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Election Wrap: What TF Happened and Who TF is Our PM?

By HCN Political Editor Loughlin Patrick

Let out a weary sigh, Australia: the election’s over.  Well, almost…

Last week’s advertising blackout was a relief for many, providing Aussies everywhere welcome respite from sea shanties and TV tanties.  After weeks of press conference gaffes and debate night scraps, Saturday night was set to put an end to it all.

But even the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.

I covered the election live for RMIT’s Swanston Gazette, armed with bar graphs and pie charts to call seats like an Aldi-knockoff Antony Green.  Focusing on the micro — the individual results of seats — made it difficult to know who was actually winning on a macro scale.

This wasn’t helped by the fact that no one really was winning.  Of course, there were some significant small wins, but things are more complicated than that.  As a whole, how parties fared exists on a sliding scale from ‘complete wipeout’ to ‘escaped with the least scratches.’

To me, this is the most interesting election result we’ve had in decades!  Your personal definition of interesting, as a hot and funny person who leads a richly rewarding life, may differ.  So, after weeks of explaining election issues for keen podcast listeners, here’s one last breakdown of where the parties stand, just for you.

Labor: Winner?  Sort of…

Some would say Labor were the most successful party this weekend, in light of their double-digit gain in seats.  Others may disagree, citing the party’s 0.5% decline in primary votes.  So let’s stay away from value judgments and stick with the facts.

Right now, Labor is the only party able to form a government.  That’s the assumption everyone’s working from.  Anthony Albanese was affirmed as Prime Minister on Monday before jetting off to Japan for international talks, and an interim cabinet of Labor MPs have been sworn in.

What we don’t know is what Labor’s government will look like after this interim stage.  If they manage to win 76 lower house seats, that gets them over the line as a majority government and makes things a lot simpler.  But another very possible scenario is Labor being forced to govern in minority.

If Labor can’t win control of the lower house, they’ll have to negotiate with the cross-bench, made up of a record number of minor parties and independents.  It means Albanese may have to make concessions on key policies when negotiating with other MPs to ensure Labor maintains control.

One misstep that may cost Labor its’ shot at a majority government is the party’s loss of the previously safe seat of Fowler.  Party officials chose to parachute in high-profile shadow minister Kristina Keneally, nixing a local candidate who’d already been pre-selected.  Locals showed Labor how they felt about that with a double-digit swing which lost it the seat.

Independents: Teal Takeover!

If Labor can’t reach a majority, they’ll have to look to a dynamic range of independent candidates for parliamentary support.  And right now, independents lead in ten lower house seats, setting up an incredibly large cross-bench for Labor to contend with.

Of those ten MPs, six new ‘teal’ independents will join two existing ones to make a team of eight teals wanting action on key election issues.  So who are the teal independents and what do they want?

‘Teal’ refers to the colour used in the campaigns of many (but not all) independent candidates who ran in safe Liberal seats.  That’s not all they have in common: many described themselves as socially liberal but economically conservative, positioning themselves as a centrist option to voters dissatisfied with the Liberals but who would rather die than vote Labor.

As independents, teal candidates campaigned with an eye to local issues, but many made two federal policies cornerstones of their campaigns.  Lots of teals are keen for a federal ICAC, supporting a proposal written by O.G. teal MP Helen Haines, who won Indi in 2019.  And many campaigned using funds from the Climate 200, an organisation advocating for greater climate action.

But there’s some ways the teals differ.  During the election, Warringah MP Zali Steggall said she’d never negotiate with our ex-PM Scott Morrison in government, while new Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel left the door open.  So while their colours and keystone policies are similar, the teals are still very much independent units and won’t hesitate to vote their conscience.

The Greens: A Queensland Greenslide?!

One party leader with no mixed feelings about the weekend’s election is Adam Bandt.  The Greens’ leader was on a plane before lunchtime on Sunday, announcing to Twitter he was headed to “Greensland”.

There’s a reason Adam was so excited.  Before this election, the Greens had just one lower house seat: Bandt’s in Melbourne.  Melbourne’s long been a political stronghold for the party, but its attention had turned to Brisbane in recent months as campaigning ramped up.

Supporters say they knocked on tens of thousands of doors over the course of the campaign, concentrating their efforts in the three seats of Griffith, Ryan and Brisbane.  They’ve now won the first two, and remain in contention for the third.  That’s at least a tripling of the Greens’ lower house representation, despite just a 1.4 percent increase in primary vote share.

