Submissions 2025
August: Letter to Sussan Ley MP, Leader of the Opposition
South Australian algal bloom: An opportunity for dialogue that recognises our interconnectedness, love of nature and shared responsibility to prepare for future ocean impacts.
WCC member Toni Hassan, who lives in Adelaide, ran into Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley MP giving a press conference near the beach in Adelaide and sent us her thoughts on what she heard. Based on this, and with Toni’s permission, we wrote a letter to Sussan Ley encouraging a more collaborative multiparty approach to finding solutions to this and other climate change related issue.
Read our letter to Hon Sussan Ley MP
July: Submission to the Treasury Economic Roundtable public consultation (‘Productivity Summit’)
‘The dominant economic model is destabilising societies and the planet. It is time to accelerate the systems-change we need for an equitable future on a finite planet … the next ten years must see the fastest economic transformation in history if we want to steer humanity away from social and ecological catastrophe.’ Earth4All, The Club of Rome, 2024.
To address the complex challenges facing Australia both domestically and globally, we need transformative reform that positions the economy in service of people and planet. Productivity must be redefined through a lens of long-term wellbeing, social equity, and ecological health.
In our submission to the Treasury Economic Roundtable, the Women’s Climate Congress offered a series of practical proposals grounded in our Charter for Change, a policy platform informed by thousands of women across Australia.
June: Letter to Minister Murray Watt about North West Shelf Woodside project decision
Like most in the climate movement., we were disappointed and concerned to hear the decision by Senator the Hon Murray Watt, The Albanese Government’s new Minister for Environment and Water, to approved the extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf Gas production to 2070 (subject to some as yet not fully described conditions to protect the nearby and previous Indigenous rock art).
Apart from the concerns about allowing yet more fossil fuel production at a time when the international climate science community has put humanity on ‘code red’ for catastrophic climate change if we do not phase out the use of fossil fuels, we are particularly disappointed that lack of clarity around the reasons for the decision and its impact on Australian and international emissions, has started the new term of government firmly back on an ‘announcement - protest’ footing, when we were hoping that the strong electoral win would allow more transparent public discourse and collaboration to finish the task of transitioning the economy.
Read our letter to Minister Watt with discussion points for a proposed meeting
Submissions 2024
Submission on Climate Adaptation in Australia - National Adaptation Plan Issues Paper
To: Australian Government, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Climate Change Policy, submitted 11 April 2024.
Prepared by Dr Mary Picard and Toni Hassan
In this submission we highlighted three high-level aspects that relate to gender equality and women’s engagement in climate change adaptation:
The scope of risks considered needs to go beyond the physical hazards arising from climate change to include the socio-economic risks from their potentially disruptive impacts, as this understanding is needed to ensure that climate change adaptation measures do not exacerbate existing inequality and that they meet the needs of people living in vulnerable situations;
The NAP is an opportunity to include clear objectives and mechanisms to further gender equality and prevent falling back from achievements already made, through climate change adaptation in line with Australia’s international obligations, and as part of the objective of policy coherence; and
We propose a more unified planning process across sectors, at different levels of government, across party lines and with businesses, industries and community leaders that ensures women are in leadership positions at all levels.
Submission on Climate Change Authority 2024 Issues Paper: Targets, Pathways and Progress
To: Climate Change Authority, established under the Climate Change Authority Act 2011, submitted 14 May 2024.
Prepared by Dr Mary Picard
In this submission we stressed that the impacts of climate change are not gender neutral and hence gender is an imrpotant lens to consider when setting targets for climate action.
Women’s overrepresentation in paid and unpaid roles in the care economy expand and gender based violence increases during crises, our unequal starting points in access to wages and assets slow our recovery and adaptation to new conditions, our lower representation in government means our views and expertise are often not used in planning, and the small percentage of women in relevant technical roles in the workforce means women have fewer opportunities to benefit from the advances in emissions reduction and moving to a carbon neutral economy. It is therefore important that every climate change policy and its implementation and governance include the objective of a just transition, including a specific focus on increasing gender equality. This includes technical matters such as emissions targets, which cannot be divorced from the socio-economic pathways and measures of progress in achieving them, all of which come with a set of built-in values and priorities.
Public consultation on the Nature Positive Plan and proposed changes to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Reform Act
Have Your say public consultation
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Feb 2024
Prepared by Dr Janet Salisbury
This submission was based on the WCC Charter for Change with comments on:
National Environmental Standards
Climate change
Community engagement
Conservation planning
Environment Information Australia
Environment Protection Australia
Environmental assessments and approvals
Regional planning or strategic assessments
Other: Gender