During winter we will be hosting a range of forums for our members, supporters, and allies. These will cover a range of topics, from the long campaign to protect the forests along the Murray River, to green economics, and climate change and grief.
They are free events and will be held downstairs at the Friends of the Earth café.
312 Smith street, Collingwood (#86 tram, corner of Perry Street).
All welcome.
The long struggle to protect the Inland Rivers
Thurs June 7 6.30-8pm Food Co-op
FoE’s River Country collective has a proud history of working to stop logging along the Murray River and helping to protect precious Red Gum forests in the Barmah Millewa National park. We have worked alongside traditional owner groups to secure cultural flows and Indigenous protected areas and are now defending forests along the Murray from new developments designed to give rivers and wetlands less water.
This info night will cover
- The history of the campaign
- Our campaign strategy for the upcoming state election
There will be a panel discussion with people who have been involved in our long history, followed by a Q&A.
Speakers will include:
- Jono La Nauze,
- Indira Narayan,
- Will Mooney,
- Sam Cossar-Gilbert,
- Morgana Russell and
- Megan Williams.
All welcome. No charge. You’d be welcome to make a donation.
The Greens agenda in 2018
Thursday June 14.
Featuring Ellen Sandell, Member for Melbourne
In an election year, groups like Friends of the Earth are working hard to convince all political parties about the need to adopt meaningful environmental policies. The Greens already have a progressive social and environmental agenda and are supporting key movement campaigns like the call for the Great Forest National Park.
But what else is on the Greens’ agenda?
This is a chance to hear about the details of The Greens policy priorities.
Ellen will:
- talk about The Greens priorities in the lead-up to the election
- outline their parliamentary agenda and how people can support them in that work.
There will be plenty of time for Q&A.
6.30 – 8pm.
All welcome. No charge. You’d be welcome to make a donation.
Facebook event page available here.
Rights for People - Rules for Business
Thursday June 21th 6.30pm- 8pm, FOE Food Co-op
This FoE winter session considers how we hold multinational corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses.
Come along and hear from a host International and local speakers about different exciting strategies that are holding corporations to account including litigation, public procurement, duty of care law’s and “naming and shaming”. Find out about how you can get involved in these campaigns and solidarity actions with Friends of the Earth’s Economic Justice Collective.
There will be a panel discussion with people at the forefront of challenging corporate power, followed by a Q&A. All welcome.
A Container Deposit Scheme for Victoria
Thursday August 9th
Featuring Annett Finger, Boomerang Alliance
In over 40 jurisdictions around the world, container deposit schemes (CDS) work effectively to decrease litter and increase recycling rates. But CDS is also a social scheme, creating enormous fundraising opportunities for community groups. It educates people on the value of resources and helps provide income for those most vulnerable.
Victoria is soon the last mainland state without CDS. With an election looming, renewed overwhelming public support for the scheme and local councils struggling with a recycling crisis – we are closer than ever to getting CDS.
What actions can we take to push CDS over the line?
Annett will:
- Provide brief introduction to CDS: from depots to reverse vending machines
- Give insight into “why we don’t have this already”, which was the most common sentiment encountered on the recent Big Bottle tour through regional Victoria
- Outline the plans and ideas for effective campaign actions in the next few months and how people can get involved
There will be plenty of time for Q&A.
6.30 – 8pm.
All welcome. No charge. You’d be welcome to make a donation.
Facebook event page available here.
Coming up
These will be scheduled to happen between July and September. Each will feature a range of speakers.
Working with First Nations. All of Australia is Aboriginal land. Exploring the question of how can we work effectively as good allies with traditional owners? We will also have speakers who will address the ‘Treaty Circle’ idea recently proposed by Greens MP Lidia Thorpe.
20 years on: What can Stop Adani Learn from Jabiluka? The Jabiluka campaign of the 1990s saw a strong alliance of traditional owners and green groups (including FoE) stop a uranium mine in Kakadu in the Northern Territory. What can we learn from this campaign and how can we keep listening to the past to ensure we are learning and evolving as a movement?
Climate & Energy Jobs: Renewable Energy and Beyond
As we decarbonise the economy, there is a huge opportunity to create the green jobs of the future in renewable energy, sustainable transport and other emerging sectors. Join campaigners, workers and analysts to talk about we need to do to create thousands of new climate and energy jobs, and ensure justice for workers.
Valuing Natural Capital. Threats to biodiversity and ecosystems that provide essential services are only getting worse. One solution is to place an economic value on the ‘natural capital’ that provides society with essential services such as clean air, a safe climate and water. A new environmental accounts report from the ANU calculates the economic value of key industries in the Central Highlands and the value of the regions forests for ecosystem services. Transitioning away from harvesting native forests would contribute net economic, social and environmental benefits to the Central Highlands.
A ‘Public Goods’ approach to energy. FoE campaigns for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. We also recognise that climate change requires us to radically shift the way our economy works. We want the new energy sources to be primarily for the benefit of the community, not big multinationals. What would community owned or community controlled energy look like on a mass scale?
Climate grief and action. Anyone who is paying attention knows how dire our situation is. No matter what we do now, the earth is already locked into significant climate change. Through recognizing despair as a natural response to an unprecedented moment in history we are provided a context for action. How do we accept what’s happening and yet use active hope to both grieve and open to the possibilities of our future?