Giving a platform to farmers on the frontline of climate change

Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) is a movement of farmers, agricultural leaders and rural Australians working to ensure farmers are a key part of the solution to climate change. As the only farmer-led organisation that specialises in climate action, FCA works across the agricultural and climate sectors to manage risks and find opportunities to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change.

Issue

Agriculture is a significant contributor to climate change, yet there has been little resourcing to support the agriculture industry in Australia to adapt. In the absence of a clear, coordinated approach to climate change, agricultural emissions are unlikely to be substantively reduced within a meaningful timeframe and opportunities for carbon capture are not likely to be realised. 

Response

FCA has been working with farmers to build awareness of the effect of climate change on farming families and shift the prevailing narrative to see farmers as part of the solution rather than an obstacle to climate action. This work has served as the foundation for FCA to build bipartisan support for a national strategy on climate change and agriculture.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Growing support for net-zero by 2050: Backed by National Farmers’ Federation in August 2020 and the National Party in October 2021.
• National strategy on climate change and agriculture: In response to momentum built by FCA and other advocates, the Federal Government has developed the National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy 2021-2025, published in October 2021.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Farmers are on the frontlines of climate change and, as some of the most trusted spokespeople on the issue, they are changing the conversation on climate change in rural Australia … Impact Funders should take great pride in what we have achieved so far.” 

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2018 Large Grants round: $125,000 for core funding (over three years)

Protecting Australia’s gun safety laws

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA) is a broad coalition of voices representing the interests of the community in ensuring that we maintain vigilance on issues of gun safety.

Issue

When the Impact Fund supported the establishment of AGSA in 2017, the gun lobby in Australia was gaining influence in the debate over gun safety legislation. Without a strong alternative voice to that lobby, there was a real risk that Australia’s gun safety protections would be watered down. 

Response

Founding members of AGSA recognised that a national response was required to counter this threat and sought to build a national coalition of broad-based community and professional organisations to advocate for the protection of Australia’s gun safety framework. Initial members articulated a clear vision and approach for organisations to work together on the issue, and engaged in a series of discussions with organisations with an aligned interest in gun safety, leading to the formation of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• The establishment of a strong, broad-based Alliance to advocate for gun safety: AGSA is now made up of over 30 organisations across Australia and acts as a strong and recognised voice for gun safety. 
• Influencing policy dialogue and debate: AGSA is now a recognised gun safety voice at the policy table and is influencing policy decisions, including the implementation of a permanent National Firearm Amnesty in 2021.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“We bring those voices to the table when it comes to firearm safety, and we will forever be thankful to the Impact Fund community, who saw an opportunity to take this need off the page and into action.” – Stephen Bendle, Convenor, AGSA

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $70,000 for seed funding (over two years)
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $20,000 in core funding

Protecting people from gambling harm

The Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) is a national advocacy organisation which works to prevent and minimise the harm from gambling. AGR’s aim is to remove the shame that surrounds gambling addiction, have the problem treated as a public health issue, and achieve the legislative changes needed to protect communities.

Issue

The harm caused by gambling impacts people and communities in many different ways. There are around 500,000 people in Australia who are experiencing high or severe levels of harm from gambling. On average, these people lose $21,000 a year.

Poker machine gambling continues to be the largest contributor to gambling harm, resulting in losses of more than $12 billion every year.

Response

In late 2016, AGR secured a powerful win in their campaign to reduce harm from poker machine gambling. After sustained campaigning, Coles announced that they would implement a trial to limit the maximum bet to $1 on its poker machines in South Australia and Queensland. Shortly after, the Impact Fund came on as an early supporter to help AGR leverage the momentum that was building at the time.

Through the Pokies Play You campaign, AGR is reframing gambling as a public health issue and supporting brands and AFL clubs to divest from the poker machine industry.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and nine AFL clubs have divested from the poker machine industry.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders are willing to back risky ideas and uncertain paths to advance social change… the Impact Fund community understood our vision from the beginning.” – Tony Mohr, Executive Director (2016–20), AGR

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $60,000 for Pokies Play You campaign
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $25,000 in core funding

Protecting country and culture through Indigenous land management

The Country Needs People (CNP) campaign is a growing group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians calling on decision-makers to:

1. Double the number of Indigenous rangers.
2. Create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking and capital costs.
3. Double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program. 
4. Ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030. 

