May 2023 was a busy month for outreach by representatives of Climate Action Burwood-Canada Bay.
Meeting with Sally Sitou
Six members of the CABCB committee met with Reid MP Sally Sitou, in what was billed as a climate and renewable energy stocktake of Labor’s first twelve months in office.
It was a very productive meeting, and we came out feeling positive about Sally’s commitment to the environment and effective climate action.
We thank Sally for her time and enthusiasm.
Presentation to students from Santa Sabina College and St Patricks College
Robin and Ken visited St Patrick’s College in Strathfield, where they addressed a combined group of students from St Pat’s College and Santa Sabina College. The students were all members of the Social Justice Action Group from the two schools. Robin and Ken spoke about their respective journeys to climate activism.
Robin spoke about her involvement in the fight for women’s rights and the struggle to end apartheid in the 1970s, while Ken spoke about his human rights and development work in various parts of the world. Both explained how they now see climate change as the biggest threat facing the world.
One of the key points Ken made was that it is people in the poorest nations that face the most serious consequences from a changing climate. Ironically, those very same people are the ones least responsible for causing the problem. We in the developed world are the ones who have put most of the CO2 into the atmosphere, and it is incumbent on us to get to net zero first. [As an aside, it is true that China is the biggest single emitter now, responsible for 27 percent of annual global emissions. However, its emissions per capita are only half those of Australia and the United States. Similarly, while India is responsible for 7 percent of annual emissions, its per capita emissions are only one tenth of our own. Hence, we are in no position to criticise those nations until we get our own house in order! Thankfully, we are now starting to do that.
Presentation to the 201N5 District Lions Clubs forum
Ken gave a presentation to the Family and Women’s Forum organised by the Lions Clubs Sydney District 201N5. The talk, entitled “Climate Change – Make our life more environmentally friendly”, covered the nature of the climate crisis and how organisations and individuals can help solve the problem.
Although Ken has now addressed Rotary clubs, Probus Clubs and U3A groups, this was his first opportunity to present to a group of Lions Club members. It was an excellent forum, with about 50 people in attendance. There were presentations on domestic violence, self-care for wellbeing and, of course, climate change. Ken’s talk was very well received, with lots of questions after the formal presentation. He is hoping this will be the first of many presentations to Lions clubs.
IWCE community battery information session
Inner West Community Energy ran a very successful Community Battery Information Session at Leichhardt Town Hall. CABCB had a table there, along with other climate and energy groups in the local area.
Speakers at the session included Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne, Dr Margaret Vickers from Inner West Community Batteries and Ausgrid’s community battery expert, Michael Towke.
Thanks to Robin, Billie and Margaret for their help on the table.
Presentation to students at Homebush Boys High School
Robin met with students in the Environment Club at Homebush Boys High School, which is hosting CABCB’s Speaking 4 the Planet competition. The club has over 40 members, and they are a very active and enthusiastic group. The students outlined the Club’s activities to Robin, while she spoke about their role in the S4P (Speaking For The Planet) presentation on June 5th.
Presentation to students at Strathfield Girls High School
Robin and Ken visited Strathfield Girls High School, to give a presentation to the school assembly. Strathfield Girls is one of the nine schools participating in the Speaking for the Planet (S4P) project.
Robin outlined the project to the students, while Ken spoke about what students can do to fight climate change. It’s clear from the reception they received that climate change is a topic of considerable interest at the school.
Move Beyond Coal action at the Swans-Dockers AFL match
Members of Move Beyond Coal and CABCB staged an action at the Sydney Swans AFL match against the Fremantle Dockers at the SCG. They held up posters alerting footy fans to the fact that the AFL’s principal sponsor, NAB, is also the biggest lender to the fossil fuel industry in Australia.
Thousands of people passed by on their way to the stadium, and there were we had plenty of ‘thumbs ups’ from those sympathetic to the cause. This will likely be the first of many such actions at the SCG.
