Sustainability Working Group

The Sustainability Working Group was formed in June 2005 to foster imaginative discussions of sustainability by FoE members and supporters, and develop a people's vision of sustinability. We meet via an online forum hosted by the Australian Sustainability Network and get together every few months for weekend workshops.

2006 Victorian Election Priorities

download the latest draft here

Victorian parliamentarians – prospective and incumbent – will have their next job interview on the 25th of November next year. As they’re dusting up they’re CV’s we, the people, should be dusting up our key selection criteria.

The policy buffs and media officers of every Victorian peak body, industry lobby and think tank are already in training for the struggle to define the election debate and set the priorities of another four years of Victorian public policy. The environment movement has its team, of course, and are working on a set of policy priorities we believe will move Victoria towards an ecologically sustainable future. As we began this process earlier in the year, FoE paused to reflect – just who exactly gets to define sustainability these days?

Collectively, environment groups possess a great of deal of information and influence in policy circles, with good reason – the pathway to ecological sustainability is paved with good policy, and based on good research and community support. To achieve practical environmental gains, green groups can’t just plant trees – we must also facilitate a translation of the environmental needs, ideas and passions of our community into public policy.

In advocating good policy, our challenge is to always ensure ‘community support’ is not just something we create, but something that is part of the creative process – more people making more decisions is not just a social justice catchcry but an essential component of sustainability. Those of us committed to grassroots activism explicitly recognise this, but it is always a challenge, and we can always improve.

With that in mind, on 4th and 5th of June FoE Melbourne organised a weekend at Camp Eureka for members and supporters to ponder the question - ‘what would a sustainable Victoria look like, and how will we get there?' Despite very short notice, the keen enthusiasm of 12 participants resulted in an enjoyable and productive weekend. Visionary ideas were canvassed and discussed at length, and a new FoE Sustainability Working Group formed to facilitate their long-term development.

The immediate need of editing our vision into an election-asks format has been the work of Jono La Nauze and Charlotte McCabe. We have found it a challenge but a huge privilege to be working with the great ideas of the FoE community. Not wanting to keep these ideas locked up too long, our compiled thoughts are now on the website as a work in progress. We hope this will get people thinking early on how we want the next Victorian government to move towards our sustainable future. Feel free to use this document in any way you can, please acknowledge please simply acknowledge our work if you reproduce it. (We have tried to do the same, but if you see any unacknowledged references in this document please let us know so we can rectify it.)

If you have any comments, questions or would like to get involved in the FoE Sustainability Working Group, please email barmah@foe.org.au