"Imagine if we had a democratic system that actually worked to save our big, blue and beautiful planet instead of exploiting resources for short term profits, many of which do not even benefit either our country or our economic prosperity."

By Jill Carter

Throughout this hot and seemingly never ending summer of 23-24, we’ve had many conversations with family, friends and neighbours on our observations of what’s occurring in our region. With all of our electorate either recording very much below average or, most horrifyingly, lowest on record rainfall stats, the impact on our environment has been glaringly obvious. The conga lines of water cartage trucks leaving regional fixed standpipes have been relentless from morning til night; groundwater pumping in turn lowering the water table while reduced rainfall figures have negatively impacted streamflow by up to 80%. Trees, shrubs and coastal heath are dying or in distress which in turn impacts native fauna reliant on bushland for both habitat and sustenance.

We live close to the Wadandi Track and along with our neighbours, we’ve been heartbroken to see widespread browning of vegetation – it’s akin to a coral bleaching event on dry land. Many of us have consciously put out water for feathered and other friends; most of us have shared the bounty of our gardens with hungry ringtail possums. All of us are witnesses to the realities of climate change and we’re now at a point where it cannot be brushed off or denied. The lack of commitment to climate change and watered down environmental protections are key issues that come up again and again in Kitchen Table Conversations across the region.

One of the current government’s 2022 election commitments was to implement a climate policy with targets of a medium-term 43% reduction of emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. The indicator in 2022 was 1.1%; global warming is now at 1.18°C and rising. It’s therefore unbelievable that this month,  the Resources Minister announced the “Future Gas Strategy” which clearly outlines the Government’s commitment to expand and support the gas industry to 2050 and beyond. Hand in hand with that decision was the announcement that the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax would be amended, supposedly raising an additional $2.4 billion over the net five years. Given that even the Treasury’s Budget Paper 1 states "To date, not a single LNG project has paid any PRRT and many are not expected to pay significant amounts of PRRT until the 2030s" means that this revenue stream will effectively remain “a minimum tax”. Personally, we can’t see how either of these policy changes do anything to effectively contribute to dealing with the planet’s climate crisis.

Imagine if we had a democratic system that actually worked to save our big, blue and beautiful planet instead of exploiting resources for short term profits, many of which do not even benefit either our country or our economic prosperity. The words of two of our favourite WA musicians resonate in our heads …  “It’s a fine line and it’s moving all the time; oh I try to keep up, I try to keep up. I think our world has stopped making any sense and there ain’t no room to sit on the fence no more” (The Fence - Kav Temperley Feat. John Butler)

Hey Forrest – WDYT?