Welcome to Friends of the Earth Melbourne March news. Safeguard our climate, go bush for a meet-up, prevent logging, and guided walk, Backcountry film festival, thinking about fire differently, no more gas news and actions, nuke free art auction and call out, plus more!
Sign up to meet your MP to safeguard our climate
The Dirty Dozen - Australia's largest coal and gas polluting companies - are expected to lobby the federal government aggressively for loopholes to dodge real climate action. Especially now that the details of the Climate Safeguard Mechanism have been released. Federal minister for climate and energy, Chris Bowen, has announced the Albanese government's proposed reforms to the 'Climate Safeguard Mechanism'. The Mechanism is meant to impose emissions reduction targets on Australia's biggest polluting companies. But there's a big problem: the reforms proposed would allow for the unfettered use of offsets - allowing fossil fuel companies to continue business as usual and emitting huge amounts of pollution this decade. Read more & sign up.
Guided walk to Mt Willis
Victoria’s highest mountain, Bogong (Warkwoolowler in the Waywurru and Dhudhuroa languages) is protected in the Alpine National Park. It sits high above the town of Mount Beauty and is a drawcard for hikers, skiers and backcountry snowboarders. It is an alpine wonderland of wildflowers in summer and deep snow in winter. However, surrounding areas continue to be logged. If this concerns you, please join us for a walk to Mt Wills on Saturday 18 March. It is about a 90 minute walk up a good 4WD track to reach the summit. We will take a photo of the group on the summit with Mt Bogong as our backdrop as part of our campaign to build awareness about this new threat to mountain forests. We will then lead interested people to visit some of the forests along the AAWT that are listed to be logged. Full details & register.
2023 Backcountry film festival
The Winter Wildlands Alliance presents their annual Backcountry Film Festival. This year’s screenings will showcase human-powered adventure in the backcountry. The films will cover stories of outdoor stewardship, grassroots advocacy, backcountry adventure, and snow cinema by human-powered advocates, athletes, brands, activists, adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts. These films are shown all over the world. This year, Friends of the Earth is once again delighted to be the local host for Backcountry film festival in Melbourne. The festival will screen at RMIT in the city on Wednesday 3 May. The funds raised from this year’s film festival will go directly towards gaining urgent protection for alpine forests on Mount Stirling, Mount Wills, and in the Little Dargo. Read more & put it in your diary.
Local issues meet up in Bright
Come along from 5.30pm-7.30pm March 14 and hear about some of the great local environmental projects and activities underway in the upper Ovens valley, and how to ensure the mountain forests of north eastern Victoria are protected. This gathering will feature speakers, and it is a free event in the front beer garden. Bright Brewery is hosting us. Full details & RSVP.
This event is happening as part of FoE's mountain roadtrip (running from March 14 - 19). Full details here.
Action to protect the Mitta Mitta river from logging
Meet at 10am. Thursday 16 March for Mitta Mitta action on the river highlighting the threat of logging in the headwaters of this important river system. This will be a simple 'photo op' in the river and a chat and cuppa tea around the fire with like minded people. Full details & register.
25 years since Jabiluka win art auction and call out to artists
Call for artists!
Friends of the Earth's Nuclear Free Collective is holding an auction late May/June and we'd love your creative contributions! Read more & register your art work.
Thinking about fire differently
Victoria has just experienced two mild summers with limited fire activity. After a wet spring and extensive flooding, the 2022/23 season is a mixed bag, with grassfires in the west and less activity in the east of the state. But with the prospect of the return of drier, warmer El Nino conditions this year we know that next summer could be more difficult. What we do now will decide how ready we are for the 2023/24 season. Read more.
No More Gas news
This promises to be a critical year for shutting off gas for good. In Victoria the Government seems to appreciate that gas is bad but as yet has no solid plan to remove it from our energy matrix nor time frame for when we can finally see the back of the gas industry in Victoria. Read more & actions.
Ask the government to build a gas and oil rig recycling centre here,
ANFA Rad trip
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) is having their annual meeting this year on March 25-26 in SA. Friends of the Earth Melbourne's Nuclear Free Collective is planning a solidarity trip to the meeting and to combine it with a visit to the proposed national nuclear waste dump site and hear from locals. Read more & join.
Join a Nuke free action meeting & read Nuke free news.
Cooperative Power is a non-profit co-operative, member-owned and member-run. Our first service is offering retail electricity with our product partner Energy Locals. They’re Australian based and operated, and share our goal of a sustainable and affordable energy future. Find out more and make the switch to CoPower here.