nation 2024’, 64 per cent of Australians think the Federal Government should take some form of action to transition away from fossil fuels by 2026.
→ University of Oxford – 20 June 2024:
80 per cent of people globally want stronger climate action by governments according to new survey
“A new survey of public opinion research reveals the overwhelming majority around the world support more ambitious efforts, and want to overcome geopolitical differences, to fight climate change. More than 73,000 people speaking 87 different languages across 77 countries were asked 15 questions on climate change for the survey, which was conducted for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) with the University of Oxford, UK and GeoPoll.”
→ The full UN-Oxford University report can be read here:
www.peoplesclimate.vote