Welcome to the July edition of the DCAN Dispatch.

Will you speak up for our reefs?

We have a unique opportunity right now to tell the Albanese government we want them to protect the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef and the nature we all love from climate wrecking gas projects.

New scientific evidence submitted by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) to the Environment Minister shows that climate pollution from Woodside’s Browse Project is likely to kill nearly 30 million coral colonies on the Great Barrier Reef for every future mass bleaching event.

The Browse Gas Project will also harm the iconic Scott Reef system in Western Australia. This includes the risk of catastrophic oil spills and gas extraction causing Scott Reef to sink. This will harm the reef system and Green Turtle nesting grounds. Endangered Pygmy Blue Whales will also be directly affected.

The government has opened up public consultation on this project for the first time in eight years. We need to show the depth of community opposition to this project and give the government a clear message that the climate and environmental impacts of this project are unacceptable.

Please add your name to the ACF submission here. Each added name will be counted as an individual submission. The ACF is hoping for 15,000 signatures. Be quick as submissions close 21st July.

Big win for the Darebin Energy Upgrades Program

Following sustained pressure from DCAN, Darebin Council has agreed to allocate $50,000 in this year's budget to enable the Darebin Energy Upgrades Program to continue for the 2026/27 financial year. Importantly, Council also agreed to investigate ways of continuing the program beyond this financial year for the remaining years of the current Council Plan.

Many thanks to DCAN supporters for making submissions about this important program which is a key feature of Darebin's Climate Emergency Plan. Big thanks to Councillors O'Brien and Tsalkos for putting forward the motion for the additional funds to Council. Many thanks also to Mayor Dimitriadis, Deputy Mayor Arturi, Councillors Jelley, Sangster and Olaris for supporting the motion. This is a great outcome for Darebin residents wanting to reduce their reliance on gas and electrify their homes.

Don't forget that DCAN also offers a free advisory service to Darebin residents. Sign up here for a chat with Graham - our expert volunteer adviser.

Fossil Fuels Don't Belong in Our Classrooms

A new national report from Comms Declare, From Cradle to Career, has uncovered more than 260 programs, partnerships and sponsorships which coal, oil and gas companies are using to market to Australian children through schools, museums, sporting clubs, childcare centres and career programs.

Santos alone runs 71 children's programs, BHP 49 and Woodside 47, with over 100 more programs operating nationally.

This isn't ordinary advertising. Fossil fuel companies are building social licence by using the trust teachers, coaches and educators have with the very generation which is growing up in the climate crisis the industry has created.

Our kids deserve learning spaces that are independent, evidence-based and fossil-fuel free.

You can read the report here, and sign the petition calling for a Senate Inquiry into fossil fuel companies' influence on children here.

Make Climate Polluters Pay Campaign

In late June, Australia’s local councils together called on the federal government to establish a national fund to help with the soaring costs of climate adaptation and disaster management – and to finance it through a Climate Pollution Levy on the fossil fuel exports.

Individual councils are passing their own similar motions. Byron Shire’s motion got good media attention. The most recent to pass their versions are the Cities of Parramatta and Hobart. In both cases, the mixed-party councils passed their motions unanimously. On Wednesday July 15th, NSW’s Bathurst Council voted on a similar motion presented by the single Greens councillor. It will be interesting to learn how that vote went.

It will also be interesting to see if, when and how our Darebin Council, the one that led the world in declaring a climate emergency, puts its own motion to ask the climate polluting companies to pay for the damage they have caused, and continue to cause.

The Polluters Pay Darebin group is looking for opportunities to speak with you and your group, and collect more signatures on our petition. If you think you might be interested in helping, please get in touch.

[Photo: A flooded bike path in Darebin from the Council's website]

Senate inquiry into Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres

The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee is currently holding an inquiry into the regulation, energy demands, and environmental impacts of artificial intelligence and data centres in Australia. The deadline for submissions to the inquiry has been extended to September 1st, so there is still time to make a submission.

To provide some guidance in writing a submission, Lawrie Hanson, a DCAN member, has made available a copy of the submission he wrote. DCAN has also put in a submission to the inquiry which can be found here.

