Page 140 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 9 February 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Pre Power, which is in the renewable energy space; the Food Co-op, which is a member-owned supermarket; the housing co-op; and the artist co-op, Trove, are all dealing with major problems. We cannot solve the problems we have by using the same thinking that created those problems, so it is a really good idea to support these new ways of thinking.
I also want to pause and have a chat about the circular economy and our just transition during climate change. Our economy, at the moment, is based on confidence and spending, and spending is up. That is great for the bottom line, but it actually does not help our environment if it represents junk spending. It does not help if it is creating products we do not need and generating waste and emissions that our natural systems cannot cope with. It does not help if it is going to big national and international corporations and sending profits out of our community.
Our economy is based on assumptions that we know are false. We have declared a climate emergency. We know that our resources are running out. We cannot endlessly consume as if the act of consumption were somehow worthy. All consumption is not equal. Some of it provides what we need in a truly sustainable way. Some of it meets no real needs and destroys the planet.
We talk about climate change and a circular economy, but we need to actually build a circular economy. We need jobs in renewables, recycling, health, education and higher education and the arts—those fields that meet our needs and create a lot of green jobs but do not strip the planet of resources or add more pollution.
I am really proud of the fact that our climate policy is built on making a just transition to a safer climate. Those who suffer first, and suffer the most, will be those who are most vulnerable in our society. We need to make sure we are looking after everyone, not just those who live in comfortable houses. We are doing a really good job on that in some areas—our 100 per cent renewable electricity is a fantastic achievement—but we are missing opportunities in others.
As well as looking after Canberrans today, we have a duty to look after future generations and the environment. We must put a climate filter on everything we build and everything we do. We need to ask: will this make climate change better or worse? Will it help us adapt to what is already locked in? Will it help everyone in our society reduce emissions and adapt to increasing temperatures and climate disaster or will it leave some people behind? Does it use up resources and create pollution, or is it part of a circular economy?
I really hope we start running our budget as if lives depend on it, because they do. We need to filter all of our decisions to make sure we do not miss opportunities. We need to consider our impacts on the climate, inequality, gender and the environment alongside economic settings. Our wellbeing framework is good, but it needs work to make sure it is critical to our budget decision-making and we need to ensure that we are genuinely implementing it.
For each item in our upcoming budget and for all of the decisions that shape our fiscal settings, I would like to pose some basic questions. How will this money help those
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video