“It’s too hard. We can’t deal with climate change because the problem is too big. Australia is too little. Nothing we can do will make a difference.”
Why do we keep hearing this when, in other matters, we are a country that punches above its weight? Look at the fantastic performance of our sports stars. And when freedom was threatened in two world wars, Australia was not too small and insignificant to stand up and fight.
Closer to home, when Brisbane faced a water crisis, we responded with world-beating water savings.
The big parties short-change us as Australians. We can punch above our weight. We can rise to challenges. We can get the attention of the rest of the world.
So why is dealing with climate change so hard?
All it takes is a re-gearing of our infrastructure spending from roads to public transport, a switch from subsidies on fossil fuels to supporting research on energy efficiency and really clean energy – along with price signals to make clean alternatives more viable.
It’s not rocket science. It’s a matter of political will.
The big parties think Australians should have an inferiority complex. They should speak for themselves. Some of us see Australia as a great country that can make a difference, no matter how small we are. Our veterans of two world wars saw our country that way. It’s a pity the big parties are dominated by political cowardice and fear of offending their financial backers. That’s the kind of thinking that puts saving mining jobs ahead of saving the Great Barrier Reef, that puts propping up inefficient industries ahead of investing in the future – like the Greens plan to build two solar thermal power plants in Queensland.
It’s time we swept aside the loser mentality that dominates mainstream politics. That is what this campaign is about. Let’s show them that we aren’t all cowards, that we are capable of thinking beyond the next six months, that we care about our community, our environment, our children’s future.
