2021-11-19
We’re rapidly approaching the pointy end of 2021, if you can believe it! But before we get to whatever 2022 has to offer – including a federal election, finally – Adam BAndt takes a look back at the big events of the past month.
By Adam Bandt
G’day Greens!
First up, I’d like to send my best wishes to all of our trans comrades in the Greens in the wake of Trans Awareness Week and Trans Day of Remembrance last week.
We all deserve to live our lives assured of our safety, confidence and dignity, and it is the role of government to ensure we have the essential services in place to enable this.
The Greens are firmly committed to ending the exclusions, costs and discrimination that trans people face at school, in workplaces, in hospitals, and in front of the law.
True freedom means equal access to essential services that affirm, protect and care for all of us, regardless of our income or circumstance.
COP26 in Glasgow: a death knell for coal and gas
Now it’s all said and done, while the Glasgow climate summit didn’t reach the agreement needed to tackle the climate crisis, there are things to celebrate as well as glaring clarity about the mess this government has made of climate policy.
To celebrate: after 26 years of COP conferences, this is the first time coal has been explicitly named as the problem in the final Glasgow Climate Pact, to which Australia and other nations are signatory. This might seem hard to believe, but it’s true, and it’s terrifying that up until this point, the fossil fuel industry has essentially been able to censor the science.
It’s clear that we need to quit coal and gas, but it’s equally clear from the LNP and Labor’s plans for 116 new coal and gas plants that we’ll never get serious climate action from the major parties.
The Glasgow Agreement also called on countries to lift their targets to stop global heating exceeding 1.5 degrees, reinforcing the urgency of acting.
In balance of power the Greens will push the next government to do what the science demands and reduce emissions by 75% on 2005 levels. Anything less is giving up on Glasgow. In addition to this, we’ll push the government to pay climate reparations to those nations and people already experiencing extreme weather events, including our Torres Strait Islander and Pacific neighbours.
We all want a bright future free from global insecurity, food and water shortages and mass environmental extinction. To get there, we urgently need to quit coal and gas.
A home is a human right
Imagine how many problems would be solved if people knew that their house situation was secure, regardless of their income situation?
We all work so hard to keep a roof over our heads. Many of us work long hours and burn out at work, and sometimes we stay at jobs that aren’t safe or good for us.
Some of us are forced to stay in dysfunctional or abusive homes and relationships, because we can’t afford to move.
Many of us make small compromises every day, like delaying or giving up doctor’s appointments, healthy food, hobbies and dream projects, so we can make enough money to pay the rent or the mortgage.
It’s pretty clear that these small compromises add up to big social costs.
Housing security is one of the most important things we can work towards in progressive politics, and the current state of housing represents decades of government policy failure. It’s just not good enough.
The Greens have a fully costed plan to build one million homes over the next 20 years, including $300k homes for buyers in cities, fixed rate rentals prioritising people priced out of their neighbourhood, and a big build of public housing that will end homelessness in Australia once and for all.