Operating since 1979, the Collingwood Community Gardens are under threat of being bulldozed. The destruction of this important cultural and community space was announced by Collingwood Children’s Farm Committee of Management on Thursday, 3 June. Citing ‘safety concerns’ such as uneven ground, the use of removable metal cladding and ‘piles of wood and sticks’ as the catalyst, the Committee of Management made the determination to indefinitely close the Gardens, situated on Crown land, without community consultation. There is no evidence that alternatives to the bulldozing of this important community space were considered, even after multiple volunteers offered to fix the issues cited in the report. For generations families have nurtured this space, using it as a place to share knowledge, connect with the earth and build community. Many Plotters (a warm term used by those that tend to the gardens) rely on these gardens for their food production, social activities, exercise and mental health. There are multiple stories of migrant families that have kept their culture and knowledge alive through the activities at the Gardens.

Tasmanians face the highest risk of death in a residential fire in Australia, but Tasmania has one of the lowest funded fire services in Australia, per capita, by the area covered or by risk. The North West Coast is particularly vulnerable compared to other areas of Tasmania, but there is only a single 24/7 crew in Burnie and Devonport while Hobart and Launceston have multiple 24/7 crews. Calls to building fires, road crash rescue, technical rescue, and hazardous material incidents require two or more crews to attend. Volunteers need more support to ensure that they have the training, equipment, and support to safely respond to fire incidents. The Tasmanian community faces a higher risk from residential fires and bushfires with minimal funding allocated to the fire service.

Our electricity generation system is undergoing rapid change as coal-fired power is replaced by renewable energy. We need this to happen fast to avoid catastrophic climate change, and so that Australia is not left behind in the shift to a new clean economy. Workers in the fossil fuel industry have contributed enormously to Australia’s wealth over generations. It is vital that they are not cast aside as we build a sustainable economy. Currently, decisions about power station closures and the replacement generation are largely made by big private companies driven by profit in a “free market” that gives no consideration to the interests of workers or the local community more broadly. To ensure the energy transformation is fair to workers and their communities, we need a National Energy Transition Authority that plans and coordinates all-of-government actions to make sure no worker and no community is left behind.

In the first two weeks of March 2021 alone, energy retailers cut off the electricity to 1,000 Victorians who have fallen on hard times. Energy is an essential service; you can't find a new job with a flat phone battery. We were promised privatisation would deliver lower cost energy - it hasn't. Instead, we have had cost blow outs, crumbling infrastructure, poor just transition planning for workers, and companies holding government to ransom to prop up their failing assets. Not to mention companies dragging their feet on a transition to clean energy sources. With Victoria at an energy crossroads, now is the time to fix the mistake of privatisation by investing in publicly-owned renewables. Queensland has established CleanCo - their own publicly-owned renewable energy retailer, and we think Victoria deserves the same. Further, the cold snap that caused the collapse of the entire energy system in Texas USA has shown us the problems of a fully market-driven, privatised electricity system. This must never happen here - we need a properly planned energy transformation in Victoria with public ownership a key plank of that plan.

FOGO in Brisbane will: - Create thousands of jobs (three times as many jobs as traditional landfill) - Remove up to 80,000 tonnes of organic waste from Brisbane’s landfill each year, reducing waste levy charges for ratepayers - Create a nutrient rich compost which can be used on council gardens or sold to farmers and other producers – creating a revenue stream that feeds back into ratepayers’ pockets - Reduce Brisbane's emissions greatly - it's the number 1 way Councils can reduce their carbon emissions because FOGO emissions are carbon neutral while organic waste in landfill generates methane that is 27 times more potent It's a no-brainer! LET'S GO FOGO!

