This election, we’ve taken lessons from some of the most exciting, innovative and effective campaigns from the past couple years. Here’s an update on what’s been happening in our five key strategies.
1. Have powerful conversations
We’re delivering Environment Victoria’s biggest-ever field campaign, mobilising hundreds of volunteers to make 100,000 phone calls to community members about environmental issues. In July we launched the new #Repower Victoria Hub in Frankston, providing a visible shopfront, advertising space and a volunteer run campaign HQ.
To date we’ve held ‘Repower Your Home’ forums about clean energy, a ‘water in the Hub’ event about river management, lots of stalls and movie nights. We’ve also handed out thousands of flyers and held dozens of ‘calling parties’ to contact voters. The central Network Support Team of incredible young volunteers is facilitating local calling parties and delivering our peer-to-peer SMS campaign. You can sign up to get involved at www.repowervic.org.au/get-involved
A big crowd joined us for the launch of Frankston Hub in July.
2. Help young people enrol to vote
We know people aged 18–24 care deeply about climate change, but about 13 percent of them aren’t enrolled to vote. In the last few months we’ve created a new brand called Young Votes and have enrolled more than 300 people in key areas through a website, social media campaigns, talks at high schools and peer-to-peer SMS, where young volunteers text message other young people, encouraging them to enrol. The electoral roll closes on 6 November, so we’ll be gearing up to reach our target of enrolling 1000 young people across the state. And if we beat it, that’s a bonus!
Mentone Girls’ Secondary College is one of 11 high schools we’ve visited as part of the new Young Votes campaign.
3. Boost the profile of environment issues
To cut through in the 24-hour news cycle, you need a consistent message. In the last few months, we’ve had more media coverage than ever before. Through print media, radio interviews, opinion pieces and online stories, we’ve been amplifying the importance of the issues where we want big commitments this election: continuing Victoria’s renewable energy boom, putting carbon pollution limits on coal power stations, setting energy efficiency standards for rental properties, fixing our recycling system and establishing stronger laws for environmental protection.
How the Herald Sun covered the Solar Homes announcement. Our election policy agenda called for the Victorian government to repower 250,000 homes with solar and energy efficiency, but the Andrews government is aiming for 650,000 homes.
4. Raise the ambition of all political parties
We’ve been meeting with politicians from across the political spectrum to make sure they know about our policy agenda and to ensure that every party goes into this election with ambitious climate change and environment policies. Both Labor and the Greens have announced strong renewable energy policies, which have started to harness the tremendous public support for clean energy demonstrated in polling. Over the coming months we’ll develop a policy survey that will give all the parties a chance to show how their policies meet the challenges facing Victoria. We’ll also be developing scorecards to help voters make informed choices when they go to the ballot box. Find out where the parties stand on clean energy, climate change and our environment >>
Volunteers from Repower North-East delivered postcard petitions to Shadow Minister for Renewables David Southwick
5. Pressure the blockers of good climate and environment policy
Volunteers in Bulleen have been hitting the streets, handing out flyers to remind everyone that Matthew Guy’s Liberal Party is planning to strangle clean energy in Victoria. Our Repower groups in Melbourne’s northeast are keeping the pressure on Guy and Ringwood MP Dee Ryall, calling out their anti-renewables and anti-climate action positions. It’s not good enough that in 2018 we still have a major political party opposed to solving the climate crisis. We also had a billboard up in Caulfield, home of shadow energy minister David Southwick, asking why the Coalition still doesn’t realise that renewable energy is the future. Their negative language on renewables is starting to soften, but they have a long way to go.
Meanwhile, although we’re starting to see some great climate and energy election announcements, we’re still waiting for both major parties to protect the state’s forests from logging destruction. So far the Andrews government has failed to respond to the Forest Industry Taskforce recommendations. Read more in this blog post, and tell Premier Andrews you support Great Forest National Park >>
Volunteers in Bulleen took part in the global Rise for Climate action on 8 September, generating this local media story
This article comes from the latest issue of Environment Victoria News, Spring 2018.