By Jenni Huber, Knitting Nannas for Renewables Albury-Wodonga
It’s easy to think we have no control over what our politicians do. However now and again we have all the power. We have control over whether they even have the job. That’s the power of our vote at election times.
This month those of us on the electoral roll in Wodonga must vote for the people who are going to make up the Council of Wodonga. How Councils do their work has a massive impact on our future.
All rational people now understand that we’re warming the planet to levels not yet experienced in human history and that by doing things a bit differently, we can give our region and the world a better future.
Council activities can be major contributors to the emissions that are warming the world and spoiling our present and our future. Therefore, one of the questions we should ask when voting for our councillors is ‘Does this person understand the threats and opportunities of climate change – and will they help the Council and the community to work towards a better future?
Luckily our local climate advocacy group – Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH) – has done all the hard work for you!
Eighteen of the nineteen candidates were emailed a survey containing three questions (one candidate was uncontactable i.e. WATCH couldn’t obtain his email address or phone number and he didn’t respond via Facebook messenger).
Nine candidates completed the survey (including at least one candidate per Ward) – Lu Pelizzari, Michelle Cowan, Rachael Voogt, Cassie Aldridge, Graeme Simpfendorfer, Danny Lowe, Ash Gill, Michael Gobel and Matt Burke. All who responded gave climate action a priority rating of 8 to 10 on a ten-point scale and provided great ideas on how they would make our lives better, including free trees for residents, solar lighting along all paths, alternative forms of concrete, greater investment in Wodonga Council’s sustainability team, best practice energy efficient buildings and declaration of a climate emergency.
If you want a proactive council, please vote for the candidates who took the time to outline their climate plans. For full results see watchaction.au.