Welcome to the Chisholm electorate
East Malvern, Ashburton, Glen Iris and Camberwell – welcome to Chisholm!
Electoral boundaries have changed since the last Federal election and your home is now in the Chisholm electorate. You can check your enrollment with the Australian Electoral Commission here.
Your electorate is named after humanitarian and philanthropist Caroline Chisholm
We are delighted to welcome you to the electorate of Chisholm, first gazetted in 1924 and named in honour of Caroline Chisholm in 1949.
Born in 1808 in Northampton, Caroline followed her army husband from India where she established an educational charity for soldiers families, to Sydney in 1838 where she set up shelters for young women. Over seven years in Australia she placed 11,000 people in homes and jobs. Returning to England, she assisted family members to emigrate to Australia. Returning to Australia she established shelters a day apart on the route to the goldfields, and advocated for land settlements for farming for immigrant families.
Click on the image above to enlarge
Climate leadership in Chisholm
Chisholm is an electorate that is proudly multicutural and cares deeply about connections to community and to nature.
Local climate and environment groups will be working together to ensure that you understand where the Chisholm candidates stand on climate and the environment before you cast your vote. We hope that you will think about climate change when choosing your preferred Chisholm candidate.
Australia is at a crossroads when it comes to climate and energy policy.
With the right leadership we can grasp the immense economic opportunities offered by becoming a clean energy superpower in a decarbonising world with green manufacturing, exports and future focused jobs.
Top climate action issues
Electrify everything!
Helping households reduce energy costs and emissions
Cost of living is high on everyone’s mind. Fully electric homes are less expensive to run. We need representatives who will prioritise household electrification.
- Subsidies for efficient electric appliances
- Support for community energy sharing and battery uptake
- Improved EV infrastructure nationally
- Help for renters to access solar
Electric appliances are more efficient and save money
Electric appliances are more efficient, save money, and do not release irritating indoor pollutants.
Reverse cycle air conditioning for heating (and cooling) is safer than ducted gas heating, improves air quality, is better for your respiratory health, and saves hundreds of dollars per year in running costs.
Replacing your gas hot water system with an electric heat pump, has lower running costs, reduces your energy bills and leads to significant savings in household emissions, particularly when coupled with solar PV or green electricity purchases.
Induction cooking is very efficient with precise control of temperature and is safer than gas cooking. Often gas cooking is the last gas appliance to go, allowing householder to save hundreds of dollars each year from disconnecting from gas – and the cooktop is much easier to clean.
Grasping Opportunities
Australia can be a renewable energy superpower
World leading technologies coupled with unparalleled natural resources means unlimited opportunity.
- Exporting green iron and green aluminium
- Processing precious metals needed for the energy transition
- Low carbon manufacturing
- Exporting clean energy
- Skilled, future focused jobs
The clean energy revolution needs political support
CSIRO research confirms Australia’s unparalleled renewable resources, but says other nations will outperform us unless we invest now in new industries, with policy support.
Protecting Nature
Climate change puts nature and biodiversity at risk
Australia’s nature laws are broken. Climate change and habitat loss are leading to increasing species loss.
- Extreme weather events damage animal habitats
- Three billion animals died in the Black Summer fires
- Seismic blasting surveying for offshore gas puts marine animals at risk
- Climate change is killing the Great Barrier Reef
Stop Making the Problem Worse
No new coal and gas approvals
Australia’s fossil fuel exports make us the second largest climate polluter in the world, beaten only by Russia.
- New coal and gas approvals have continued under the Albanese government
- Our nature laws don’t consider the climate impacts of new projects and need to be changed
- No public money should be spent to support fossil fuel projects
- We don’t need new gas fields to meet our domestic demands.
Moving past coal and gas
- A new report from IEEFA says that reducing gas demand by going electric would bridge gas shortages.
- Approvals for fracking (banned in Victoria) threaten water security and cultural sites
- Fossil fuel subsidies have risen to $14.5 billion/year, and should be eliminated.
Cleaning up politics
Fossil fuel interests have undue influence over our elected representatives. Political donations and unchecked and undisclosed lobbying activities mean vested interests dominate in Canberra.
