Climate Crunch

Yarram Standard News
Wednesday 14/11/2007 Page: 1

Toora farmer Bruce Beatson put climate change on the election agenda, delivering his message to some 50,000 people during the Walk Against Warming on Sunday. Mr Beatson, a farmer for more than 40 years and more recently an Al Gore trained climate change ambassador joined a celebrity line-up of speakers at the climate change protest rally and gave his message loud and clear.

With only nine days till the election, Mr Beatson is turning up the heat on the climate change issue and is putting the focus on climate change. "I can't help but be political. I want our politicians to stop telling us it will be all right and just vote for them. It's not going to be all right. It's going to be painful and difficult," Mr Beatson said. "People need to understand this.

I can't forgive politicians who have hoodwinked us when the logical conclusions are so obvious," he said. People turned out in their thousands across the nation for the walks to protest the government's inaction on climate change. Mr Beatson said the whole rally was just "awesome." "I drove up to Melbourne Sunday morning with my youngest daughter Hayley, 14, and at that time there were about 200 to 300 people around the stage area, erected in Swanston Street," Mr Beatson said. "We wet off and grabbed some lunch and hen we got back half an hour later there were thousands of people. It was just chock-a-block and a sea of people as far as the eye could see," he said.

Mr Beatson said he was a little nervous before he addressed the crowd. "Tim Costello (World Vision Chief Executive) spoke ahead of me and talked about the moral issues involved in climate change while I talked about where I came from and why I saw the environment as so important," he said. Triple M radio announcer Brigitte Duclos was another of the guest speakers on Sunday.

Mr Beatson told the huge crowd gathered for the rally " I started to get uneasy about the environment 20 years ago - it was dozens of little things, nothing specific. "You have children and your life just changes. I don't reckon I planted a tree on the farm up until then and since that time I have planted thousands and I know every one of those trees is important," he said.

Mr Beatson said he sees all biodiversity as critically important to the future. In 1966 Mr Beatson's family left Melbourne to start dairy farming in Gippsland. "I've been there ever since and now run cattle and alpaca on the farm," he said. "For most of my life I had a casual disregard for environmentalists and the environment. I was a rusted on Liberal/National supporter, handing out how-to-vote cards at election time. In the last 11 years I saw that issue after issue Australia turned its back on the world in terms of our responsibilities." When looking at how he changed, Mr Beatson said he "saw that it was less about what was good for me and instead what was good for my children and grandchildren." "There was no light bulb moment in terms of climate change. I just kept on watching what was going on on the farm", he said.

"They used to say Gippsland rains for nine months of the year and drips off the trees for the other three months. That it was green in summer and brown in winter because of the mud." Mr Beatson said the evidence for less rainfall is now clear. When you graph the rainfall figures at Foster Post Office and compare them to the CSIRO figures, they're exactly what the scientists predicted. There's been a fall off in annual rainfall of one inch every decade on average," he said.

If a surgeon sat John Howard down and said you've got a terminal illness and we can do something about it but it's going to cause pain and discomfort and you'll have to work hard at fighting it, John Howard would say yes, do something. "Just because it's the planet that has a terminal illness and it's going to take action and pain and discomfort, John Howard has not just wanted a second opinion, or a third, but he's looked for the scientist who says `no, everything is going to be all right.' "Would you do that with your own health or the health of your children? No.

Then why would you do it for the planet? "I'm 56 and probably home free. But I've got three children. Climate change is about our children and grandchildren. "On this Remembrance Day, a day when we think of our valiant forefathers who fought and died for a better world, let us walk with a new conviction, one that says we will convince all those that are not here today, that Australia must change direction for the benefit of future generations."

Monday saw Mr Beatson back on the job for Tumbull Toyota, Yarram, heading off for the launch of the new Landcruiser, and when asked where to from here he said as part of his job selling cars he is trying to push sales of the environmentally friendly Toyota Prius. "People want to drive cars so I am trying to promote a better, cleaner way of motoring," he said.

Back home on his Toora farm Mr Beatson said the country looks magnificent. "Spring is here and it seems our area is not too affected by climate change," he said. "We are lucky to be farming in one of the best regions in Australia, but that won't last if climate changes are not made." He said politicians have to judge what is important and make the big decisions for what is right not just for vote buying. "Sometimes it seems people would just like to ignore the climate change issue, but we just do not have a choice," he said.

"Sunday's walk was all about clearly letting governments know they have to start playing a leading role and leading the way." Mr Beatson said just as Winston Churchill told the people in 1937, two years before the outbreak of World War II that "we have done the talk and are now approaching the time of consequences."

Neither the Coalition nor the ALP has set a short term target to reduce emissions. "Until emissions targets are set, emissions will keep on increasing and we will be on a pathway to nothing," he said. Leading up to the Walk Against Warming, organisers Environment Victoria and Greenpeace issued the challenge to both major parties to address the crowd - a prime opportunity for an election-winning announcement - if they commit to a legislated target to make cuts of at least 30 per cent to Australia's greenhouse pollution by 2020.

Environment Victoria's Tricia Phelan said: "Irrespective of whether we get a Rudd Labor Government or a Howard Coalition Government on November 24, it's guaranteed our greenhouse pollution will continue to rise. This is simply not good enough, so we're inviting the leaders t speak at the Melbourne Walk - but only if they announce a commitment to cut Australia's emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2020," said the Climate Change Campain director.

"People understand climate change is too urgent and too big for solutions to be driven purely from the left or right of politics." With more than 50 walks held across Australia, Walk Against Warming is expected to be one of the world's biggest community protests on climate change, building on last year's national tally of 100,000.

The Melbourne walk began at the State Library, Swanston Street and attracted approximately 20,000 more people than last year's tally of 30,000. Greenpeace Energy campaigner Mark Wakeham said the party that wins Government on November 24 must act for the good of Australia and the planet. "It is clear Australia's political leaders are out of step with voters on this issue.

While the hot air and rhetoric on the issue have increased, so far the policies that would reduce greenhouse pollution are yet to materialise. To reduce our greenhouse pollution by at least 30 per cent we need to ensure all new energy production comes from renewable energy and not polluting coal.