Reminding voters to put climate first at the ballot box.
Former Fire & Rescue NSW commissioner and climate councillor Greg Mullins is warning that another disaster on the scale of Black Summer is coming—and that this federal election is a critical opportunity to vote for stronger climate action to keep Australians safer.
As extreme weather events continue to intensify, and with polling consistently showing that the majority of Australians support climate action, the Climate Council is launching a hard-hitting national advertising campaign to remind voters to put climate first at the ballot box.
Greg Mullins, who has been fighting fires for more than 50 years in a long professional career and now as a volunteer, said this is a critical climate election. Vote like our lives depend on it—because they do.
“The fires we’re fighting now are nothing like those of the past. Our climate is changing, and our communities have suffered enough,” Mullins said.
The advertising campaign also points out the Federal Coalition’s poor track record on climate, and highlights that their 2025 election policies will increase - not cut - climate pollution from coal, oil and gas. This will put even more Australians in harm’s way.
Mullins, along with 30 other former fire and emergency chiefs, tried to warn then Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the horrific fire conditions ahead of the Black Summer bushfires, only to be ignored. This inspired the formation of the group Emergency Leaders for Climate Action.
“The greatest tragedy of the Black Summer bushfires is that we saw it coming,” Mullin said.
“We can’t afford leaders who ignore the warning signs. The Federal Coalition still has no credible plan to cut climate pollution.”
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said analysis by the independent Climate Change Authority had found that the Federal Coalition’s nuclear scheme would actually increase climate pollution by two billion tonnes, not cut it, and put more Australians at risk of worsening climate-fuelled disasters.
“Australians have a clear choice to make at the next federal election. History has shown us that the Federal Coalition doesn’t take the threat of climate change seriously, and their 2025 election policies are more of the same," McKenzie said.
"Every action taken in the next term of Parliament counts – and every fraction of a degree of avoided warming will be measured in lives and livelihoods saved, fewer families forced to flee from their homes, and a safer future for our children.”
"Research shows that climate change is one of the issues that tops the list of voter concerns this election. Our aim is to remind Australians that elections are about the long-term future we build for our children.
"The decisions of the next government will be crucial so use your vote to show politicians you want action on climate change."
The Climate Council’s campaign aims to remind voters of the real-world consequences of today’s political choices, including:
- Australia getting hotter and more dangerous. Bushfires, floods, and extreme heat are escalating, fuelled by burning fossil fuels like coal and gas.
- More people than ever are in harm’s way. Expanding suburban fringes and coastal developments mean more Australians are now living in flood- and fire-prone areas and in greater risk, straining emergency services.
- The Coalition still has no credible climate plan. Analysis by experts shows their nuclear scheme will slow renewable energy investment, prolong fossil fuels, and worsen climate impacts
The campaign launches March 27with ads screening on television and online from Sunday, March 30.
