Alex Schlotzer

Say Yes Australia

It will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me, or has read this blog for a long time or a short time that I am supporting Say Yes Australia and the national day of action on June 5.

Say Yes Australia is a campaign to rally people together to say YES as loudly as we can to a cleaner Australia; to finally making the polluters pay; to protecting the environment; to investing in renewable energy, jobs and communities; and to taking action on climate change.

After debating this issue for a very long time we’re on the cusp of finally taking action.

But there are those out there want to keep denying there is a problem. There are those out there that want to spread mis-truths about the government’s proposed price on carbon pollution. There are those that want to keep trying to spoil our environment for future generations.

Unfortunately those that want to oppose everything are very well funded.  Indeed some of Australia’s richest people want to prevent any kind of action taking place because it might diminish their worth a little bit. One of the most remarkable things to come from this ‘debate’ in the last 36 hours has been the position of the Liberal Party.  As soon as Say Yes Australia’s TV advertisement hit the airwaves, Tony Abbott was quick to denounce the actors in it, especially Cate Blanchett.  Having no policy position to espouse Abbott attacks – declaring that because Cate is rich she is out of touch with Australians and that she has no right to be campaigning.

Fortunately for those of us that want action on climate change are more numerous and won’t be silenced by the scare campaigns of the Liberals or those funded by Gina Rhinehart, Andrew Forrest, Lin Fox, or Clive Palmer.  Even better is the growing list of big name companies and economists getting behind taking action through a price mechanism. Remarkably the Liberals have been very quiet on the issue of insurance companies saying they can’t afford the continuing massive natural disasters that used to be 1-in-100 year events.

Now is the time to say YES to creating a greener sustainable Australia and future.

I urge all bloggers in Australia to use their blogs to say YES to action on climate change.

National Day of Action – June 5
Sydney: Prince Alfred Park, 11 am
Melbourne: Outside the State Library, 11 am
Adelaide: Victoria Square, 11 am
Brisbane: Riverstage, 1pm
Perth: Perth Cultural centre – Wetlands stage, 11am
Hobart: Franklin Square, 11am
Canberra: Regatta Point (near the bridge), 1.30pm