[Photo credit: Ismail Enes Ayhan on Unsplash]

Alphington Community Battery

On Saturday, 27th June, Village Power launched the Alphington Community Battery and DCAN was there to join in the celebrations.

Village Power (VP) is a group of Alphington, Fairfield and Ivanhoe locals who decided to harness the excess abundant solar energy generated by their solar panels by creating the Community Energy Program. Founded in 2018 as a community-owned incorporated association, its mission is to make locally generated clean energy work for everyone.

The culmination is the Alphington Community Battery, a 200kW/645kWh battery storage system installed at the Melbourne Farmers Market site on Wingrove St. VP has partnered with Acacia Energy, a licensed energy company, to run the battery in the wholesale electricity market.

The program is open to all households in the Alphington and Fairfield Electricity Zone, including households with or without rooftop solar, renters, apartment dwellers and anyone who wants to be part of neighbourhood-scale climate action. At the end of each year, active participants share in the profit generated by the battery’s operation.

To learn more about community batteries, go to the Village Power website.

[Battery artwork: Jo Travis]

The End of Logging in Vic? Unpacking the Truth

On Tuesday, July 28 join Warburton Environment for an evening of film and conversation in support of Victorian forests. Arrive by 6.15 for a 6.30pm start at Cinema Nova in Carlton.

The film Forest Country explores the ongoing pressures on native ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, and the deep connection communities have to forests.

A new short documentary Logging the Loopholes will also be screened, followed by a conversation with speakers from environmental and community groups about the future of Victoria’s forests and how communities can take action to protect them.

For more information and to reserve tickets click here.

Plastic Free July

Join millions of people world-wide reducing their plastic waste.
Plastic Free July is a shared global movement that helps millions of people reduce plastic waste through simple, everyday choices and be part of the solution to plastic pollution. That way, we can all enjoy cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. Will you join Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?

For more information, resources and ideas see the Plastic Free July website.

Building Resilient Households - Discount for DCAN supporters!

Hear Her Breathe is running its first course on Building Resilient households and communities through a Permaculture lens. It is not a gardening course, but an exploration through the various principles of permaculture to guide you step-by-step to design practical ways to make your household and community more resilient in the face of climate change and cost of living crises.

The course will take place on 5 Tuesday afternoons July 21 - August 25 from 12.30-2.30pm (with a break on July 28). DCAN supporters get a special deal for $50 (just $10 per 2-hour session). Book here and use the access code DCAN50.

Hear Her Breathe is a small not-for-profit created by a group of local women in Darebin. The name was inspired by the Arundhati Roy quote "Another world is not only possible. She is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing". Their focus is on building community resilience, locally, one step at a time.

To stay up to date with what they are doing, or to get involved, please check out the website or follow them on FB or Instagram.

Urgent times. Emergent futures.

Melbourne Uni’s Science Gallery exhibition 'EMERGENCE[Y]’ is on until December.

EMERGENCE[Y] brings together artists, scientists, and collaborators from around the globe to explore how we adapt to a world in flux. In an age marked by ecological collapse, technological acceleration and social upheaval, adaptation becomes not only a biological imperative but a creative and ethical act. How might we not only survive through change but emerge in a critically reimagined future?

FREE ADMISSION
Open Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.

For further information click here.

Support our work in 2026 and beyond

Help spread the work about climate action

Please join us on Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky. Every like, comment, and share helps amplify our impact and spread the word about climate action in our community. Email us if you would like to join the DCAN social media team. We would love to have you onboard.

Want to know more about DCAN?

Why not come along to one of our monthly meetings? We usually meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7.00pm at the Bridge Preston. Please drop us an email at [email protected] to let us know that you are coming so we can welcome you and give you an agenda ahead of the meeting.

Our next meeting will be at 7:00 pm on August 13th, 2026 in the Waratah Room at the Bridge, 261 High, Preston.

That's all for this month - thanks for reading! If you have any feedback on this newsletter, please let us know.

DCAN acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the traditional owners of this land, and that their sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. DCAN commits to working alongside First Nations People as we chart a shared path toward a sustainable future.