Environment

As parliament wound up for the year, the Coalition government was desperate to salvage a symbolic “win” in the Senate to save some face. It was reeling from the defeat of the one-term Liberal government in Victoria, which was seen as a vote against Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the second most populous state in Australia.

Greens NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon is again the target of a very public attack — and it’s not being led by Murdoch but by the Greens federal parliamentary caucus.

With confirmation that 100% of New South Wales is now officially in drought, it is clear that the federal government’s climate change denial is putting agriculture and the planet at risk.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg only mentioned the word “climate” twice in his election budget speech, and almost as an afterthought.

Socialist Alliance supports and campaigns for:

• An end to the privatisation of water and water infrastructure (dams, water pipelines, pumping stations). Where these have already been privatised, they should be returned to public ownership
• No public-private partnerships for water projects. All water projects to be 100% in public hands. Establish water allocations for each catchment and region based on the assessed needs (scientific, environmental, agricultural/industrial, or domestic) of that area.

Socialist Alliance Victoria statement on the fire in the Hazelwood coal mine

For serious climate action to be a reality we need a society where the majority of people — workers, farmers, students, the poor, First Nations people and refugees, the victims of climate change — are making decisions in the interests of our collective future.  

We need transport solutions that put commuter need and the environment before corporate greed.

As we make a plan for a new year of activism, we can take some heart from the growing student movement for real climate action.

The Australian Climate Commission says this is the “critical decade” to cut emissions. The Socialist Alliance says Australia’s climate response must be based on the climate science, which says we cannot delay action.

On the recommendation of Shamikh Badra from the Palestinian People's Party in Gaza, the Socialist Alliance in Australia is launching a special appeal for funds to help the Palestinian people recover from Israel's latest genocidal war.

More than 2000 People's Climate Marches were held over the weekend of November 27 to 29. In Australia more than 140,000 people took to the streets to show they care, passionately, about climate change. They are also angry at government inaction, as illustrated by the many homemade placards and props.