December WATCHWORD newsletter
Latest edition of the WATCHWORD newsletter
No to nuclear
Here are excerpts of an article in The Border Mail on the Coalition’s nuclear sham: A Border advocacy group has called the Coalition’s nuclear plan a “dangerous distraction” from the “urgent need” to reduce climate pollution this decade. Lauriston Muirhead, chair of Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health, criticised the plan as “expensive, slow and a…
Meeting with Jacqui Hawkins
Two members of WATCH met with Jacqui Hawkins, independent candidate for the seat of Benambra in the upcoming Victorian election.Jacqui stood at the last (2018) election and, after preference distribution, came within 5% of winning the seat (Jacqui 47.55% vs Libs 52.45%).Jacqui was very generous with her time, listened intently and spoke intelligently. This was…
Albury Council election 2021 – make your vote count
Albury Council candidates were emailed two climate change questions in the lead up to the December 2021 election. They were asked to rate the importance of climate action on a five-point scale and describe how they would use their position to reduce emissions from council operations and the community. Ten of the eleven candidates/ticket leaders…
Wodonga Council election – make your vote count
Are you voting in the Wodonga Council election? Not sure who to vote for and want to know candidates’ attitudes to climate change? WATCH sent a two question, online survey to all 19 candidates. Ten responded, nine did not. Those who responded rated the importance of climate action on a five point scale, where 1…
WATCH wants to rebuild after coronavirus with renewables
WATCH members have repeatedly expressed concerns about the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC), particularly the large proportion of NCCC members who are affiliated with the fossil fuel industry and the Commission’s intent to focus on a gas-driven economic recovery. Well done to Jill Coghlan for her submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the NCCC and…
Why the early blossoms?
We’ve long associated autumn with leaf fall and spring with blossoms, but this autumn you may have noticed something odd. Several locals spotted unseasonal flowers on pear and apple trees. In most cases it was just a few blossoms, but one very confused, smaller ornamental pear had almost a full spring bloom. There have also…
Border’s concern about climate change hit record high in 2019
On 29 January 2020, WATCH produced the following media release: 2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year on record, heralding Australia’s longest bushfire season. Locally records were also broken, with Border Mail letters to the editor on climate change hitting an all-time high and signalling strong community support for climate action. Wodonga Albury Toward Climate…
Record-breaking ‘die in’ outside Sussan Ley’s office
A record-breaking 2000 people ‘died’ outside Sussan Ley’s office in Albury during the global climate strike on Friday 20 September 2019. Poetry, music, church bells, chants and even a phone call direct to Scott Morrison’s office featured during the protest, but the highlight was the minute’s silence during the somber ‘die-in’ on Kiewa Street. …
Global climate strike coming soon
WATCH has been hosting climate actions for a dozen years and know this Friday’s Global Climate Strike will be the Border’s biggest ever! Locally and nationally it has the support of Australia’s four big banks, the Anglican Church, Uniting Church, Pope Francis, Charles Sturt University, Scots School Albury and many other schools and businesses. The…
Baranduda’s flash flood a sign of things to come
A dreadful flash flood hit Baranduda (on the outskirts of Wodonga) last month (2 May 2019). Such events are set to increase with climate change. According to Melbourne University researchers, “Debris flows in southeast Australia are likely to become more frequent and widespread as wildfire activity and rainfall intensity are predicted to increase.” Hourly rainfall…
Wodonga & Albury Toward Climate Health (WATCH) 