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WHY LOCAL CLIMATE ACTION MATTERS

The ACT has long been considered a global leader on climate action, but our emissions have flatlined since we switched to fully renewable electricity sources in 2020. As a consequence, we’ve missed our interim 2025 emission reductions target and aren’t on track to achieve our legislated target of net-zero emissions by 2045.

Failure to act with the urgency needed to address the climate crisis will have disastrous impacts. 

The National Climate Risk Assessment found the Australian Government’s spending on disaster recovery would increase seven-fold by 2090 under three degrees of warming, and that productivity would take a $135 billion to $423 billion hit by 2063 on that trajectory. 

More than just an economic question, this is also a moral reckoning. If we turn our backs on climate action, it means sacrificing the future for the present. We cannot allow this to happen.

Canberra’s status as the most progressive state or territory in Australia means that despite being a small jurisdiction, we punch above our weight in impact. Any climate policy we implement can expand the boundaries of what’s possible at a national level and, with sufficient ambition, an international level.

Canberrans expect courage, vision and ambitious leadership when it comes to climate action, and I’m committed to using my position on the crossbench to push the ACT Government to implement innovative, practical, community-backed solutions commensurate with our community’s expectations.

COMMUNITY-LED CLIMATE MEASURES

I provided a detailed submission into the ACT Government's consultation process for its next Climate Change Strategy based on input from local climate experts, organisations and advocates.

My submission contains over 30 community-led policy measures aimed at reducing emissions and adapting to our changing climate. You can read the full submission here. Some of the policy measures are listed below.

  • Bring net zero forward from 2045 to 2040.
  • Spending less on road duplications and more on well connected, quality footpaths and cycling infrastructure such as separated bike lanes down Northbourne Avenue.
  • Addressing barriers to electrification for apartment complexes and taking advantage of new technologies like plug-in solar panels on balconies.
  • Expanding the Sustainable Household Scheme to provide low-interest loans for e-bikes.
  • Upgrading school infrastructure and standards to adapt to extreme heat, including mandating minimum shade levels over playgrounds.

PROTECTING OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Canberrans deeply value our natural environment and our reputation as the Bush Capital. Our beautiful waterways, mountains, grasslands and parklands deserve to be prioritised and protected. 

Currently, over 65 local species face the threat of extinction. Despite this, undeveloped land continues to be cleared for new suburbs that close off key wildlife corridors, entrench Canberra’s car dependency and diminish our tree canopy cover. 

Our community wants the ACT to be a world leader in responsible stewardship, yet the World Wildlife Foundation’s latest threatened species scorecard rated the ACT Government with an ‘F’ for funding, recovery plans and threat status improvement.

As our city grows and densifies, we need to invest in preserving and enhancing the environmental value and ecological diversity of the Territory – and not just on paper, but in practice. We need enough boots on the ground to deliver on our community’s expectations when it comes to nature conservation, which is why I negotiated a commitment to hire 10 additional in-field park rangers as part of my supply-and-confidence agreement with the Chief Minister – equating to a 33 per cent increase. 

I also made an election commitment to support protecting Canberra’s Western Edge from development, and to focus instead on habitat preservation and biodiversity restoration opportunities to the west of our city’s current footprint. You can learn about ongoing community advocacy on this issue here.

I will continue pushing for greater ambition and investment for our environment. Since the election, I’ve advocated for mapping the environmental conservation efforts of volunteers across the ACT to avoid developing land that is being actively conserved. The approval of a new telecommunications tower in the Ainslie Volcanics Grasslands is an example of the failure to map such efforts.

The ACT Government’s new Nature Conservation Strategy picks up this issue and many others. It looks promising, and I have been calling for sufficient funding to ensure it delivers on its aims.