Put climate first – in every decision
An Australian alliance of candidates for elections
Congratulations to Belinda Moloney – the only new councillor in Geelong Council. The other 10 candidates were all re-elected from the previous Council. Photo from the stairs of city hall on 4 November 2020.
Here’s what Belinda writes about her background and motivation on her Facebook page:
→ Read more about Cr Belinda Moloney on www.putclimatefirst.org/belinda
“When water becomes the same price as gold, the wealthy will always be able to afford it. But those people who are on the margins, less wealthy, who are working pay to pay and struggling to put food on the table, those are the people who are first affected by climate change. The people in my ward are such an important group of people, and I really want them to understand that I will represent them in Council. I will be a voice for them – to support everybody to get on board and make a change for the environment.”
~ Monique Connell, ‘Put Climate First’ candidate for the Windermere Ward at the Geelong Council elections
Hi legends and welcome to the Put Climate First page!
You’re probably wondering who we are and what we’re about, so let us not beat around the bush. We are four women who have decided to run as candidates in the upcoming Geelong Council elections in 2020.
Why? Honestly, we’re not the type of folks to do this kind of thing, but each of us reached a tipping point somewhere between May 2019 and January 2020 when thousands of people (including us) marched the Geelong streets to try and raise our concerns regarding a lack of action on climate change.
Unfortunately, it took two massive protests, devastating bushfires and 200 people in the gallery during council meetings for the council to declare a climate emergency, despite our position being backed by an incredible amount of scientific evidence.
Somewhere around this time, each of us felt somewhat disappointed in the council’s leadership, and that’s not the first time our council had made us feel like our leaders had not been an ideal reflection of who we are as a vibrant community of amazing people.
Each of us were already trying to tackle the local issues of our community by walking our talk, yet we felt that this wasn’t enough to create real changes to a system that was failing our most vulnerable.
So… here we are, running for council to make a change and fix that we feel is broken.
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. If everyone takes that approach, we can do anything.”
~ Zali Steggall, independent member of the Australian Parliament
Climate change isn’t the only concern we have for Geelong’s future, and we each have expertise in our own different areas, but all of us align on our need for a future that brings sustainable growth, jobs, tourism and technology to our pretty city, for our families, friends and for the environment.
Please join us in our campaign to make a difference.
Please visit our candidate profile pages for more information on our individual platforms and check out our Facebook pages for campaign updates hot off the press.
Thanks for reading.
Authorised by B Moloney, PO Box 38, Belmont.