It’s an outcome that’s shocked many, as the Greens’ have a complicated relationship with Queensland as a state.  The party’s last outing in the state centred around an infamous convoy led by former leader Bob Brown, which some political observers credit with sealing Labor’s defeat at the last election by getting farmers and miners in the regions off-side.

A subtler touch this time around allowed the Greens’ to successfully consolidate their efforts in three seats, allowing them to leverage their 10 per cent primary support in a targeted way.  Party strategists will be looking to other capital cities to see if this is something that’s repeatable during the 2025 election campaign.

The Nationals: Trouble at the Top

Now let’s turn our attention from the left and centre to the right side of politics.  It was definitely a disappointing weekend for those who hold conservative views, as the election brought the 9-year Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government to an end.  But Nationals MPs have gone into this week with something to smile about.

The National party have long positioned themselves as representative of the regions, and the party’s targeted focus saw all 9 Nationals seats maintained.  That’s despite a slide of 0.5 per cent in primary vote share amid challenges from independents.  So, the Nationals are the only conservative party to keep their lower house representation going into our next parliament.

But despite the comparatively good news, some in the Nationals party room are getting antsy.  Unlike the Liberal party, which have put protections in place against leadership spills to ensure continuity of leadership, the Nationals traditionally hold leadership spills after every single election.  Normally the party leader is re-elected, but that may not be the case this time.

The current Nationals leader is Barnaby Joyce — of ‘Pistol and Boo’ fame — who ousted previous leader Michael McCormack last June.  Now, McCormack is reportedly agitating to get his old job back, but there’s a desire among party members for a new face in the top job.  That new face may be David Littleproud, who favours climate action more than Joyce.

While the Nationals’ good result is a key reason to keep Joyce as leader, some blame his criticism of net-zero policies for the Liberals’ losses in city seats.  Electing Littleproud as leader may be a concession from the Nationals to rebuild the Coalition more broadly.

The Liberals: Washed Out

While it’s still not clear if Labor has won in its own right, it’s definitely clear the Liberals lost out this weekend.  The party’s primary vote share dropped 4.3 percent, with voters swinging away to Labor, the Greens and independent challengers in key city seats.  There’s now no way for the Liberals to form government, even with the Nationals’ support.

The election also saw high-profile scalps, with the Liberals losing safe seats and high-profile ministers.  After a gruelling campaign, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg wasn’t able to hang on to his seat of Kooyong in Melbourne.  Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt also lost his seat, this time to Labor.

But what about our now ex-PM?  Scott Morrison was able to hold his seat of Cook, with a double-digit margin, successfully fending off a Labor challenger with a 5.8 percent swing.  But he resigned as Liberal leader on Saturday night, delivering a tearful speech to churchgoers on Sunday before quietly shuffling off to the backbench.

Many blame Morrison for the Liberals’ election loss, critiquing his damaged personal brand.  Morrison wasn’t able to get back into voters’ good books, despite bringing out his oft-mentioned wife Jenny as a “secret weapon” and apologising for being a “bulldozer” in the last week of the campaign.

This sets the stage for Peter Dutton to swoop in as the new party leader.  He’ll keep the Liberals firmly on the right, to the dismay of MPs who’ve called for greater moderation. 

The Anti-Vaxxers: A Jab Too Far

This leaves the conservative minor parties, who were hoping for a big election win after years of Covid lockdowns, restrictions and vaccine mandates.  But after months of telling voters to “put the majors last”, big-spending failed to eventuate into results on election night.

The United Australia Party went into this election with one seat, after ex-Liberal MP Craig Kelly defected to the Clive Palmer-led party over disagreements over Covid vaccines.  But Kelly lost his seat of Hughes on Saturday in a rare pick-up for the Liberals.  That leaves the UAP with no lower house representation.

There’s also possibly bad news for One Nation, with leader Pauline Hanson at risk of losing her Queensland senate seat.  Hanson, currently Covid-positive, also came out against Covid vaccines.  But the Legalise Cannabis Party, who share that view, may be about to swipe her seat.

That’s it for now.

If you can’t get enough election analysis, head over to the HCN podcast feed on your preferred podcast platform for a 45-minute deep dive into the results and what they mean for each party, plus more analysis of our voting system.  Follow the show and listen anytime on your preferred podcast platform.

