Melbourne south east suburbs Open Letter

We're calling for faster and fairer climate action in Victoria!

UPDATE: In the lead up to the federal election, we're delivering our open letter to candidates to show them we want climate action! Join others from across the south-east to rally in a big week of action from May 1-7.

Join an event near you

Victorians from regions right across the state are getting together to show how widespread the support for climate action is in the lead up to the federal election.

In the south east suburbs of Melbourne, community members are reaching out to local businesses, community groups, schools, sporting clubs and other groups –   asking them to sign onto the open letter for faster and fairer Victorian climate action.

Fill in the form below to sign on and show your support.

I want to sign on to the open letter!

OPEN LETTER FOR FAIRER AND FASTER VICTORIAN CLIMATE ACTION

To our federal MPs and prospective candidates, 

The pandemic has taught us we can’t avoid big global threats. It has also taught us the value of expert advice and decisive leadership.  

Our children will inherit the consequences of the decisions we make today – decisions about how we recover from the pandemic, and how we tackle the global threat of climate change. 

Here in Melbourne’s south-east and surrounds we already face the reality of a changing climate. The destructive bushfires of the 2019/2020 summer were on our doorstep, droughts and storms have been hitting us harder, and sea level rise is projected to inundate our suburbs this century.

That’s why we need our leaders at all levels to step up and make deep and urgent cuts to the pollution that is overheating our planet.  

The transition to a more sustainable society needs to be fast and fair, avoiding the worst climate damage and working with communities to adapt and thrive.  

Victoria has set a great foundation. In just four years large-scale clean energy has created 3584 jobs and attracted $5 billion in investment. Now Victorian wind, solar and hydro is generating enough energy to power almost 3 million homes.  

But we must act with even greater speed and urgency. The shift from dirty fuels to clean energy is the biggest economic change since the industrial revolution, and by embracing this change we will reap the benefits. This means:  

  • Legislating a national evidence-based plan to slash climate pollution this decade. We should commit to reducing our 2030 emissions by 75% below 2005 levels, to match or surpass the ambitions of the Business Council of Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
  • Addressing the biggest single cause of the climate crisis – pollution from burning coal, oil and  gas. Coal power is responsible for 40% of Victoria’s emissions and replacing it with clean energy by 2030 is an urgent priority.  
  • Protecting our most important and precious ecosystems – like the Ramsar-listed wetlands stretching down the south-east to Westernport Bay, as well as Victoria’s biggest waterway and food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin.  
  • Supporting Victorian communities to adapt through climate impacts and economic transition.  

Communities in the south-east and surrounds will thrive if our federal politicians champion:

  1. Building community renewable energy projects – allowing communities to produce, use and retain profits from their own clean energy.
  2. Programmes to fit or retrofit homes with healthy and efficient all-electric appliances, as well as to boost access to electric vehicle infrastructure and purchase incentives.
  3. Protecting and regenerating our remaining natural places against exploitation and the impacts of climate change, particularly by taking leadership from First Nations peoples in land management and regeneration.

Every Victorian community has a stake in moving our state beyond polluting fuels and protecting our natural world.  We call on our federal political representatives and candidates to commit to the initiatives above, and to act urgently on climate change like our future depends on it.

Signed by,




















Additional signatories

Vicky Karitinos
Professor Alan Reid
Kenneth Seidenman
Rebecca Sturgeon
Dilip Banthia
Lachlan Mackenzie
Sue Barrell
Jibon Sen
Gopal Verma
David Power
David Arnott
Amreek Singh
Madhulika Banthia
Shraddha Banthia
Rajiv Sachdev
Sarah Russell (Independent Candidate for Flinders)
Teresa Hicks
Suzanne D’Ombrain-Allain
Mahabub Ahmed
Shajuty Islam
A.R.M.Fazlul Karim
Imtenan Sayeed
Mohammed Islam
Mohammed Tazuddin
Shamsuz Zaman
Rafayet Rahman
Mohammad Wohab
Tim D’Ombrain
AnneMaree Jones
Sultana Retail Group PTY LTD
Emma Tonkin
Matthew Miller
Mohan Jit Sodhi
Sury Soni
Georgina Gartland
Ruchira Dudhoria
Nupur Samar
Aditi Dudhoria
Anastasia Searle
Pip Coulthurst
Jon Christie
Charlie Wright-Smith
Mirjana Durovic
Diane Ewin
Ronald Read
Mary Holley
Caroline Langer
Kath Robinson
Chloe Lines
Mark Nuttney
Sarah Kortschak
Dav Howard
Kate Bechet
Lauren Mcloughlin
Tamara Albers
Stuart Massey
John Connan
Benjamin Spathis
Margaret Burke
Huibert Schroor
Darcy Condon
Lucy Sonnberger
Shan Fowles
Peter Valentine
Jan Fahie
Rosalie Counsell
Julia Burns
Catherine Taylor
John Ide
Wendy Copeland
India Hall
Robyn Eastgate
Martin Lenard
Graeme Ambrose
Michael Green
Lyn Bartle
Jim Swinden
Kitty Penfold
Jo Hanson
Paul Downton
Rachel Ledger
Evelyn Meindertsma
Mark Jones
Margaret Lee
Jim Goddard
Valerie Edge
Peter Wells
Anwar Al-Rawi
Michael Purvis
Jennifer Lenard
Elsie Elsmore
Jenny Seedsman
Chris Lesser
Ian Cowden
Joy Carberry
Susan Harris
Lorraine Metcalfe
Kerri Rainer
Anne Elvey
Laurie Comerford
Andrew Hope
Meike Suggars
Michael Carson
Janet Jovic
Patricia Church
Kim Robbins
Jan Fisher
Helen Matthews
Stuart Jacklin
Hugh Bourke
Marie Newton
Simone Leman
Chris Noke
Jacqui Salter
Shari Segreto
Megan Cole
Marnie Fitzsimons
Pamela Skelton
Tanja Harrasser
Nicholas Miller
Elizabeth Miller
Mark Miller
Jon Fly
Warwick Beard
Sarah Russell
David Evans
David Zyngier
Suzanne May
David Cross
Russell Taylor 
Ann Scholes
Stuart Dalgleish
Keithia Coppen 
Mark Wallace
Aloma Davis
Tanya Robinson
Rita Brait
Chris Naylor
Sue Norman
Margaret Edmunds
Tash Hughes
Kate Wilson
David Lindsey
John de Figueiredo
Lucy Robertson 
Brian McKittrick
Margaret Edwards
Mala Pethiyagoda 
Jeannine Wilson
Jemma Caddell
Kerrie Gregory 
Alpha Lau
Michael Green
Eileen Morton
Georgina Skene
Tony Prout
Aziz Chowdhury
Veqarun Jafrin
Dr Sharif As-Saber
Maheenul Islam
Shameem Rahman
David Massey
Stuart Allen
Marg Booth
Maureen Griffin
Lily Wakefield
Warwick Exton

