Congratulations to the new Member for Higgins – Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah

The Liberal heartland seat of Higgins did not return MP Dr Katie Allen – her primary vote dropped 6.1%. Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, an emergency physician at the Alfred, won the seat for the ALP with an increased primary vote of 3.0%.

Lighter Footprints supported local climate group Higgins CAN in running a Vote Climate campaign. Climate action was framed around health benefits, intergenerational equity and sustainability.

Activities included:

• Weekly vigils, including some with the Climate Choir
• Letter-dropping including a campaign flyer, and the Candidate Scorecard right across Higgins
• A Candidate Forum where the incumbent after refusing to attend turned up at the last minute and left before any constituent questions.
• Dr Will Howard from Higgins CAN and Drs for the Environment was interviewed by Virginia Trioli at Malvern Central
• Street conversations, and staffing pre-poll and polling day booths

At this moment in history we have a strategic opportunity to support Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah in shifting Australia towards clean energy and rapid climate action.

Climate change is the “biggest global health threat” of the 21st century

Acting now will save lives!

• The hard hitting 2018 Lancet Countdown Report concluded that the climate crisis was humanities “biggest global health threat.”
• A key message from the 2021 Lancet Countdown Report is that “the cost of inaction on climate and health will vastly outweigh the costs of acting now.
  Rapid decarbonisation could prevent most of the 3.3 million deaths from air pollution that occur each year.” Interactive highlights here.
• The Lancet says ““The current impacts and future risks of climate change caused by human activities far surpass those of any other force”  and “climate change will challenge the very essence of children’s rights to survival, good health, wellbeing, education, and nutrition”.
• An IPCC Special Report states that “millions of lives could be saved” by addressing our fossil fuel driven climate crisis.

Investing in renewables and clean energy exports will increase jobs

• Stronger clean energy exports investment would lead to 395,000 clean export jobs and $89 billion in new trade through to 2040 – EY/WWF Clean Energy Exports report
• 2020 Ernst & Young report models a threefold jobs increase compared to spending on fossil fuel projects
• Doubled renewables jobs by 2025 with strong policy settings – Clean Energy at Work report

Moving to clean energy will reduce energy bills and it’s better for our health

• Annual household savings of $5000 from moving from all-electric homes and cars, A modest investment in the next 5 years ($12b) would reap over $300bn savings through to 2035 – Rewiring Australia’s Castles and Cars report
• 12% of childhood asthma “is attributable” to gas cooking exposure – University of Queensland research
• A gas-free home is safer for our families. It’s time to move to cleaner, affordable electric appliances. Check out our information page here, and our interactive pdf here.