We are now in the Council election voting period! The VEC started mailing out ballot packs to voters on 7 October, and voting closes at 6:00 pm on 25 October. For details about voting, see your ballot pack or the VEC website.
We need a Council which will take stronger action to reduce both its own emissions (e.g. by using renewable energy to heat all Council pools) and community emissions (e.g. by targeted support for solar panels, greater provision of public EV charging). More action is also needed to minimise climate change impacts, for example by better protection and promotion of the tree canopy.
Climate scorecard
Our climate scorecards are designed to help you identify candidates in your ward who are committed to strong climate action. The scorecards are based on a detailed candidate questionnaire, mainly focused on climate action, but also covering Council accountability to the community. For current Councillors seeking re-election, an assessment of their voting record on climate issues is also included. You can find full details of how we went about scoring candidates here.
Make sure you put the best candidates before all the others!
Click on the ward name below to see the relevant scorecard and for links to candidates’ full questionnaire responses. If you’re not sure of your ward, click here.
Candidates Forum – watch the recording
Lighter Footprints ran a very successful and well-attended online candidates forum on Tuesday evening 8 October. After an initial welcome, there were separate sessions for each ward. Candidates introduced themselves and responded to 3 set questions, which were supplied to them in advance:
- Do you think Councillors should play a more significant leadership role in the community when it comes to climate change and if so, what would that entail?
- What new initiative would you propose to include in Council’s next climate action plan to help Boroondara residents reduce their carbon emissions?
- Community engagement is key to encouraging community action on climate change. How can Council better engage with residents and businesses on this issue?
Candidates then faced (probing!) questions from the audience. You can watch recordings of each session here.
Fence signs
Get a fence sign to promote climate as a key issue in the election. Click here and we will let you know where you can pick one up, or deliver it to you if you prefer. And we’ll provide help with installation if you need it.
Kew Recreation Centre petition
In August we submitted a petition with almost 1,000 signatures to the Council, asking them to use renewable energy to heat the Kew Recreation Centre rather than gas as planned. They have still not responded. However, as a result of a Freedom of Information request, we now have 500 pages of backstory on the decision-making process. We have managed to condense this down to a one page summary. It makes very interesting reading!
Volunteer
We will need many volunteers to put scorecards in letterboxes right across Boroondara. And we also need people to host fence signs, get involved in street conversations and help with social media. Please volunteer if you can, even if you can’t spare much time. Fill out the form here.
Donate
Although we are all volunteers, it’s not cheap to run a campaign like this. In particular, we need money to print scorecards and produce fence signs. Please donate if you can and help elect a Council which is serious about taking climate action.