Janet Rice
‘Overcoming the fear of the [urban] wild. Planners, politicians and the populace connecting with, exploring, and embracing nature.’
Friday 18 May 2012 at 7:38 pm
I had the great pleasure today of talking at a ‘mini seminar’ organised by Victorian Child and Nature Connection at the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. The theme of the seminar was ‘Nature, Cities and Urban Planning; How do our kids connect?’
My talk was entitled ‘Overcoming the fear of the [urban] wild. Planners, politicians and the populace connecting with, exploring, and embracing nature.’; and if you want to know more you’ll just have to have a look at my presentation and notes (in two parts here and here. It's almost as good as being there today! (No not quite, because you don’t get to meet an amazing array of great people, or to network in the sandpit!)
The presentation by the way features lots of fabulous photos from my fabulously talented partner Penny and son Leon.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No comments Used tags: natureLetter to Ted
Wednesday 21 March 2012 at 7:31 pmI met our Premier Ted Baillieu a number of times when he was Opposition Leader. I have written to him today about the proposal to export billions of tonnes of brown coal from Victoria
Dear Ted,
I know I don't know you well, nor you me; but what I did know of you before you became Premier I liked. I know we have significant political differences, but I felt you were a man with an open and flexible mind, a willingness to listen and learn, and a passion and commitment to do the best for Victoria.
I am writing to you in that spirit tonight. There have been a number of actions that your government has taken that you won't be surprised to learn that I strongly disagree with, for example your positions on wind power and forestry.
However it was yesterday's news about the proposal to export billions of tonnes of brown coal that has prompted me to write to you today.
I urge you to not allow this to occur. Please, can I ask of you, as a man with an open mind, to ensure you are fully aware about the dangers of climate change. Avail yourself of the expertise available to you from world leading climate scientists at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research right here in Melbourne. Read for example the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 report that was released today that outliend a conservative estimate of what is in store for our planet if we continue on the path we are on.
Janet Rice
Sunday 26 February 2012 at 7:19 pmJanet Rice is The Greens Victoria Lead Senate Candidate for the next federal election. She was elected by a vote of all Victorian Greens members in February 2012. A biography of Janet can be found here. For more details see Janet's CV
Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsExcited, humbled and proud
Sunday 26 February 2012 at 12:50 pmI am so excited, and simultaneously humbled and proud about having been preselected as The Greens Victoria lead Senate candidate for the next federal election. It''s such a privilege to have been voted into this position and to now have the opportunity to work with you, campaigning for election and for a fairer and more sustainable world.
It was such a tightly contested preselection, with twelve incredibly talented candidates standing; a month of Meet the Canddaites meetings, and lots more getting out and about meeting members around the state. Over the last six months I travelled (mostly by train and bike) to Warrnambool and Werribee, Castlemaine, Ballarat, Beechworth, Berwick, Broadmeadows and beyond! And that was on top of a big campaign of email, blogs, facebook, twitter and old fashioned phone calls.
So to win the vote is exciting and just a bit daunting. I will be campaigning hard and long starting immediately to return the confidence the party has placed in me- and get elected! It's going to be a big job - no taking it for granted - of us working together to achieve great things! On top of the Senate seat, we have to re-elect Adam Bandt in Melbourne, and wouldn't it be wonderful to get a Green elected in Batman and maybe other seats too!
Lots of people deserve lots of thanks:
- thanks to the other candidates for putting themselves up before the members. It was a massive effort by everyone. It was so refreshing to be part of a respectful process, where all the candidates managed to get along and care about each other: doing politics differently, in stark contrast to the battles for power in the old parties. As so many people have said over the last month it's such a pity that we can't all be elected.
Standing for The Senate
Friday 10 February 2012 at 3:56 pmI'm currently standing for preselection as The Victorian Greens lead Senate Candidate. See
- my senate preselection blog here
- my nomination statement here
- the statements of my four nominators here, and
- statements from over twenty Greens members and others who are supporting me here
No Rob No!
Friday 10 February 2012 at 3:13 pm
Tiger Quoll , increasingly rare in East Gippsland. Photo by Sean McClean
I've just written to Rob Oakeshott about his motion to allow the burning of wood from our native forest for energy to count as renewable energy.
My letter to Rob is below. Please join me in writing to him via GetUp
Dear Rob,
I feel I know you. I along with millions of other Australians watched and cheered when you decided to support the Gillard government after the last election. I thought - here's a man of integrity, who does what he knows is right, and stands up for what he believes in.
I can't believe the news I heard today that you plan to break your support of the multi party agreement on climate change in such a key way in support of burning our native forests for energy.