CNIP is a growing alliance of over 41 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea management organisations, Country Needs People Ltd and over 100,000 Australians.

Issue

Traditional land management practices on Country reinforce communities’ connection to land and culture, contribute to individual and community wellbeing, provide a source of employment, and promote landscape health and sustainability. While Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) were introduced nearly 25 years ago, the lack of a coherent policy or funding framework meant communities long struggled to secure enough long-term funding to support land and sea management. 

Response

CNP has worked to build cross-partisan support to maintain and increase funding for Indigenous land and sea management. Furthermore, CNP has undertaken research to demonstrate the environmental and community benefit associated with traditional land management, and supported communities to apply for the protection of traditional lands under IPAs.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Over $800 million in government funding secured to support 80 Indigenous ranger groups, including a commitment from the Federal Government of $102 million indexed annually between 2021 and 2028, and commitments from state governments in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
• Model being adapted internationally: The Land Needs Guardians movement in Canada is pursuing the same recognition of the benefits of traditional land management for both Country and people.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders have helped us grow from a campaign to an independent organisation, delivering significant dividends for our environment and Indigenous wellbeing.” – Patrick O’Leary, Executive Director, CNP

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $170,000 for core funding (over three years)

Protecting public interest journalism

Established in 2018, the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) is investigating a sustainable future for public interest journalism. PIJI envisages a sustainable and diverse public interest journalism landscape in Australia. Through research, the organisation helps move Australia towards achieving this vision.

Issue

The news media landscape in Australia is experiencing an unprecedented industry disruption, resulting in news media closures and industry consolidation. Those shifts have raised concerns about media diversity and access to public interest journalism, particularly in regional and rural Australia.

Response

PIJI was established to build awareness of the role of public interest journalism and the threat to it; research options to address that threat; and lobby government to support the industry to transition to a new, sustainable model of operation. In collaboration with the Susan McKinnon Foundation, the Impact Fund provided funding to support PIJI’s initial setup, launch and ongoing operation.

^{Disclosure: Eric Beecher, Chair of Australian Communities Foundation, is also on the Board of Public Interest Journalism Initiative.}

Eliminating over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children in out-of-home care

Family Matters: Strong Communities. Strong Culture. Stronger Children is Australia’s national campaign to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe and cared for in family, community and culture.

Issue

In what is being termed the new Stolen Generation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are now more than 10 times more likely to be removed from their families than other children. Based on the latest data available (June 2020), 18,862 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were in out-of-home care in Australia, comprising 33% of the total out-of-home care population. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care has doubled since the 2008 Apology and the rate of over-representation is set to more than triple by 2036 unless there is effective intervention for change.

Response

The Family Matters campaign has sought to compile, analyse, and disseminate evidence on the operations of child protection systems in every jurisdiction in Australia and their impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. Furthermore, the campaign has sought to use documented evidence to monitor the provision of Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCO) Child and Family Services in each jurisdiction and advocate for the adoption and implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle to ensure adequate safeguards for children and families.

Improving consumer influence in policy decisions for climate resilient homes

More and more Australians are living in sustainable homes that not only use much less energy and water, but are also comfortable, healthy and affordable to live in.

But many more live in inefficient homes that are cold and damp in winter, dangerously hot in summer or cost a fortune in bills to keep at a healthy temperature.  Energy waste also adds to Australia’s carbon emissions, while climate change impacts such as heatwaves will increasingly expose vulnerable people living in poor quality housing to serious health risks.

The Climate Resilient Homes project is a national coalition of community, consumer and environment groups calling for action to raise the energy and water performance of all Australian homes – new and existing.

Issue

In Australia, construction and use of the built environment accounts for 45% of annual energy consumption and 18% of Australia’s carbon footprint. New housing construction accounts for much of this, making improving housing sustainability critical to addressing climate change. Building codes and regulatory frameworks have traditionally been developed between government and industry with little or no consumer input. They do not adequately incorporate or incentivise energy efficiency in residential home construction resulting in poor energy efficiency and higher household running costs.

