A new political party will appear on the scene tomorrow and will seek to disrupt the “politics as usual” that voters in Australia do not like but have become used to.
The Climate Democrats party will be focussed on making Australia a leader on Climate Change policy as it sees this is the only strategy that can work – to pull other countries up with it on having strong, fair climate change policies, and so together achieve the global emissions reduction needed to keep temperature rise to the 1.5 to 2 degree range required to ensure the future remains liveable here in Australia.
The party’s climate change policies will have the principle of fairness, so the disadvantaged and all vulnerable stakeholders are better off not worse off during a “just transition”, and so the economy as a whole is better off, not put at risk. The party sees such as transition as being a challenge but very achievable as demonstrated by the successful progress in the electricity sector.
The party was inspired to corm because it was obvious that the only gap in the puzzle to fix the current climate policy mess was the lack of leadership.
There are many people ready, willing & able to act on climate change, who can see the effects of Climate Change most clearly.
These include our younger generations, the farmers, doctors, and charities that work with the vulnerable, the science community, and Climate think tanks, activists & community groups; and business in general and particularly the renewables energy and green-tech sector, the insurance industry, as well as the investment community including our superannuation funds.
On matters other than climate change, the Climate Democrats suggests for those old enough to think of the role the Australian Democrats played in providing better politics – who “kept the bastards honest” for a decade or so.
The party will be a party at the “sensible centre” and hopes to woo the likes of Kerryn Phelps and Tim Storer into their fold as each individual can gain from the being in a significant party that shares their values.
And the Climate Democrats say they have the benefit to be able to learn from the mistakes of parties that have imploded in the past, and the present parties who all carry baggage and behaviours that has meant Australian politics is in a its poor current state, not only but especially regarding climate change.
The Climate Democrats is setting itself a high bar to be the party of choice in Australian politics by respecting & engaging with, and working for all parts of Australia’s diverse community & all socio-economic groups, acting openly and honestly with the electorate for the good of the nation ahead of personal or party gain.
The strategy is to define a strong framework for a political party, quickly attract a strong centrist membership base and then develop everything else from there.
The party’s has some seed funding to promote a membership drive using the crowdfunding website Pozible.com, where it launches tomorrow. The party intends to quickly become a player in the main game in Canberra, not just be another micro-party or single-issue party.
So watch this space to see how this political project develops.
Glenn Mar is founder of the Climate Democrats Party.