Rob, this is not renewable energy. This is trashing our forests - our carbon sinks , propping up an unsustainable industry that otherwise would have to face up to the news that its on its way out.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsFacilitation and consensus decision making
Thursday 19 January 2012 at 8:31 pm
I spent this evening working with The Greens Victorian Communications and Election Campaigns Commitee (VCECC) running some training in facilitating consensus decisions. After some introductory work, we worked through an item on the VCECC budget, with me facilitaitng, giving a commentary about what I was doing as I went, then reflecting on the proicess at the end. It went well, with some decisions made, some insights into good facilitation techniques, and a realisation that we were only scratching the surface. I've offered to come back in March to do some more work with them. I distributed two papers that I had prepared last year for the Melbourne Greens School - why-work-collaboratively.pdf, and What do Facilitators do? ; and prepared a fresh paper just for them - here it is hot off the press: facilitating-consensus-decisions-january-2012.pdf
Image: Principles of Facilitation, from a workshop of the Victorian Facilitation Network, 2011
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsSenate nominations closed today
Friday 13 January 2012 at 9:04 pm
While I was out enjoying myself in the wilds of Tasmania today*, back in Melbourne today was the day that nominations for lead Senate candidate closed. I submitted my nomination before I left for Tassie -you can read it and the statements of my four nominators here.
* It was a fabulous walk up Black Bluff, beginning with a traverse through amazing rainforest ( king billy pine, celery top pine, huge myrtle beech, ) to a spectacular waterfall, then a steep climb including scrambling up rockfaces and through thickets of scoparia and teatree up onto an alpine bluff with jagged awesome rock faces, then onto a gorgeous alpine tarn.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsOf tunnels, trains and trucks
Wednesday 14 December 2011 at 7:36 pm
So we're back talking about road tunnels for Melbourne. I heard Ted Baillieu tell us on telly tonight that the east west tunnel was important so we would cope better when the Monash Freeway was stuffed up like it was yesterday. $10 billion plus so as to avoid a day of disruption. Not a good deal I reckon, compared with the serious inroads we could make into Melbourne's transport woes by investing money like that into rail to Rowville, Doncaster, Melton, and Mernda.
I wrote quite a bit about the proposed East West link when it was proposed in 2008. I could have written it yesterday - nothing has changed. Here's a speech for example that I gave at a public meeting in Brunswick, and some analysis of what to do with trucks - how straightforward it would be to reduce port related freight movements by 40% for example, by getting containers on rail, and having fewer trucks travelling empty or half full.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No comments Used tags: freight, transportToday I'm in Queensland...
Thursday 08 December 2011 at 7:10 pm
Sigh. Too many important causes. Too many submissions one could write if only one had infinite time. But this one provoked me enough that I gave a donation a month ago to help get a film made about the importance of Bimblebox, and tonight I've just written a submission to the Environmental Impacts Statement being undertaken for the proposed massive coal mine which would destroy this nature reserve - and help destroy our planet with the carbon emissions from its 40 mega tonnes of coal that would be produced each year. You can find out more by going here, and read my submission below
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsTarkine update
Thursday 08 December 2011 at 10:32 am
Thanks everyone who wrote emails to Minister Tony Burke asking him to protect the Tarkine with interim emergency listing on the national heritage list - I'm told over 4000 people sent him emails. His response however was underwhelming - see this report for example. We'll just keep on campaigning
The good news is that at least 14 of my facebook friends and website subscribers wrote their emails, and as promised I had a prize draw of a weekend away at our holiday house at Sisters Beach on the north coast of Tassie as a reward/ incentive.
The winner was Warren Maloney, old friend and VLGA comrade from Daylesford. Congratulations Warren, and indeed Warren's neighbour - who Warren has told me he's going to give the prize to as he is in desperate need of a holiday. And Sister's Beach is absolutely a great place for that!
Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsSave the Tarkine! Write an email by 2 December!
Saturday 26 November 2011 at 4:02 pm
I've just written to the federal Environment Minister Tony Burke about the need to protect the Tarkine. My letter is below. Please join me - The Greens have a form on their website to make it easy for you. You need to send your email by 2 December when Minister Burke will be making his decision whether or not to include the Tarkine on the National Heritage List. See the Save the Tarkine facebook site for more info.
If more than 10 of my facebook friends, twitter followers or webpage readers send off an email to Minister Burke and let me know ( comment below or on facebook or twitter), I'll run a competition and one of you will win a weekend at our holiday house at Sister's Beach on the north coast of Tasmania, just an hour's drive frorm the Tarkine forests!
Dear Minister Burke
I live in Melbourne and have a holiday house at Sisters Beach on the north coast of Tasmania. My partner and I intend to retire there.
A key reason why we purchased this property four years ago was because of its proximity to the Tarkine forests and coasts. We have had the immense pleasure of visiting the Tarkine a number of times since, and look forward to many trips in the future.
On the senate trail
Monday 21 November 2011 at 7:47 pmThanks to the Casey Cardinia Dandenong branch of The Greens for hosting me at their branch meeting tonight. A small meeting but a good one! I gave a version of this talk - well ok it did end up being rather different, but this was what I intended to talk to! Feel free to pass on!
Uncle Dave Carline, Kooma Elder at Murra Murra. "where are the Kooma people going to go when their country becomes uninhabitable?" asked Uncle Dave. Climate Change will be the ultimate act of dispossession for so many of the world's peoples.