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Making it count: how your donations are spent during disaster response

When disaster strikes, we often see the best of humanity; with people coming together to do what they can to support those in need and those on the frontline. When we can’t donate our time or skills, the best thing we can do is donate money to organisations that are on the ground doing the work. Knowing which organisation to donate to can be a tricky decision to make because not all donations are spent the same.

This is an important thing to note— and something to make people aware of— because the lack of public understanding of how donations are allocated and spent caused serious PR problems for frontline organisations during the 2020 bushfires, that prevented the public from supporting those most in need.

There tends to be a misconception that when you donate money to a charity, that charity is going to give your money to those in need. But that’s not how it works.

Different stages & roles in disaster response

Different organisations and charities perform different roles in disaster response, so any donations are spent according to what is needed for each organisation to best fulfil their role.

Stages of disaster response; initial response (search and rescue); relief (providing food, shelter, and sanitation); rehabilitation (basic services restored); reconstruction (restoration of full services); mitigation (risk assessment and prevention); preparedness (contingency planning and preparing for future emergencies).

While some organisations are involved in the initial response, with search and rescue efforts, other actors are there to support relief, rehabilitation, or reconstruction efforts.

If you would like to support initial response efforts during a disaster, and support those who are rescuing people that have been affected, donate to organisation like the State Emergency Services (SES), or rural firefighters.

Not everyone needs to be rescued during a disaster, others will need to be evacuated from their homes, or be provided with emergency accommodation. Disaster relief efforts, such as providing people with shelter, beds, meals, medical aid, and support during a crisis can be costly.

If you want to support these evacuations, outreach, and relief centres, donate to organisations like the Australian Red Cross.

People rarely receive money

During a disaster, people who have been affected will rarely receive cash themselves. If they need to buy clothing, food, fuel, or essential items, they might receive these items directly, or be given vouchers. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing— vouchers ensure that donations are actually being spent on the items that are needed, and organisations often have partnerships with local businesses or big corporations that allow them to buy in bulk or provide items to people that are needed but at a much more affordable rate than if individuals had purchased them for themselves.

If you want to support people who are trying to rebuild their lives during or after a disaster, Vinnies volunteers provide food, clothing and furniture, as well as other material and financial assistance.

Unrequested donations hinder recovery efforts

Sometimes you might think that items you have lying around your house could be going to good use, but more often than not, unwanted items only make recovery harder. Individuals and organisations know what they need, and they will request it. What’s worse, is when people see disasters as an opportunity to “donate” their old junk. It’s surprising to hear stories of the “donations” people receive after a disaster that are unusable, ranging from rotten food and clothing that is damaged to broken kitchen goods and toys. The rule is simple: if you wouldn’t want to receive it yourself, or if they don’t need it, don’t give it.

If you would like to donate specific items to individuals, families, or organisations working with communities on the frontline, GIVIT is a great organisation that publishes specific items that are needed. You can choose to donate the item if you have it, or fund the specific item yourself. If possible, it’s often better to fund the item during a crisis so that those affected can shop locally and support small businesses.

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Engaging the Public in Citizen Science to Promote Conservation

Citizen science contributes to the work of scientists, by engaging the public in activities that assist with observation and data collection, in many domains of science, including conservation, natural resources, and environmental science. Last week, when I jumped in my car and headed on what I thought was going to be a fun little road trip to see some turtles, I had no idea that I was visiting one of the most globally significant conservation programs for endangered sea turtles, and one of the most successful citizen science conservation efforts in the country. Citizen science programs, when planned and prepared effectively, like at Mon Repos, can also equip people with the information and tools to make significant positive changes to their local area and, most importantly, see direct outcomes of science and conservation efforts; making citizen science a promising tool for environmental protection and biodiversity, informing policymaking, fostering public input and engagement, and promoting direct action.

Citizen science builds scientific knowledge

‘Citizen science’ is when members the public engage in activities that assist scientists in their research— by submitting data, sharing experiences, or spreading valuable information. Scientists who often face resource or time constraints can benefit from having more data available to analyse and a pool of volunteers willing to help. Citizen science programs can vary in type and scope. Some involve simple data collection work at the local level— like bird watchers who give feedback to scientists about the birds they spot, while others are larger-scale projects that might require volunteers to study up and learn protocols before heading into the field.

