Just Transition
Unprecedented, cataclysmic, disastrous: the early figures suggest an economic decline deeper and more rapid than in the great depression. The great unknown is when will the pandemic end, what state will the economy be in, and how do we kick start it when it eventually ends?

By then, we will be waking up to a very different world, one in which things which were impossible have become essential.

Do we continue to downplay local manufacturing? Should we rely on vulnerable and brittle global logistic chains? Can we go back to a punitive approach to the Newstart allowance for the unemployed? We already have the 32nd lowest payments in the OECD, next to Turkey and Portugal. It is a disgrace for a rich country, which still presents itself as egalitarian.

Will we accept continued austerity and cuts to public services and tax concessions for well off and companies (valued annually at $140b)?

Self-reliance should be the direction in which we take ourselves for each step we take along the path makes our communities stronger and more resilient, characteristics we will need to deal with Climate Change. 

Work by Harvard University indicates that local investment and import substitution creates five times the outcomes of other strategies. Our shire has been a laggard, failing to support the now defunct Prom Country Tourism. Despite the Council’s so-called commitment to working in partnership with the community, there is no collaborative business-council economic development body, which is recognised around the developed world as best practice. 

Council continues to have one of the highest council rates for similar large rural councils. While the sacked council was calling for zero rate rises, the unelected administrators upped the rates. This has to be revisited urgently with families, businesses and farmers facing economic ruin. Council must begin to work with business, communities and farmers about what needs to be done. This is simply communication with integrity … it’ not rocket science! 

Opportunities for a Just Transition from the pandemic towards a low carbon future abound. We will still have to deal with the growing impacts of climate change, which are estimated to be as bad, if not worse than the pandemic. Distributed renewable energy, regenerative farming, fighting for the return of rail and improved public transport, carbon sequestration, becoming the food bowl for the nation all add to our local economy, and together represent a just transition. 

Go hard, go local, stop unnecessary expenditure. Instead, work with and for the community, not for Council’s view of the future, which includes the new municipal precinct with its $32m price tag. Redirect these funds back to the community in the form of rate reduction and support for innovative business ventures. Holding steady on the rates would be safe enough for all families and businesses. Let’s start working together for all of us. 

We need a local summit of stakeholders to prepare a proper collaborative plan for “after the disaster”. 

Andrew McEwen Meeniyan

Printed from Just Communities Newsletter with Permission