Janet | ¶ | default | One commentProtecting the Great Barrier Reef and achieving a safe climate
Friday 11 November 2011 at 05:31 amA letter I just sent off to the Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke about the Great Barrier Reef, dredging and coal seam gas
Dear Minister,
I am writing to ask that you immediately halt all dredging in Gladstone Harbour and throughout the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area until you’ve examined the combined impacts of millions of tonnes of dredging to expand fossil fuel exports.
It's so backwards, so 19th century, so destructive, so short sighted, so unnecessary, and so economically disastrous too because of the potential impacts on the reef and the harbour.
The science of climate change tells us that to be sure of having a liveable planet for our children , let alone our grandchildren and future generations we have to drastically cut our carbon pollution. Coal seam gas extraction and accompanying environmental disasters such are unfolding in Gladstone are not part of a clean energy future.
I have 20 year and 17 year old sons. They are likely to live until 2070 or so - well beyond the time when serious disastrous impacts of climate change are projected to have occurred on current emissions scenarios. We can't allow this to occur. We , you, I, peoples and governments of the world can change this bleak dismal outlook. And a good place to start is to stop the dredging and stop the explosion of coal seam gas extraction from Queensland.
Surely you and your staff understand this. You're good, intelligent people.
How you can allow this dredging to go on when you have the power to stop it? Surely it must make it hard for you to sleep at night.
groundswell –growing a safe climate economy by 2020
Sunday 24 July 2011 at 9:18 pm
There’s a huge amount of amazing climate change campaigning being done around Australia. So why am I working on starting something new?
Because despite all the fabulous work being done, those of us committed to action to restore a safe climate saw two big gaps:
1. the messages and asks of the range of campaigns are all over the place
2 we are still only reaching a tiny proportion of the population in a way which is capable of changing behaviours, attitudes, and votes.
We aren’t getting the political and societal traction we need for major change, particularly in the face of the increasingly resourced and organised opposition.
groundswell is aiming to tackle both of these gaps– and so work towards getting political support for urgent action restore a safe climate, here in Australia, and in partnership with similar activities throughout the world.
Here's a brochure about groundswell, or read on for some more details.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsOur Murray Darling needs your help
Thursday 26 May 2011 at 7:00 pm
I met Mark, Mog, Clancy & Lily Etheridge four years ago this month. I was travelling with my good friend and Greens legend Margaret Blakers to the Greens School at Murra Murra at the very top of the Murray Darling catchment, and we took the opportunity on our road trip from Melbourne to have a tour of various spots in the basin along the way.
Mark's family are the centre of GetUp's request to its members today to lobby the federal government about science based water allocations for the Murray Darling. Please go to the GetUp site and send your email to your member of Parliament!
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsProposed coalmine in Bangladesh
Wednesday 27 April 2011 at 09:24 am
Got 10 minutes to spare? Send this bloke an email now!
Stephen Bywater, Chief ExecutiveGCM Resources plc *
Email: info@gcmplc.com
Dear Mr Bywater,
My proposed great barrier reef carbon tax campaign. Let me know what you think.
‘I’ve only visited the Great Barrier Reef once. I loved it of course. As an Australian you grow up loving the Reef. Snorkelling off Cape Tribulation with my children was so special. The corals, the fish. We saw a whale too.
Climate change is destroying the reef. It doesn’t have to happen. We have to act to restore a safe climate, or the reef my kids and I visited will just be a memory.
Putting a price on carbon pollution is a critical step for Australia on our journey to a safe climate. Please ring or email your members of parliament now to let them know that you support the carbon tax. Visit www.xxxx to get their details and to get your free ‘I love Great Barrier Reef’ sticker.
If like me you love the Reef, please do it now. There’s no time to lose.”
Janet | ¶ | default | No comments Used tags: climate_changeClimate Summit 2011
Thursday 14 April 2011 at 3:59 pmI've just written this article for Greens Victoria News. It will get edited before it hits the streets, so here is the unexpurgated version just for you!
Climate Action Summit 2011. From the ground up? Yes we can!
It was during the session on messaging at the Climate Action Summit that I got really excited. I got the powerful sense that we as a movement are really getting it together. Our campaigning is about to really rock.
I’ve been working with the Climate Emergency Network and the Transition Decade Alliance this year planning a massive community mobilisation for a safe climate. Our main aim is to build commitment in the Australian community to initiate the transformation of the Australian economy by 2020 to drive the restoration of a safe climate. It’s a big task. We’re talking about reducing Australia’s carbon emissions to zero in the space of a decade. It’s what the science says needs to be done. It’s our job to make the impossible possible.
So the Climate Action Summit over the weekend of 8-9 April was a great place to be: with five hundred people who understand the enormity of the task ahead and are committed to taking powerful action, locally, nationally and globally.
(more) Janet | ¶ | default | No commentsMobilising for a safe climate
Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 8:56 pm
I had a very enjoyable time at the climate action summit on the weekend, keeping busy with facilitating the workshop on zero carbon transport on Saturday and presenting on Sunday on the massive community mobilisation plans that I'm working on with the Climate Emergency Network. Here's the presentation on mobilising that I gave and a summary of what we have planned. Have a read and get in touch if you are interested in getting involved - it would be great to have you on board.