ENVIRONMENTAL activists are targeting Frankston voters to make action on climate change a high-profile political point in the lead up to the state election.
Environment Victoria and online activist group GetUp! have joined forces to spread the word about environmental issues in the marginal bayside seats of Frankston, Carrum and Mordialloc.
The organisations are pooling resources at the Enviro Hub at Wells St in Frankston and hitting the phones, streets and doors in the marginal electorates to try to convince voters to “send a strong message to our politicians” to “pledge to vote for your environment and your future”.
Environment Victoria opened the doors of the Enviro Hub for the first time in June this year.
Environmental Victoria community organiser said local voters had been receptive to holding major political parties to account over environmental policies.
“Politicians tell us people are not interested in the environment as an issue but we find that’s definitely not the case,” Ms Stabb said.
She said Environment Victoria had decided to campaign in Frankston, Carrum and Mordialloc since they are marginal seats which could potentially hold the balance of power at the 29 November state election.
“These seats are important at state and federal level so political parties take a great interest in the issues raised.”
Environment Victoria is also campaigning in Forest Hill, east of Melbourne.
The organisation has about 200 volunteers “on the ground” in the four marginal electorates and aims to convince at least 770 voters in Frankston, Carrum and Mordialloc to think about the environment first when deciding which candidate to vote for on polling day.
The 770 represents the collective number of votes in the margins in Frankston, Carrum and Mordialloc held by independent MP Geoff Shaw and Liberal MPs Donna Bauer and Lorraine Wreford respectively.
Ms Stabb insisted Environment Victoria is non-partisan but said there had been “really destructive attacks on the environment since 2010 when the Coalition government was elected” in Victoria.
She said the government had walked away from a commitment to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, cut solar power feed-in tariffs, was pushing development in national parks such as Point Nepean and was “anti-wind farms” as a renewable energy source.
“They’ve made it more difficult to build a wind farm than open a mine,” Ms Stabb said.
She said the Labor Party and Australian Greens candidates had been “most receptive” to talking about environmental issues and they had spoken “informally” to candidates from all major parties.
“We haven’t been able to formally sit down with any of the Liberal candidates yet… we have invited them to come in to the Enviro Hub and talk at any time.”
GetUp! community organiser Claire Boland said the activist group, renowned for its online campaigns and fund raising, had decided to team up with Environment Victoria in Frankston since “we were looking at the same communities to campaign in to make a difference”.
Ms Boland reckoned “about 80 per cent” of the people door knocked by GetUp! agree to sign the pledge to make the environment “the top issue” when they decide how to vote.
Voters mention bayside foreshore protection and “Mordialloc green wedges” as key subjects political parties should consider when deciding on policies.
“We’re pushing quite hard to make the environment their number one election issue,” Ms Boland said.
She said GetUp! members and supporters had made it clear climate change and the environment was their “number one issue” when polled by the activist group.
GetUp! had not yet decided whether to hand out ‘how to vote’ cards on polling day, according to Ms Boland.
“We’re non-politically aligned and we’re still in internal discussions about that,” she said.
Ms Stabb said Environment Victoria would not tell voters how to vote.
She said Environment Victoria’s alliance with GetUp! over the past three months had “absolutely supersized” the grassroots campaign to make the environment a state election focus in the targeted marginal bayside seats.
See www.environmentvictoria.org.au/vote for full campaign details.