Birte Moliere
Merv Giles
Tony Hercus
Manish Nathwani
Ekta Nathwani
David Barraclough
Shwetank Banthia
John Budd
Dianne Francois
Jade Olliver
Faizul Islam
James Page
Ryan Beurle
Shailendra Sircar
Pallavi Bapna
Anant Jain
A Jain
Sakshi Bhatia
Azmir Kabir
Navera Ahmed
Rezwan Zaman
Pervez Rahman
Nd Sarker
Namira Rahman
Faria Mazumder
Mamun Badruddoza
Md Hossain
Lorna Sanderson
Brett Allain
Catherine Varcoe
Tania Bell
Abbey Wells
Stephanie Diplock
Helen Lucas
Lauren Attard
Nickie Fidge
Augustus Gorman
Ferg Cattanach
Xavier Chirgwin
Sarah Heyes
Sam White
Voula Theophilopoulos
Robert Smiles
Barry Smith
John Budd
Amanda Hilditch
Emma Chivell-O’Lynn
Ian McPherson
Rae Bond
Janet Turnbull
Phillip Devery
Penelope Adams
Kristen Lynch
Dave Archer
Anne Marinelli
Georgina Simmons
Dan Stroede
Jane Smith
Rhoda Cameron
Heather Patterson
Don Kumaraperu
Carole Emslie
Gillian Rose
Fiona Saunders
Tony Pearson
Christine Power
John Neve
Anda Petrapsch
Georgette Courtenay
Caroline Leslie
Malcolm Stewart
Sue Travers
Eileen Wilson
Martin Blackledge
Erin Farquharson
Beverly Linnell
Lisa Bryant
Jenni Alexander
Peter Lowe
Les Cottrell
Heather Harris
M. Elizabeth Bjerkhamn
Beverley Thomas
Michelle De la Coeur
Claudette Saifert
Judy Hillman
Jill Rebien
Matt O’Neill
Joanna Bock
Cherie Cromwell
Pete Sabin
Gurleen Kaur
Noel McKinnon
Jesper Hansen
Judy Haynes
Robin Clarey
Meg Streiff
Julie Kolges
Meryl Downes
Susanna De Marchi
William Maas
Gary Simpson
Attica Broderick
Tracy Harris
Marina Walles
Christine Davern
Shae Wilson
Jennifer Henry
Nina Earl
Jane Nuthall
Roslyn Browning
Jodi Vermaas
Melinda Gustus
Ann Scholes
Janet Wheeler
Leon Costermans
Marcus Maginness
Sally Fedyszyn
Charlie Amerena
Bernadette Gallagher
Judith Hillman
Carol Shelton
David Perkin
Bruce Cutts
Jennifer Henry
Despi O’Connor
Ren Vice
Rahman Ziaur
Ryan Bruce
Stacey Ferrando
Amanda Powell
Melissa Robson
Stephanie Delaney
Roger Richards
Jacqui Shearer
Dianne Thomas
Robyn Harding
Gwyneth Jones
Gareth Lewis
Mythri Kariuki
Jennifer Lenard
Peter Barnett
Kit Penfold
Sharalyn Marchant
Kate Newgreen
Sally Baxter
Bob Raman
Alam Rasedul
Clare Perkins
Candice Schultz 
Sig Gatuz
Amy Gregorovich
Alyssa Weaver 
Emily Weston
Michael Schilling
Caro Letts
Rodrigo Bardales
Mike Hall
Cheryl DeCoite
Alam Bhuiyan
Heather Mays
Caroline Langdon
Bobbie Casiano
Joy Vogt 
Ian Gibson
Ian Asznowicz
Johan de Bree