History

This placard was used by the community advocacy organisation, GetUp!, in 2010-2011 to publicise their Renew Australia campaign. Get Up! describes itself as ‘independent, [and] grassroots’, seeking to ‘build a more progressive Australia’ through the involvement of every day Australians in politics (GetUp! website, 2014).

The Renew Australia campaign urged for ‘strong targets’ to be set for generating energy from renewable resources. Get Up! advocated for the economic viability of investing in renewable energy resources:

‘Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to have ever confronted humanity and shifting to renewable, clean energy sources is one of the best ways to meet the challenge. Yet polluter lobby groups spread misinformation claiming that adjusting to clean energy solutions is bad for the economy. All around the country GetUp members got out on the streets and talked to their fellow Australians spreading the news that a transition to a green economy will actually create jobs and be a benefit to our economy as well as our planet.’ (GetUp! website, 2014)

In November 2011, the Gillard Labor government passed the Clean Energy Act 2011, which established Australia’s first emissions trading scheme. The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 was amended in 2009 to establish a target for generating 20 per cent of all energy from renewable sources by 2010. The focus was on energy sources such as solar and wind, as opposed to coal or gas. The legislation was applauded by GetUp!, which had advocated for strong renewable energy targets and drops in greenhouse gas emissions.