Citizen science can be a rigorous process of scientific discovery, one that can produce high-quality data and add to our scientific knowledge, and there are many types of projects can benefit from citizen science, provided they are well designed and include the right method of public participation.

Citizen science is a powerful tool for tackling conservation challenges

Citizen science doesn’t just provide a way to collect data; it also engages the general public in scientific issues and can be a powerful way to tackle conservation challenges. In an article about the benefits of citizen science for conservation (1), the authors conclude that “citizen science informs natural resource management, environmental protection, and policymaking and fosters public input and engagement.”

Citizen science programs can also be a tool to inform and educate the public about conservation challenges, and some of the solutions to the problem.

One reason that members of the public aren’t motivated to address climate change and other local or global environmental challenges is that the impacts are relatively distant from their day-to-day life. But engaging people first-hand in these issues, and showing them the consequences that we face, stops it from being such an abstract concept, and motivates them to at a minimum care about the issue, and hopefully to act.

Case Study: Mon Repos Turtle Centre, Queensland

Mon Repos Conservation Park, 14 kilometers east of Bundaberg at the Southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, is a globally significant site for research on and protection of the endangered loggerhead sea turtle, a prehistoric species thought to have emerged around 40 million years ago. The unique ecological conditions at Mon Repos Beach support a key stage in the ancient life cycle of the loggerhead and two other species – flatback and green turtles.

While loggerhead turtles spend decades at sea reaching sexual maturity and forage and breed many hundreds (or thousands) of kilometers away, the beach at Mon Repos where they were born is where the females return to lay their eggs from November to February. In February and March, the final clutches of hatchlings make their way into the ocean and travel via the East Australian Current past New South Wales and New Zealand, before making their way to South America. Only 1 in 1000 of the turtles will reach maturity, at about age 30, when the lucky survivors return to Mon Repos. The others will face threats like plastic waste; by the time the hatchlings have made it from Bundaberg to the Gold Coast, 50% of them will have ingested plastic.

Only 1 in 1000 of the turtles will reach maturity… by the time the hatchlings have made it from Bundaberg to the Gold Coast, 50% of them will have ingested plastic.

Turtle research has been ongoing at Mon Repos since the late 1960s when biologist Colin Limpus began tagging turtles to study them. At the time he was a high school teacher, who would bring his students down to the beach to learn about the turtles. As he became increasingly interested in finding answers to his questions about the turtles— like how far and how long they travelled before returning to Mon Repos— Col took up researching the turtles full time.

From the 1990s onwards, when the waters off the coast were established as a marine park, ecotourism to the region grew, formalised through the design and construction of a visitor centre, and by 2013, the visitor centre at Mon Repos was receiving more than 30,000 people annually to experience night-time turtle nesting and hatching through a ranger-led “turtle encounter.” Each night, from October to March each year, the team at Mon Repos also spend the entire night collecting data for the research centre, protecting the eggs and turtles from predators, tagging hatchlings, and ensuring that the hatchlings make their way safely to sea. In order to do this, Mon Repos relies on volunteer citizen scientists to assist rangers in their data collection and efforts to care for the turtles, making it one of the longest-running citizen science projects in the country.

The inspiration for this article, was my own turtle encounter at Mon Repos. I was inspired by the ways in which decades of citizen science, that began with a curious high-school teacher, has created the world’s most significant loggerhead turtle conservation site, and aided the world’s understanding of the manifold ways that humans impact on species loss, including fishing-related harms, plastic ingestion, ocean contamination and, more recently, climate change.

This project is just one example of how citizen science has made, and will continue to make valuable contributions to our understanding of the natural world. One of the things that has made Mon Repos so successful is that it carefully matches the right type of science project and the right method of public participation.

Project design must carefully combine the needs of science with public involvement

When properly designed, carried out, and evaluated, citizen science can provide sound science, efficiently generate high-quality data, and help solve problems. However, if not carefully planned and prepared, efforts to involve citizens in science can become futile and resource intensive, with little benefits to either party. Citizen science should follow the same rigorous process of scientific discovery and be indistinguishable from conventional science— apart from the participation of volunteers doing fieldwork.

