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Here is a tiny snapshot of some of the great actions that took place in Darebin in support of the #SchoolStrike4Climate global day of action. Supporters took their signs along to their local school and took selfies.

Also great to see our young student leaders meeting with three of our local Federal and State politicians - Ged Kearney (Member for Cooper), Kat Theophanous (Member for Northcote) and Robin Scott (Member for Preston) to spell out their expectations for urgent action on the climate emergency. 

(Photo from Ged Kearney Facebook page)

On Friday 25th September, School Strike 4 Climate are hosting hundreds of activities around Australia for the ‘Fund Our Future Not Gas’ day of action. DCAN has joined with local school students to arrange four local events. We would love you to join us and also invite along any young people in your life. 

Join us for a webinar with local school kids - 25 September 10.30am

Join us and local School Strikers in an online webinar to find out how we can support them in their fight for a better future. With a Federal Government determined to invest in a gas fueled recovery, there has never been a more important time for us to campaign for a recovery based on renewables. We will also hear from Jeff Nottle, President of the Phillip Island Conservation Society about the proposed mega gas project in Westernport Bay and the community campaign to stop it.  RSVP here to receive the zoom link. 

School Strikers meeting with Ged Kearney - 25th September 11.30am 

Local School Strikers are inviting young people to join them in an online meeting with Federal MP Ged Kearney. If you know a young person living in the Cooper electorate who would like to share their views on the climate emergency with Ged please email Katia.

Make your words count through powerful letter writing  - 2nd October 10.30am

Please join us and special guest, Fiona Ivits, to learn the tricks of the trade in getting the attention of our politicians and leaders through powerful letter writing. Fiona is the senior media advisor at the Climate Council and has worked extensively with local government leaders, grassroots organisations and key influencers across many different types of communication. Don't miss out on this opportunity to pick up some red hot tips from an expert! RSVP here to receive the zoom link.

Take a selfie!

Next time you take your daily exercise, why not walk by your local school with a handmade sign in tow. (Don't forget your mask) Send a photo to us at darebincan@gmail.com and with your permission we will post it on the DCAN Facebook page, send it to local politicians and the School Strike 4 Climate team for the global day of action on the 25th September.

The ABC’s new series Fight for Planet A – Our Climate Challenge is an entertaining, informative and empowering three part series packed with stunts, stats, tools and tips about how we can ALL be part of tackling the climate challenge. 

Darebin Climate Action Now is proud to partner with Darebin Council to cohost a series of discussions on the Wednesday following each episode (starting August 12th). To join the conversation please register here.

Feel inspired to take action? Here are a few tips to get you on your way.

DCAN has called on the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews to suspend the implementation of single member wards under the Local Government Act following recent revelations about the conduct of the former minister for Local Government, Mr Adem Somyurek. DCAN believes that the former Minister's reported behaviour has undermined the trust that Victorians can place in the changes made to the Victorian Government Electoral Act under his watch.

Controversy broke out when the former Minister first unveiled plans to move nearly all of the State’s councils to a single member ward system. This was against the advice of the independent Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). In addition, the Municipal Association of Victoria, two thirds of Victorian Councils, local government women’s advocates and members of the minister’s own mayoral advisory panel were against the changes. There is ample evidence that single member wards discourage independents, women and minority candidates from running in "winner-takes-all contests".

In Darebin we have seen the consequences of one Party dominating the Council for many years, ending up in allegations of corruption and several years of administration. The VEC’s scathing commission of inquiry into the dysfunctional Geelong City Council found single councillor wards “had the effect of undermining good governance”. They compromised decision making by “trading off decisions for the common good in favour of ward interests” and distorted resource allocation and “rational priorities”.

DCAN fully supports Darebin's independent Mayor, Councillor Susan Rennie in calling for a reconsideration of the single-member ward system. We want to see a vibrant, independent Darebin Council with a diversity of representatives from the community. We call on the Premier to give us confidence in our democratic processes by suspending the changes until a full review has taken place.

Please join our campaign by emailing your concerns to the Premier: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au, the Minister for Local Government: shaun.leane@parliament.vic.gov.au and local State Members of Parliament.

Very soon it may be too late to avoid the risk of runaway climate change and its devastating consequences. This report from Breakthrough explains what a climate emergency is. It looks at the evidence about the scale, timing and urgency of the risk and concludes that we must act now.

Existential climate-related security risk: A scenario approach is a new report by David Spratt and Ian Dunlop. The foreword is by retired Australian navy admiral, Chris Barrie AC.  The authors use a scenario analysis approach to vividly convey the catastrophic impacts we could face by 2050 if we are slow to act on the climate emergency. The report has had more than half a million views within the first week, indicating the level of concern about the risk we face of the collapse of human civilisation.  

Leading the Public Into Emergency Mode: Introducing the Climate Emergency Movement is an update on the influential paper by Margaret Klein Salamon from Te Climate Mobilization in the United States. It was originally published in April 2016, and it introduced a new paradigm for climate action: emergency mode. Margaret argues that, in order to protect humanity and the living world, the climate movement must tell the truth about the climate emergency, and act as though that truth is real — employing emergency communications, militant tactics, and demanding an emergency mobilization from the government and all society, as the policy response. In the three years since publication, her recommendations have been largely adopted by several new climate groups — Extinction Rebellion, School Strikers, Sunrise Movement, and more — leading to tremendous breakthroughs. This 2019 update combines the theoretical discussion of emergency mode with an overview of the young but fierce Climate Emergency Movement.

As climate catastrophe looms ever closer, some opinion leaders still hold fast to the view that we must not mention the seriousness of our plight for fear of demoralising people.

But how could we explain to our children, in some dystopian future of runaway global warming, that we held back from telling the truth at a time when human action could still have made a difference? It’s time to talk honestly about the climate emergency and what we need to do to save human civilisation and the precious eco-systems on which we depend.

Download ‘Don’t mention the emergency?’ and give a copy of the booklet to others in your local networks.

Contact the author, Jane Morton at DarebinCAN@gmail.com if you would like her to lead a group discussion on climate emergency messaging, or if you would like hard copies of the booklet for an event.