Friday 4th December 2020

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Welcome to our monthly Yellow Box Newsletter! 

November got off to a festive start, with the Conservation Council hosting its Online Spring Dinner. 280 meals were delivered to over 80 addresses across Canberra by members of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, whilst backstage bustled with a professional videographer and a digital producer juggling three live speakers, Costa Georgiadis via zoom, a live auction of items from our Christmas Online Auction and several multimedia presentations. It was a huge effort by a committed group of staff and volunteers that culminated in a fun night for all. Thank you to all of you who joined us for the evening.

At the dinner, we were pleased to award the 2020 ACT Environment Awards to three very deserving recipients- Annie Close, Frederick McGrath Weber and the National Parks Association. Head to our website to learn about their achievements, and consider who you might nominate for the 2021 awards which will be presented at next year's Spring Mingle in November.

The Conservation Council's AGM was held on November 10. I'd like to welcome two new members to the Board - Warwick Cathro and Nick Abel, as well as announce the election of a new Board president, Gordon McAllister. Gordon brings a wealth of experience from a career encompassing architecture, environmental policy work and work as a political advisor in the ACT Legislative Assembly.

Our Make The Switch website has received some well-deserved attention lately, featuring in both the Canberra Weekly and on ABC Radio in the past two weeks. In an Environment Exchange webinar on Tuesday, key experts in energy efficient architecture and design, and electrical installation came together with ACT Government representatives, to speak about the website. If you missed it, you can catch the recorded webinar here. Thanks go out to Jenny Edwards, Ben Murphy and Bonnie Jackson for their valuable contributions.

On Thursday, the Plastics Reduction Bill was introduced to the Legislative Assembly. We are pleased to support positive moves by the ACT government to eliminate plastic waste in the ACT, and will be continuing to advocate for stronger measures to reduce use of plastic across the Territory.

Last week, I participated in the Chief Minister's Economic Recovery Forum with representatives from industry and the community sector, and put forward the key objectives of cutting climate emissions, building a circular economy and investing in our natural assets across our urban and non-urban landscapes. It's important that economic stimulus measures don't come at the expense of our environment, rather add value to a genuinely sustainable society.

Our final fundraising event for the year is the Christmas Online Auction. The auction closes on Sunday evening, so get online and get gazumping!

All the best for the weeks to come, and I look forward to touching base with you again before year’s end.

Warm regards,

Helen Oakey

With over 90 items to bid on, the Christmas Auction has something for everyone including wonderful gifts for the holiday season.

Get in quick - the auction closes on Sunday!

When you bid in the auction you are helping us campaign to cut greenhouse emissions, protect biodiversity in our urban and natural areas, protect and enhance our waterways, reduce our waste and improve urban sustainability, and improve public and active transport in our city.

The Conservation Council welcomes the introduction of the Plastic Reduction Bill this week that would see the sale and supply of a variety of single-use plastic products banned in the ACT

The July 1, 2021 implementation date set out for the first tranche of products – single-use plastic cutlery, stirrers and polystyrene food and beverage containers, shows a real commitment to taking action now, while allowing businesses sufficient time to restock with more sustainable products. 

There is more work to do – the second round of items considered under this legislation will include fruit and vegetable barrier bags and straws, and consideration of heavy plastic shopping bags. We will urge the Government to add takeaway food containers to the phase-out, and consider a re-usable food container scheme such as the Green Caffeen coffee scheme.

In addition, consideration should be given to reporting requirements for larger retailers, such as supermarkets, so we can be sure that light weight plastic bags are not simply being replaced with heavier bags.

Canberrans need to rethink how we use plastic in our daily lives and implement different ways to cut plastic use, such as reusable food and drink containers schemes, refillable bottles and bubblers, and reusable bags made from products that don’t cost the earth. 

The ACT has the opportunity to be a national and international leader in tackling plastic pollution by laying out an ambitious agenda over the longer-term to tackle the systematic and cultural issues of cutting our use of plastic.

On Friday, the New South Wales parliament passed laws to build 12 gigawatts of clean energy – roughly equivalent to the country’s entire existing large-scale renewable capacity – and 2GW of energy storage in the state over the next decade.

Three days earlier, the Victorian government’s budget included $543m to develop six renewable energy zones. Part of a $1.6bn clean energy commitment, the money will be used to buttress and make best use of the solar- and wind-farms built to meet a state renewable-energy target.

Down south, the Tasmanian government boasted the near-complete construction of the Granville Harbour wind farm, which will tip the state over to running 100% on renewable energy.

Several analysts say the decisive action being taken at a state level raises an important question: where does it leave the Morrison government’s case for new fossil fuel power as part of its “gas-fired recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic?

The Morrison government has been critical of some state intervention in the national electricity market, particularly when it believes it is unclear what it will mean for electricity prices. Its opponents argue the states would not be taking these steps if the federal Coalition had not abandoned the field by repealing a national carbon price, dropping plans for some sort of replacement and choosing not to extend the national renewable energy target when it was filled last year.

Here in Canberra, we meet our energy needs with 100% renewable energy. For every watt of ‘dirty’ energy that Canberra draws from the grid, it pays to feed the same amount of ‘clean’ energy back into the system. Whilst this is a great achievement, there is more work to be done.

The Conservation Council ACT Region supports a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the ACT by 2030, and expediting actions under the 2019 ACT Climate Change Strategy.

We would also like to see the minimum energy rating of new residential buildings increased to 8 stars by 2022 and minimum energy-efficiency standards for rental properties established by 2021, something committed to in the new Parliamentary Agreement and the Climate Strategy. Instigating programs for community ownership of solar power, such as Solar Gardens, would also expand local energy generation and assist those who neither have roof space nor capital to invest in solar panels.

With myriad solutions available and in development, we look forward to seeing more innovative renewable energy programs being rolled out by state governments. That is until we get a federal government that is able to enact change at a higher level...

Watching your waste this holiday season? As we get closer to the festive season and families start to prepare for their celebrations, one thing that may not be top of mind is food waste.

In the ACT around 26,000 tonnes of household food waste goes to landfill each year. The great news is reducing food waste can be as simple as shopping from a list, making a meal plan and loving those leftovers. 

ACT No Waste has put together a website with tips on how to reduce your waste this holiday season.

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