Since the closure of the South Croydon Primary School site, residents have fought to protect the public open space and environment that remains on site. Thankfully to date the site remains undeveloped. However, it has recently been announced that a portion of the land, owned by the State Government (shown as purple border in picture), is to be sold off, most likely to property developers. Open space in our already dense community provides many aesthetic and intrinsic benefits. Open space encourages physical activity, can aid in the reduction of pollution, is a place for children to grow and play, provides and important wild-life corridor and can be of mental health benefit to the local residents who use it. With the increase of our population, open space is getting harder and harder to come by and local residents do not want to see high density development on this site. We want this land to remain in community hands and call on the State Government to protect this site as a park of public open space.

A net zero target by 2030 is essential for cleaner air, a healthier environment, cheaper power, better health and a fairer society. A rapid shift to renewables will create significant ongoing local jobs for people in trades, administration, services, procurement and other industries. As Professor Tim Flannery stated recently, 'Here’s the truth about action on climate change: it creates jobs. Plenty of them. It’s good for the economy. And it will lower power prices, protect people, and save our environment.' Join us in our race to zero!

La Trobe Uni has a moral obligation to provide good-paying jobs and a quality education to all regions. The proposed cuts will have a disproportionate impact on regional Victoria. Regional students will be missing out on an important on-campus experience compared to their metro counterparts. It is vital for a functional society that the University ensures a diverse range of education and humanities subjects are offered.

With unemployment at record levels, thousands of jobs and billions in investment are waiting on the government’s offshore renewables legislation. We need these projects to create jobs, reduce energy emissions, and help address the climate crisis. Offshore wind could play a big role in decarbonising the electricity system in Australia. 3 huge offshore wind projects are in the works in Australia: Star of the South off Gippsland, Victoria, Newcastle Offshore Wind off NSW, and the Mid West Wind and Solar Project south of Geraldton in WA. These projects connect the immense renewable energy resources off our coasts with the existing transmission lines, population and industry built near the coast. Using our offshore renewable resources can provide thousands of transition jobs for offshore oil and gas workers and other energy workers. Offshore wind projects can be located near existing coal fired power stations. The International Energy Agency says that the strength and consistency of offshore wind make it potentially comparable with gas and coal fired power (IEA Offshore Wind Outlook 2019). The government is offering much less support to ocean renewable energy than it has offered to gas-fired power stations, fracking, and pipelines. If Commonwealth-owned Snowy Hydro is building new energy generation, it should be offshore wind in Commonwealth waters. The Government was supposed to introduce an Offshore Clean Energy Infrastructure Bill in mid-2020 but that time has passed and there is still no draft Bill. Credible offshore wind projects have been waiting more than five years for this legislation. The bill should provide that Work Health and Safety for offshore wind should be part of the national harmonised system, and recognise that the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is not the appropriate body to regulate offshore renewable energy. The government needs to open its eyes to the enormous renewable energy resources off our coast. More information on the potential for offshore wind in Australia is here https://www.mua.org.au/campaigns/Build-Offshore-Wind-and-A-Just-Transition

The Petition of citizens and residents in the City of Kingston draws to the attention of the Kingston City Council that: 1. The Parkdale community between Como Pde East and Nepean Hwy do not have a local playground and our young families must travel via car to go to the nearest playground. 2. That the land adjoining Parkdale Library would be suitable, due to its proximity to local families, the library, train station and local shopping strips. 3. We acknowledge that the City of Kingston already owns the land next to the Library and currently has no plans for this space to benefit our local community.

The Blood Brothers building on the corner of Bedford and Warrandyte Roads is a local landmark. It was built in 1914 and is significant as an example of Edwardian corner shop architecture. Maroondah council wants to knock it down to build a multistorey carpark. Commuters want more carparking, but a significant heritage building should not be bulldozed to provide it. Council should be building this on current carpark sites at Ringwood Station.

It's important we show the University that we don't want them supporting these destructive industries. They don't care about our futures and are actively responsible for endangering them. The University of Melbourne can't be sustainable when it continues to fund the destruction of our planet. Full divestment would send a powerful message to these companies that they are no longer welcome on our campuses and that it's time to start investing in a sustainable future.