KAREN CORR

Dear concerned Australians,

Every day we sit here and read about decisions our leaders are making that we completely disagree with. The article I read yesterday about the Renewable Energy Target Review being led by a climate change sceptic is one such example. 

When I read things like this I go through so many emotions - anger, frustration, dispair, sadness, denial, back to anger and usually back to denial again. I jump from "how can they do this", to "it's crap, but eveything will be all right", to "there's nothing I can do about it so I'll just ignore it". I go through scenario after scenario in my head about what I can do about this, and then it gets all too much so I just simply put it aside for another day. Usually that other day never comes.

The thing is though, these decisions are directly impacting us as well as future generations and we're not doing anything about it. We know these decisions are not based on science or reason but instead based on short term gain and the demand of those that influence them the most. 

This is not ok and it's time to let our elected representatives know. 

For all of us (myself included) who are feeling upset, frustrated and angry about the lack of forward thinking and leadership on the issues that we care about, it’s time to speak up.

It is time for all of us to say enough is enough and find the courage to speak out about it - regardless of whether we've done this before, regardless of our political affiliation, regardless of how busy we are or how we feel or how worried we are about what others will think or our reputation.

Letting them know is more important than not.

This is not about who we normally vote for. (If you voted Liberal and you disagree with current decisions then you should absolutely let them know). This is about who's in power right now making decisions we disagree with about our future. 

We need to speak up. 

If we don't let them know then how will they know we are upset and angry and frustrated? All they ever hear from is the people that are influencing them right now, usually people with vested interests in short term economic gain.

When they do hear from others, my guess is they think it’s just a minority of green left hippies who don't know what they are talking about. But this is just not true. There are many, many well educated people in Australia that are concerned about issues such as climate change and the current government's lack of support for renewable energy. A survey conducted by the Australian Bereau of Statistics in 2011-12 found that 57% of Australians are concerned about climate change. That might not sound like a high enough statistic, but think about it, that’s 13 million people! Why aren’t these 13 million people speaking up about the lack of leadership on our countries response to climate change right now?

By speaking up I'm not talking about sharing a post on facebook or writing an email or telling our neighbour (although these are all good things too). What I'm talking about is picking up the phone and calling our local pollies as well as Tony Abbot's office directly. 

A direct phone call is far more impactful than anything else.

It doesn't have to be malicious, it doesnt have to consist of hatred. It just needs to be a simple message to let them know what you think. 

I know it takes a lot of effort to pick up the phone and make a call. We're too busy, we don't know what to say, we're not experts, we're scared of what they'll say in return.  I know, because I have these exact same thoughts. But we are going to have to acknowledge all of that and do it anyway because it's too important not too.

So here is my request to every concerned citizen of Australia reading this - every time you hear or read about a government decision you disagree with, pick up that phone and let the relevant government representatives know, starting today. 

If even a small percentage of the 13 million people concerned about climate change did this, it would surely start to raise the eyebrows of those in power. 

So go on, make that call now, and let us know how you went in the comments to this blog!

P.S. If you want to make a call in regards to the Renewable Energy Target Review and not sure what to say, tell them that you support more renewables including an expanded and extended RET. You can find out more info about the RET in the comments post below.