Wills Candidate Forum for a safe, healthy & sustainable future

The Wills candidate forum is being held on Tuesday 18th March at 6.30pm in Coburg. Seats are free but limited so book your seats and RSVP now.

Candidate forums are a unique opportunity to inform your vote. They’re also one of the most powerful opportunities to show politicians just how much the community cares about particular issues. The forum will be chaired by Kelly O'Shanassy, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, with two guest speakers who will frame the discussion: Sarah Hussein from Merri Food Hub, and Dr Ben Dunne from Doctors for the Environment. All candidates have been invited.

Come along a little early from 6:00pm to enjoy a deforestation-free democracy sausage sizzle (Halal and vegan options available). Entertainment will be provided by The Melbourne Climate Choir. Stay tuned for news about the Cooper Candidates Climate Forum which we hope to announce soon!

Choice of two fence signs for this coming election

In addition to the free "No more coal and gas" signs we have been offering, we are now able to offer a favourite from previous federal elections - "For the kids I'm voting climate". Help keep the pressure up on the candidates. We need strong climate action to be at the very top of their priorities. Let Katherine know which sign(s) you would like to display on your front fence or window by emailing [email protected]

Nuclear accident fallout map for Coalition proposed reactors

March 11th marked the 14th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster which caused widespread radioactive contamination of the air, soil and ocean. What would be the consequence of a nuclear accident in Australia? A new website released by Don't Nuke the Climate shows that almost 200,000 Australians would be at risk of a nuclear accident if the Coalition's proposed nuclear scheme goes ahead. The website lets you choose one of Peter Dutton’s proposed reactor sites to see how a nuclear disaster would contaminate surrounding areas. For those of us living in Melbourne the nuclear site proposed at Loy Yang is particularly frightening. Please share the information widely. We don't need dangerous nuclear power stations that threaten our health and safety. Solar and wind backed by storage is the clear pathway to a clean and safer future.

Q&A on Citizens' Assemblies

Are you interested in finding out more about citizens' assemblies and how they can help us on the path to a safe climate? Right now, there is a massive disinformation campaign on how citizens' assemblies work at the local government level. Join Sonia Randhawa, a democracy activist who has been involved in the recruitment for over 100 citizens' assemblies or similar processes, for a monthly Q&A session on what a CA really is, and help us protect and expand these processes across Victoria. The next two events are on Zoom at 5pm AEDT, on Sunday 16th March and Sunday 20th April. Contact Sonia on 0430 426 618 or email for more information and the Zoom link.

Help DCAN Grow on Social Media!

Exciting news! DCAN is now on Instagram and Bluesky, and we’d love you to join us there. By following and engaging with our posts, you help spread the word about climate action in our community.

Instagram – See inspiring photos, event updates, and climate tips. darebin_climate_action

Bluesky – Join the conversation on policies, actions, and solutions. @darebincan.bsky.social

Every like, comment, and share helps amplify our impact. Follow us today and be part of the movement for a greener future!

Suggested Reading - Slick: Australia’s toxic relationship with Big Oil

Slick takes a comprehensive look at the origins of the Australian petroleum industry, investigating what these companies knew about climate change and how they learned to wield influence and insert themselves into all facets of public life. Royce Kurmelovs reveals how the US petroleum industry was warned about its environmental impacts back in the 1950s and yet went on to build the Australian oil industry which, in turn, tried to drill the Great Barrier Reef, sought to strong-arm governments, and joined a global effort to bury the science of climate change and delay action despite knowing the harms it would cause.

The climate elephant is still in the room. But now it’s a mammoth!

Sometime ago DCAN mounted an installation of a dolls’ house full of mostly borrowed toy and ornamental elephants in a shop window at 497 High Street, Northcote. One of the loaned ornaments, a mammoth, inspired local artist, and owner of the window, Eugene von Nagy, to create a 1.6m x 1.5m charcoal sketch he calls 'Fossil Fools'.

Eugene writes, “We must upgrade to fully renewable energy solutions or soon face the same fate as the extinct species which make up our fossil fuels today.“ DCAN thanks him for his support, and it is further proof that every small thing we do matters, even just sharing a toy.

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 Thornbury. Please drop us an email at [email protected] to let us know if you are coming so that we can make sure to welcome you and give you an agenda ahead of the meeting.

Our next meeting will be at 7:00 pm on April 10th at the Bridge, 131 Shaftesbury Parade, Thornbury.