Advertise on podcast: Climate Conversations

Phil Bryant will represent One Nation in the Saturday, November 28, Victorian State Election. Phil from Dookie, close to Shepparton, supports the idea of net zero but questions the steps governments are taking to achieve that goal and, rather than occupy countless hectares of farming land, he prefers nuclear energy. People need to ensure they vote on November 28, and can check whether or not they are correctly registered by visiting the Victorian Electoral Commission.

Lou Costa is a Shepparton girl who was born in the city, had her early education here and became a landscape garden designer after studying in Melbourne. Her chosen profession has seen her, and these are Lou's words: "Dig dirt" throughout the Shepparton electorate, The Rushworth mother of two is an independent candidate for the Saturday, November 28, Victorian election. As an independent with no political background or affiliations, Lou says she answers only to the community, people who live and work in the Shepparton electorate. Lou says she has no political or corporate affiliations, and so her only interest in becoming the Member for Shepparton is in securing what is best for those in the electorate and the people of Victoria.

A mixed bag of voices for this next instalment of 500 people in 50 weeks - The weatherman, the data-driven guy, the farmer, the fellow whose career has been in water and Wilma - all have their say on climate change. You can also have your say, contact me via email at [email protected]; I'll get back to you, and we can chat by phone and via Zoom.

Australia's PM, Anthony Albanese says one thing and does another: "Albanese takes climate warning to New York, but fossil fuel experts test credibility"; "Elites Have NO PLAN for Climate Collapse" - YouTube; "Elites Have No Plan for Climate Collapse" - story; "Trump dismantled U.S. climate policy. But his war is cutting emissions."; "Melbourne could adopt a European work trend – but half the population might be left behind"; "Multifaith responses to climate change"; "‘News to me’: Inside the suburb flagged as Melbourne’s first walkable neighbourhood".

Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick speaks honestly and factually about the certainties of climate change and although those facts can be alarming and depressing, she doesn't want people to be overwhelmed; she wants them to act to counter the dilemma. Professor Perkins-Kirkpatrick is a mother first and, second, a climate scientist, and she doesn't want her views to influence others about having a family. I had a somewhat formulaic approach for my interview with the Professor, but it quickly became almost a chat between friends, or that's how it felt for me.

People from all points on the arc of concern answer my 10 set questions about climate change. Opinions are as diverse as the people questioned, but generally there appeared to be some concern about humanity's approach to what some see as an existential threat. This project seeks the views of 500 people in 50 weeks, asking what they think about climate change.

Some interviewees call for more conversation about climate change as they want more people to know more about the dilemma - what's causing it, what are the impacts and what should be done. Although no one articulated it in so few words, they want government at all levels to engage communities and explain, in simple terms, what climate change is and how people should both respond and behave. Asked whether the emphasis should be on mitigation or adaptation, most respondents thought we should be tackling both. However, one respondent considered that turning our attention to adaptation was the equivalent of giving up on mitigation.

Retired farmer, Charlie Prell, champions renewable energy, saying wind turbines took his farm from having a debt problem to having a tax problem. Charlie, who has retired to a home on the New South Wales coast, has equated the rise of renewable energy with the force and power of a rising ocean tide. He mentioned that the world was heading towards serious economic troubles, a difficulty reflected in a story from The Melbourne Age - "The four horsemen of the apocalypse are coming for the global economy".

The Zero Waste Festival at Melbourne's Federation Square had many attractions, among them a "Repair Cafe". Lia, who plays a key role in organising and helping out at two Repair Cafes, one at Melbourne's "St Kilda", orchestrated the Federation Square Cafe and was kind enough to talk with Climate Conversations. The idea behind Repair Cafes challenges the corporate ideology of our throwaway world and, in the process, helps reduce our carbon emissions. Complementing the Zero Waste Festival, the Repair Cafes play a critical role in reducing our waste stream.

Another 10 people were interviewed, and their responses to 10 similar questions, despite the odd outlier, illustrate their eagerness for a broader understanding of climate change. "Keep asking questions", one interviewee said. She said the questions were good, not lecturing and were drawing people along, rather than forcing them to justify their position. If you want to be a part of this project, you can contact me on the phone at 0400 502 199 or via email at [email protected].

Author, filmmaker, and activist, Naomi Klein talks about the concern she has for supremacist governments. "AI data centre puts Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge at risk"; "What flash droughts and a super El Nino will mean for your summer"; "‘Deaths Will Continue to Mount,’ Scientist Warns After August and Summer 2026 Set US Heat Records"; "Investments promising social or environmental benefits need tougher anti‑greenwashing rules"; "Half-billion-dollar battery project to power Shepparton North"; "Auckland has an overlooked traffic pollution problem – and it’s not from exhausts".

Shane Howard, a former key member of the Australian folk-rock group Goanna, is now a conservationist and activist who has a positive outlook, but declares we are now in "nutso-world." Howard was the special guest on the first of a series of webinars organised by The Wilderness Society to recognise and celebrate its 50th anniversary. The next of the "Fight Doom" events is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16.

Former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, refused to acknowledge climate change when the country was ablaze in 2019/20, and now the present PM, Anthony Albanese, follows the same path despite UN warnings and the collapse of the "third pole" in Nepal. "The shift is now absolute’: China’s BYD says Australia just passed its EV tipping point"; "Many Italians Long Resisted Air-Conditioning. Then Europe Got Hotter."; "We’re In Deep Shit, But Not Because of El Niño"; "Australia called out as world hurtles past 1.5 degree warming goal"; "Urgent Global Response Needed to Prepare for ‘Literally Off the Charts’ Supersized El Niño, Says UN"; "Australia cannot deny its share of the climate catastrophe"; "It’s Not Just You. America Has Gotten Much Hotter.".

Australia's Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, has described plans to go ahead with the Beetaloo Basin project as "bat-shit crazy". "Nepal knows only too well the devastating dangers of climate change"; "Melbourne records its warmest winter on record, as bushfire season looms"; "End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World."; "This company has built a solar car. I took it for a drive".

Here in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, the climate conversation is rather mute; people know it is happening, want something done about it, but rarely speak about the dilemma. Here at "Climate Conversations", it was decided that an attempt would be made to provide the discussion with some oxygen. Subsequently, it was decided we would ask 10 basic questions about climate change to 500 people in 50 weeks - that is 10 each week for the best part of a year. Overly optimistic? Maybe so, but it is worth a try in the hope that the project might encourage some people to think more deeply about the issue, talk about it with friends and family and demand more action from our decision-makers at all three levels of government: Local, State, and Federal. Thanks, especially, to the first 10 interviewees - Sue, Jennifer, Michael, Kirsty, Dave, Graeme, Lauren, George, John and Jemima. The interviews happened in a variety of environments, and so the quality of the audio varies, something I intend to sharpen up as time passes.