To help science or conservation groups plan an effective citizen science project, the Australian Citizen Science Association has 10 guiding ‘Principles of Citizen Science’ which should inform all citizen science projects:

Citizen science projects actively involve citizens in scientific endeavour that generates new knowledge or understanding. Citizens may act as contributors, collaborators, or as project leader and have a meaningful role in the project.Citizen science projects have a genuine science outcome. For example, answering a research question, informing conservation action, or facilitating policy decisions.Citizen science provides benefits to both science and society. Benefits may include learning opportunities, personal enjoyment, social benefits, the publication of research outputs, contributing to scientific evidence that can influence policy on many scales (locally, nationally, and internationally), and connecting the wider community with science.Citizen scientists may participate in various stages of the scientific process. This may include developing research questions, designing methods, gathering and analysing data, and communicating results.Citizen scientists receive feedback from the project. For example, how their data are being used and the research, policy or societal outcomes.Citizen science, as with all forms of scientific inquiry, has limitations and biases that should be considered and controlled for. However, unlike traditional research approaches, citizen science provides greater opportunity for public engagement and participation, increasing accessibility of science in society.Where possible and suitable, project data and meta-data from citizen science projects are made publicly available and results are published in an open access format. Data sharing may occur during or after the project, unless there are security or privacy concerns that prevent this from occurring.Citizen scientists are suitably acknowledged by projects. This may include acknowledgement in project communications, result reporting and publications.Citizen science programs offer a range of benefits and outcomes which should be acknowledged and considered in project evaluation. Communication and evaluation of projects could include scientific outputs, data quality, participant experience and learning, knowledge sharing, social benefits, capacity building, new ways of science engagement, enhanced stakeholder dialogue, and wider societal or policy impact.The leaders of citizen science projects take into consideration legal and ethical considerations of the project. These considerations include copyright, intellectual property, data sharing agreements, confidentiality, attribution, participant safety and wellbeing, traditional owner consultation, and the environmental impact of any activities.

Changemaker chat with a conservationist

While visiting Mon Repos, I met Elisha, who I’d previously only connected with online, for a changemaker chat for the podcast. Elisha is not only a ranger at Mon Repos turtle centre, but also combined her love for travel with her passion for conservation, to create her very own eco-travel company, Chasin Clean Coasts, and a podcast, Chasin Travels.

I got to chat with Elisha and hear all about her story, travel tips, and of course, what it was like starting her very own travel company… right before the coronavirus pandemic. With the world opening up for travel post-covid, I know that I’m super keen to get back out there and experience the world— and I definitely recommend Mon Repos if you’re ever on the QLD coast!

It was also great to be reminded that if you want to start your own business or passion project, you don’t need to have the whole path mapped out, you just need to take the first step, and figure out the next step as you go…

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MoneyHacks 2022: How High Flying Changemakers Can Find the Best Carbon Cancelling Deals

By Loughlin Shannon

Now entering its third year, Australia has seen many highs and lows during the global pandemic.  Covid’s impact stretched beyond just our health system, with Australia’s economy reaching record highs as businesses adapted to the changing times, but also record lows amid Covid case surges.

Few expected these economic highs and lows to occur so close together, but in true Roaring 20s style, 2022 brought us just that.  After a $21 billion Christmas cash splash, ANZ data shows Australia’s retail spend has now fallen to Covid lockdown levels.  And Sydney’s spending is at its lowest point since the pandemic began.

With many Aussies tightening their purse strings once again, changemakers may be wondering how to make a difference on a budget.  So, with Australian international and interstate borders (mostly) open, let’s start with an airline add-on most change-making travellers won’t think twice about.

Your Carbon Footprint: Polluter Propaganda?

Since British Petroleum popularised the idea of one’s own ‘carbon footprint’ in a 2003 advertising blitz, awareness of consumption-driven pollution has risen substantially.  And every step of the way, big businesses have been eager to encourage consumers to take personal responsibility for their environmental impact.

Carbon footprint calculators became widespread online, and although methodology varies between services, it’s now never been easier for one to seek out an estimate of their own environmental impact.  But the rise of e-commerce, spurred on by the pandemic, began the trend of bringing one’s footprint to them before they even asked.

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Buy-now-pay-later service Klarna’s app shows customers the emissions created from delivering their online shopping — a journey I covered extensively last year.  And the major Australian airlines go one step further, selling carbon offsets to their passengers when they check out online.

