I’ve written political letters before.
I first started trying to save the world from climate change and general ecological mayhem, back around 2007. In my mind, I was sure I could make a difference, if only I was determined enough. I went ultra-low impact, signed petitions, wrote letters and got involved with education campaigns.
After about 5 years, and very little meaningful progress, I pretty much gave up. Some would call it burn-out. But the birth of our first child Adam gave me a new focus. It wasn’t time for a breather. It was time to let my fears and protective instincts take full flight as I dived into doomsday prepping and parenting. A little on the fear that drove me here and on the stuff.
Almost 10 years later, with a pandemic behind us and a calmer acceptance of an uncertain, but certainly more volatile, future ahead of us, we were ready to pivot again. Something of an awakening in 2022 brought about a new set of priorities for me and Emelie. These were much closer to those of our pre-child selves. The last few years has seen a focus on doing as much good as we can. As indviduals, as local community members and by sending more of our surplus to those in greatest need.
Systemic Change
To really make big changes, we also need change at the system level. One part of this is to find models of living that are more appealing than the status quote while also providing the desired ecological and social outcomes. That is the core of our project. But challengers, especially on Reddit, have repeatedly pointed out, that we also need to make our voices known by our decision makers. So this year I am committed to engaging with the people who are supposed to be representing our values at each level of government and the major corporations we deal with.
I wrote already to our bank using a form provided by Market Forces, so that’s not so easy to reproduce here. Its a great place to start if you would also like to have a say. I customised the provided message extensively, but I doubt it makes much a difference. The key is the show of concern for a cause.
I also wrote last year to the new LNP state government and the federal government candidates prior to the federal election. I got what looked like one human written response from the office of one of the ministers out of four.
Calling in Renewables Projects
Here is the story that prompted me to write to Glen Kelly and Jarrod Bliejie.
Queensland LNP flags “call-ins” for two giant battery storage projects, in latest attack on renewable transition
…They are latest potential victims of an LNP government that has already torn up the state’s renewable energy targets, and vowed to keep its state-owned coal fired generators operating until 2050 in some cases, even though the Australian Energy Market Operator has questioned their ongoing reliability.
Both battery storage projects have been vigorously opposed by local LNP member for Mirani Glenn Kelly, who also lobbied for the Moonlight Range wind project to be axed last year, and who celebrated the battery project call-ins on his Facebook page.
“How exciting is this,” Kelly said about the call-ins. “Who would want a BESS project 120 metres from your kitchen. I’m damn sure I wouldn’t.”
…Kelly was instrumental in encouraging Bleijie to cancel the previously approved 450 MW Moonlight Range wind project in his electorate, a move that Bleijie announced triumphantly on his Facebook page (see image above).
Moonlight Range developer Greenleaf Renewables is seeking to overturn the decision, but Bleijie has been emphatic. “Over my dead body will it ever be approved,” Bleijie said last year.
…
Glen Kelly – A man of the land
I know there is little chance of my messages getting anywhere meaningful here, but as Rebecca Solnit declares, hope lies in the unknown. Appealling to Mr Kelly’s sixth generation farming background, I have tried to steer clear of political lines:
Dear Mr Kelly,
I’m writing with respect for your focus on protecting farmers, the natural environment, and household cost pressures. These concerns matter deeply to me as well. I am the son of a multigenerational cattle farmer, and I understand the long view that comes from working land where weather, seasons and risk are part of daily life.
People connected to land know that nature isn’t theoretical. Conditions are changing in ways that affect fire behaviour, pasture reliability and insurance risk. This is being stated plainly by global insurance agencies and by local firefighters who are dealing with longer, more dangerous fire seasons and fewer safe windows for control.
I understand community concern about large infrastructure such as big batteries that you have raised objections to recently. Few people want major projects close to home. But the alternative also matters. I have lost a home and orchard to bushfire. No one wants raging bushfires in their backyard, and no one wants expanding coal mines consuming farmland and ecosystems. Those are the real outcomes of clinging so tightly to the coal dream.
From a farming and cost-of-living perspective, unmanaged climate risk drives up insurance premiums, disaster recovery costs, food prices and public spending. Carefully planned renewables and storage can reduce long-term energy costs and limit environmental damage that farmers ultimately carry. Yes, some land may be lost to wind-turbines and their infrastructure, but you and I both know from the SLATS reports, that some 90% of land-clearing is for grazing expansion and that mining infrastructure is far more devastating.
This is about stewardship, risk management and fairness to future generations who will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions. I hope you can weigh these trade-offs with the same practical realism that farming has always required.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Bliejie – In touch with his constituents
I found the sanctioned media coverage of Jarrod Bleijie, our deputy premier and minister for state development, quite charming. He is mostly seen smiling, has a detailed bio on his website and makes light of his unusual name with a video of children getting it wrong. I like the vulnerability on display here, and I guess its working for him. His seat is supposedly one of the safest in the state. So I tried meeting him on his own terms, with this message submitted by a character limited web form. My original, longer email was rejected by the mail server on suspicion of spam.
Is it actually going to make a difference?
If you were on a sinking boat and you saw the captain hacking new holes in the hull, would you just keep bailing water out or would you take the time to express yourself? At this stage we have to do both, while also looking for somewhere dry to sit.