We asked nicely for a price to be put on carbon pollution.
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The group outside the Press Club, waiting for Gillard.
From the Canberra Times. We were also on the 7:30 report, Hack, ABC News, Lateline, and local Canberra radio.
The delivery of our Postcards from the Future caught the attention of the Canberra Times on Thursday!
Postcards From the Future piece in the Canberra Times, Thursday May 13
The article reads:
Climate change activists have sent Legislative Assembly members a message from the future: they reckon it’s going to be hot.
The Canberra Climate Whistleblowers group delivered almost 1000 “postcards from the future” to key MLAs in an effort to bring about the most ambitious targets policy possible in the ACT Government’s forthcoming carbon pollution reduction targets.
The Whistleblowers say they and other Canberra environmental groups want to see a reduction target of 40 per cent from 1990 levels in the territory’s carbon emissions by 2020.
The postcards have been signed by students from the Australian National University and members of the community.
The initiative is an early taste of a lobbying campaign that will gather intensity as the target announcement approaches.
The postcards, addressed to Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, Deputy Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and others, depict what the Whistleblowers describe as a choice between a sustainable future for Canberra and one devastated by climate change.
Climate Whistleblowers’ spokesman Tom Stayner said the message was important.
“We hope that these postcards demonstrate to MLAs that there is strong community support for real and substantial action on climate change”, he said. “The international community and our federal politicians may be bogged in political bluster and backing away from promises to deal with climate change, but that doesn’t mean our territory government can’t be a national leader.”
Fellow activist Lyndsay Dean said the group believed the postcards action would have more impact on its targets than a traditional petition.
“…it’s kind of hard of hard to ignore hundreds of postcards arriving at your office,” she said.
UPDATE: This morning we delivered hundreds of our postcards to the Legislative Assembly in Civic! All the cards were personally signed by university and school students and members of the community, with messages to MLAs pushing for an emissions reduction target of 40%.
Whistleblowers and Future Postie outside the Legislative Assembly
Posting the cards
Reading the hundreds of messages on the postcards, it is clear that while our Federal politicians and some in the media may have turned their backs on climate action, there’s still overwhelming interest and support for the issue – especially among young people.
The handover
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Here’s to local action and the ACT leading the way!
…This week we are running our ‘Postcards from the Future’ campaign. Our aim is to get the ACT Legislative Assembly to commit to a 40% reduction in emissions by 2020. Here are some photos of the campaign so far…
Postman from the Future
Supporters getting involved.
And here are the postcards!
A few of the Whistleblowers family roadtripped up to Newcastle to help blockade the port on the 28th of March 2010. Organised by Rising Tide.
As reported on ABC News Online:
For our second action, a choir of Climate Whistleblower elves, and climate conscious Santa Claus dropped coal off at Parliament House for Kevin Rudd.
In our first action, we interrupted Question Time in the federal parliament with whistles in an effort to ‘blow the whistle’ on government inaction on emissions reductions.
We were featured on radio programmes such as Hack:
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/notes/s2752477.htm
and most major TV news programmes that night, including the 7.30 report:
And in the next day’s print media:
All in all, a successful first protest for more climate action as the Climate Whistleblowers!
