Councillors call to the political parties
By Kevin Jingga
Climate change is at the top of a list of issues the City of Melbourne will present to the major parties contesting the up-coming federal election.
Councillors have compiled a list of 19 issues ranging across climate and environment, transportation, social security and community services, education, employment, Aboriginal Melbourne, arts and planning.
Speaking at the March 19 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, Cr Rohan Leppert said: “It is absolutely appalling that our federal government has been asleep at the wheel on carbon emissions regulation or a market for it.”
“I hope that this federal election will be fought on climate change and not on who can be the meanest to which particular minority,” he said.
Chair of the environment portfolio, Cr Cathy Oke said the CBD climate change protest on March 15 was an “amazing display” of young people in the City of Melbourne.
“It really shouldn’t have had to happen and they shouldn’t have had to do that and if we actually had a government that did accept the scientific consensus of climate change then they wouldn’t have had to skip school,” Cr Oke said.
The questions for federal parties were prepared by councillors and set out Melbourne’s priority issues for the city.
Chairing the meeting, Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: “This gives us an opportunity to bring together in one platform a number of the issues that are more important to us as councillors in our roles as chairs of portfolios, in our roles as representatives of our citizens, in our roles as citizens ourselves in the things that are important for our futures.”
Responses from parties will be posted on the City of Melbourne website without editorial comment, and retained online for the term of the 46th Parliament.
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