Those airline offsets may seem like a good deal for changemakers.  I took advantage of an offer to offset 149kg of carbon last year for just $1.70, and 100 per cent of my contribution was passed on to carbon offset projects around the country.  My donation was even matched dollar-for-dollar by the Qantas Group.

But a 2017 report from consumer advocacy group CHOICE found that while the airlines’ carbon offset programs were Australian Government accredited, none of them were certified by Gold Standard — an international standards body established by the World Wildlife Fund in 2003.

And ‘accredited’ programs don’t necessarily offset the exact amount of carbon you’re paying for.  A 2021 Guardian/Greenpeace investigation found 10 forest protection schemes made predictions that “were often inconsistent with previous levels of deforestation” and “overstated” the threat to the trees they allegedly protected.

Verra, the agency which accredited those projects, strongly disputes that investigation’s findings.  In a statement, they wrote “the Guardian article exhibits clear bias,” and “is riddled with substantive errors that betray ignorance about how carbon offset credits work”.

Price Match Carbon Credits From the Comfort of Your Couch…

So your mileage with carbon credits may vary, but let’s say you’ve been travelling over Christmas and you want to buy some anyway.  Where can you get the best deal, and how can you be sure every kilo of carbon you pay for is really offset?

The answer: airline offers aren’t the place to look.  While the airline I flew with charged me $11.41 per tonne of carbon, you can get a far better deal by shopping around.  And the United Nations operates an online marketplace where you can do just that.

The UN Carbon Offset Platform allows anyone to purchase carbon credits directly from Clean Development Mechanism projects around the world.  After you make a purchase, you get sent a certificate you can personalise, showing how much carbon you’ve cancelled and why you cancelled it.

So how does the UN’s platform stack up?  Right now, two-thirds of the CDM projects listed beat Jetstar’s offer on carbon price.  And the UN says all CDM projects “meet strict technological standards and are rigorously scrutinised through an international monitoring, reporting and verification process”.

The cheapest project on the platform right now — a rice husk based cogeneration plant with 2.5MW of generation capacity for the Indian electricity grid — will sell you a tonne of carbon for just $4.88.  That’s a whopping 57 per cent saving compared to Jetstar’s checkout offer.

SAVE SOME MONEY: Shop around for carbon credits to get the best deal!

You may be getting a raw deal buying carbon offsets with your plane ticket, but that’s not the airlines’ fault.  The ABC reported in December that 2021 was a “bull market” for domestic carbon credits, driving up prices for everyone.  But airlines do have control over another part of the carbon credit story.

…Or Leave the Airlines to it

Of course, you could save even more money on carbon credits by just letting your airline pick up the tab.  A 2016 agreement made by the member states of the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requires airlines — including those in Australia — to buy a certain number of carbon credits every year themselves.

The agreement is called the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and it initially required airlines to have net-zero emissions growth beyond an average of 2019 and 2020 levels.  This would mean if an airline emitted more carbon in 2021 than the 2019/20 average, they would have to offset the difference.

But, just like everything else, Covid changed this plan for the worse.  2020 saw a halving of flight activity compared to 2019, which reduced CORSIA’s predicted emissions average by 25 to 30 per cent according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

This would have substantially increased emissions reduction requirements, so the International Air Transport Association asked the ICAO to remove 2020 from the average.  ICAO agreed, increasing allowed emissions, which reduced carbon offsetting requirements by between 25 and 75 per cent.

The IEA says a combination of this change and a slow post-Covid recovery for the aviation industry will eliminate carbon reduction requirements for airlines entirely.  “If flight activity rebound takes as long as most industry projections expect, this decision will nullify any offset obligations during CORSIA’s pilot phase.”

So, don’t feel too guilty about skipping out on carbon credits when flying, the airlines sure didn’t.

SAVE EVEN MORE: Leave cancelling carbon to the big polluters — they’ll be required to.

Save money and the planet this January with the Humanitarian Changemakers Network!  We’ve got tips for getting the best deals on reducing your carbon footprint, shopping mindfully, and the most effective charities to support.  Just go to humanitarianchangemakers.net/news or search ‘Changemaker Q&A’ on your preferred podcast platform.

This week: are high flying changemakers getting a raw deal on carbon credits?  We’ve found the best deal for travellers to reduce their emissions — and it’s not from airlines.  Search Changemakers Q&A on your preferred podcast platform to listen now!

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Transmedia storytelling for social change, by the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of so-called Australia, and celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.