What a Green New Deal could mean for Australia: Richard Di Natale

Our governments, and our society, should work for the benefit of people, our communities and our planet instead of the wealthy few. But under the major parties that’s not the way things are functioning, and quick fix solutions aren’t going to turn things around. We need systemic change.

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It’s been a dark week for our country, as we witnessed with horror the wide-spread, catastrophic bushfires. It is clear that we are all living through a time of profound change that can be attributed to our rapidly warming climate.

And while we are already experiencing what a warmer future holds - more heatwaves, drought,

bushfires and storms - the Government and Labor continue on with business as usual. They continue to prioritise greater and greater private profit for the coal, oil and gas industry at the expense of everyone else. They are steering us towards a completely preventable social, environmental and economic disaster.

It’s not good enough!

Which is why I am so glad that, this weekend at our National Conference in Canberra, we came together to talk about what a different future looks like - a future based on a Green New Deal.
What is a Green New Deal? 

A Green New Deal is a blueprint for dealing with the overlapping crises of climate emergency and economic inequality.

It is a plan that reflects the significant and urgent government investment needed to create the scale and speed of change that we need to address the climate crisis, ensure a just transition and a good life for everyone.

And it is a vision that smashes the big lie that the environment and the economy are at odds. A vision that acknowledges that, in fact, they must work in harmony if we’re to have any chance of solving the major crises facing us as a nation and a species.

We aren’t the only country to recognise the need for a Green New Deal. Canada, the US, the UK and several other leading economies are looking at how they can turn the danger of the climate crisis into an opportunity to transform their societies for the better, much like Franklin Delano Roosevelt did with the original New Deal during the Great Depression.

They are championing a Green New Deal and it is time for us to be the champions for a Green New Deal too.

The Federal Party Room are committing to creating and fighting for an Australian Green New Deal. 

As your representatives in Canberra, we are committed to developing a plan that tackles climate and inequality together, to creating meaningful work for those who want it while transitioning our economy to the clean industries of the future - like hydrogen exporting or battery manufacturing. And to ensuring government investment in the public and social services we all need to live a good life.
Society is not functioning the way it’s meant to and business as usual is not going to cut it anymore. We know that we need systemic change, and we believe an Australian Green New Deal will help us get there.

Over the next twelve months, we are committed to engaging in a wide-reaching engagement process with all members and supporters, stakeholders, experts and the wider community to determine what a Green New Deal could mean for Australia.

Our Green New Deal consultations will begin around the country in the new year, so watch this space!

For a future for all of us,

Richard