Response

Renew is spearheading an innovative collaboration between environmental and anti-poverty organisations, including the Australian Council of Social Service, to advocate for stronger adoption of energy efficient housing and developed a consumer advocacy strategy to promote residential energy efficiency in new and existing homes.

Providing insights into poverty and inequality in Australia

The Poverty and Inequality Partnership is a five year research and impact collaboration to sharpen the national focus on poverty and inequality in Australia. The partnership monitors trends in poverty and inequality over time, explores drivers, and develops solutions to sharpen the focus and stimulate action to tackle these policy challenges. 

Issue

A combination of factors contribute to poverty – a lack of money or resources for the basic needs of life – and inequality – unequal distribution of income and wealth. These factors include:

• Australia’s social security system: Our system for supporting people does not provide enough help to prevent people from slipping into poverty. Currently, the system is not working because the rates of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance have not been increased in real terms for 25 years, while the cost of living, especially housing, has risen dramatically.
• Unemployment and underemployment: There are not enough jobs available for people who are looking for paid work; and there are people who, while employed, need more paid work.  There is only one job available for every eight people looking for paid work, and often those jobs require specific skills or knowledge about new technologies.
• Increased costs of living, especially housing: The cost of housing and essential services is increasing. We all need a home. None of us can go about our lives, raise a family, go to work or stay healthy, without a stable and safe place to call home. Our housing system should make sure everyone has a secure, safe roof over their head.

Response

Through its research, the Partnership is demonstrating the role played by public policy – especially social security and taxation, but also housing and employment policy, among other areas – in determining the rate of poverty and inequality in Australia.

ACOSS has developed a suite of policy reform proposals to address to reduce poverty and inequality in Australia in the following areas:

• Quality community services 
• Action on climate change and affordable, clean energy
• Economics & tax
• Income support & employment
• Quality health services for all in need
• Housing & homelessness

Protecting and promoting reproductive health rights

The Human Rights Law Centre’s Reproductive Rights project works toward a vision of Australian laws and policies promoting reproductive freedom and ensuring every person has the power to decide what’s right for their body.

Issue

At the time the Impact Fund provided support, abortion had just been decriminalised in Queensland. It was still criminalised in NSW and SA. Laws in the NT and WA provided limited access to abortion and, although abortion was legal in Tasmania and Victoria, safe access zone laws in Tasmania and Victoria were being challenged in the High Court. The anti-abortion lobby was strong and active, and progressive changes in legislation were uncertain.

Response

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) had been undertaking a legal and advocacy campaign to ensure safe and legal access to abortion for women in Australia (including campaign activity in support of the Queensland amendments) and needed support to continue that work. Working as part of a coalition of legal, health and women’s organisations, the HRLC lobbied State Governments to change the law and assisted parliamentary representatives to support the tabling and passage of appropriate legislation. The coalition used the High Court challenge to Victoria’s safe access laws to highlight the need to protect women’s rights to access safe abortion and push for the preservation and extension of those laws.

HRLC’s work supported by the Impact Fund has played a key role in decriminalising abortion in NSW and protecting safe access to abortion in Victoria and Tasmania. The HRLC subsequently campaigned to see a similar safe access zone Bill introduced in South Australia. These efforts laid the groundwork that resulted in WA recently passing safe access laws like Victoria’s. As a result of the campaign and aligned efforts, women now have safe access to abortion in every state and territory of Australia.

Winning the national energy debate

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. The Climate Council provides authoritative, expert advice to the Australian public on climate change and solutions based on the most up-to-date science available.

Issue

Australia’s energy infrastructure is ageing, inefficient, polluting and must be replaced over the coming decades. The cost of large-scale renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels and costs are expected to continue to fall. Globally the energy transition from fossil fuels is now happening apace, but there has been little forward planning by the Australian government to smooth the transition for workers, communities or energy consumers.

Response

The Climate Council’s 2017 project, “Winning the National Energy Debate”, was designed to cut through and make a substantive difference in changing public opinion on this hotly contested issue. The project used a public narrative change model, honed over the last three years, to help shift the debate around climate change. The Climate Council is contuining to provide expert advice to the Australian public on climate change. The Council’s Climate Media Centre is partnering with 350.org Australia to Change Australia’s Story on Gas – one of the Impact Fund’s 2022 Collaborations.