- Fossil fuel subsidies in the 2023/2024 year totalled 14.5 billion ($27,581 for every minute of every day)
- Since 2001 every departing resources Minister has gone to work in the fossil fuel sector
- The Australian Medical Association called for “an end to donations from the fossil fuel industry to political parties and for fossil fuel subsidies to be transitioned to renewable energy.”
Making good technology choices
Nuclear is an expensive distraction
Australia has the world’s best natural resources in wind and sun. Renewable energy backed up with storage is the least expensive form of new energy.
- Nuclear is too expensive and slow to develop compared to renewables
- Nuclear will require government funding because it is not commercially attractive
- The nuclear proposal threatens investor confidence in renewables and would prolong the shift away from coal and gas
- Nuclear power is not appropriate for Australia
Nuclear doesn't stack up
- Commercial investors aren’t interested in nuclear because it doesn’t stack up financially
- The Smart Energy Council finds “building seven nuclear – reactors could cost “between $116-$600 billion of taxpayers’ dollars, whilst only providing 3.7% of Australia’s energy mix in 2050″
- Australia has no existing nuclear industry or expertise which would take time to develop
- Nuclear faces significant regulatory and statutory barriers which would take time to remove
- Nuclear power does not mix well with renewables as it is inherently inflexible, and would need to displace renewables
- Nuclear waste remains a worldwide problem
Taking Health Seriously
Climate action is good for our health
The negative health impacts of climate change are significant and increasing.
- Heatwaves cause significant health impacts including 3,000 deaths per year in Australia
- Moving away from household gas protects our health – gas cooking causes up to 12% of childhood asthma
- Supporting active transport – cycling, walkable neighbourhoods – will improve our health
- Climate fuels extreme weather, fires and floods damage our communities and threatens mental health
- The Lancet’s landmark Countdown Report asserts that “Climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century.”
Going electric drops asthma risk
Gas appliances exacerbate childhood asthma and are associated with other health impacts.
University of Queensland research found that gas cooking is causally implicated in 12% of childhood asthma – this was further publicised through a Climate Council report. Asthma Australia is informing parents about the risks of gas cooking.
An epidemiological meta-analysis found that “children living in a home with gas cooking have a 42% increased risk of having current asthma, a 24% increased risk of lifetime asthma”.
The Climate Council reporting on an environmental health study on gas stoves states “more than half of occupants with were routinely exposed to harmful levels of NO2 and formaldehyde” if used with poor ventilation.
Reduce asthma risk immediately for under $100!
- Always use ventilation when cooking with gas
- Try out induction cooking with a portable unit – its fast, efficient and easy to clean
Let’s protect our environment and our families’ health and future
Let’s make sure our community is supported in shifting to affordable, efficient electric homes and sustainable transport.
Parklands and green spaces are highly valued in Chisholm, along with clean air and family traditions. These climate and environment groups are active in Chisholm, and are working together to ensure you understand where Chisholm candidates stand on climate and environment.
ACF Chisholm
ACF Chisholm is a local ACF community group active in the Chisholm electorate.
You can check out their calendar and join the group here.
Doctors for the Environment Australia
Doctors for the Environment Australia is the leading medical voice on health and climate and is active in the Kooyong electorate.
You can find out more here.
Asian Australians for Climate Solutions
Asian Australians for Climate Solutions is a movement dedicated to harnessing the unique strength of diverse Asian Australian communities to fight climate change.
You can find out more about Asian Australians for Climate Solutions here.
Chisholm Climate Action Network
The Chisholm Climate Action Network is a non-partisan group of community organisations working for meaningful action on climate change.
ACF Chisholm and Lighter Footprints are members. You can find out more here.
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Lighter Footprints information
Going electric and energy efficiency
- Entertaining short video on electrification with home energy expert Tim Forcey
- Home energy assessments – summary blog
- Insulation and draught proofing – informative video highlights
- Health benefits of getting off gas – Dr Genevieve Cowie video highlights
Energy
- We can do this! Richard Denniss, The Australia Institute, gives us a rousing call to move faster towards clean energy.
- Delaying renewables and expanding fossil exports – more details on nuclear and CCS here.
Chisholm 2024 redistribution
- AEC profile on the division of Chisholm with links
- Chisholm 2024 redistribution map
Authorised by Lighter Footprints Inc, Register No A0095302A, 12 Segtoune St, Kew, Victoria