Vote, it matters to sport + it matters for our planet + it matters to all of us.

Updated: Oct 1

Council and Shire elections are being held right across Victoria. Councillors elect will serve for 4 years. That will bring us to October 2028.

We may get hooked into the media train of the US elections, or the good, the bad and the ugly of federal and state politics. However, if you look a little closer to your own home ground, local councillors standing for re-election or election have a great deal of responsibility and influence that extends much further than rubbish and roads.

Here are some of the roles and responsibilities of Councillors:

“The key aspects of a Councillor’s role include participating in the decision-making of Council, representing the interests of the municipality and participating in strategic planning activities.

Key aspects of a Councillor's role:

liaise with other levels of government, the private sector and non-government community groups
participate in the decision-making of the Council
take part in Council committees
represent the interests of the municipal community when making decisions
contribute to the strategic direction of the Council through development and review of key strategic documents, including the Council Plan
together with other Councillors, determine the Council's financial strategy and budget and allocate resources
attend Council meetings and relevant community events
together with other Councillors, appoint a CEO and manage and review their performance.”[i]

Local government councillors are local people, they talk to state and federal government members, they lobby and advocate for what happens where we live.

The resources of a local council, the calibre of councillors and council staff will have an influence over planning and preparedness of ALL Victorian communities to the future challenges of the climate emergency, to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, to the future of sport.

Our vote is the most influential thing we have regardless of our status and who we are.

At local, state and federal politics who we vote for matters, talking about who we are voting for also matters, talking to the people we think we will vote for and reading their approaches matters.

The people we vote into political seats at local, state and federal level develop laws, polices and strategy.

If we elect councillors who care, are curious and who are committed to people, place, planet and nature IMAGINE the SHIFT in 4 years we might see in our climate response.

From a sports perspective, as noted above, councils are responsible for the management of sports facilities and grounds; they seek funding from state and federal governments for new infrastructure and seek feedback from communities about these facilities.

Sports infrastructure and participation is being and will continue to be impacted negatively by climate change.

If the councillors elect do not see the high value of sport, you are unlikely to see sports infrastructure develop in line with local needs or in the required adaptive capacity to the climate challenges presenting.

If your councillors do not prioritize responses to the climate emergency in the areas of adaptation and resilience and mitigation at the speed and scale required it is likely you will see ongoing reductions in access to sport and the physical and mental health benefits it provides to your community.

Most sports clubs and teams from community to the high performance level are leasees of council owned facilities. The terms of these agreements or leases may be set to change - will you need to go plastic free accross your entire sport, what considerations will you need to make for waste, will you be asked to switch energy providers. How can your sport support local councils to deliver on their emergency and transition plans? How, together, do you lobby for support to future proof venues and get on the front foot to accelerate this process?

Collaboration is the word that springs to mind and building relationships supports collbaration.

So, in exercising our voting power, conversations build relationships as we seek to find out information to make a good choice when we cast our vote?

You can TALK to your candidates and ASK their position on climate change and sport, if they see a connection between the two, and if not, you can open a conversation about this and see how receptive they are to ideas.

You can CHECK to see if your local government has declared a climate emergency on the council or shire website or by visiting https://climateemergencydeclaration.org/climate-emergency-declarations-cover-15-million-citizens/

If it hasn’t ASK current councillors standing for re-election about their future direction, ASK new candidates if they will advocate for this. TALK to them about your concerns.

Councils who are serious about climate change are developing climate emergency plans.

Check if your council supports fossil fuel ad bans, If not, are they seeking to ban fossil fuel advertising from their assets? More than 15 local councils in Australia have supported a fossil fuel ad ban for council property and signage. Recognising the social liscence if gives the main drivers of climate change. You can read more about it on the Australian Institute website. Your councils actions might make for some tough times for some sports, however the long game means taking action now.

This maybe tricker in metro areas, in regional areas local councillors are very accessible, you often see them, once you know who they are, at the local café, school gate or down the street. They are open to conversations, now.

Offering time to the place you live, and your family lives is something we CAN do in Australia.

Encourage your family, friends, work colleagues, employees, teammates, to find out who is standing in their electorate, to talk to them about what their approach will be to things that they value, what they can expect to see achieved and how they can get involved.

Want some tips to have climate conversations and motivation to use your voice and your vote?

Check out the Ecoathletes team #clothes4good video — featuring Ecoathletes Champions Sam Mattis (2X US Olympic discus thrower), Halé Oal (Rutgers University swimmer), and Amy Steel (Australian netballer) — that encourages you to use #climatecomeback superpowers: TALK about climate and VOTE climate!

You could even put up a sign somewhere where you live, work or play that simply says REMEMBER TO VOTE in the <<XX local election>>: YOU AND WHAT YOU VALUE MATTERS. Or if there is someone you think will work for a better climate future and your local community put their promo poster in your window.

In Victoria

“The role of each Council is to provide good governance for the benefit and wellbeing of the municipal community, which includes residents, ratepayers, traditional landowners and people and bodies who conduct activities in the municipal district.

Councils receive funds by levying municipal rates. Councils also receive grant funding from federal and state governments. Councils have wide-ranging responsibilities under more than 120 pieces of Victorian legislation, including land use planning and building control, public health services, domestic animal control and environmental protection legislation.

Councils are also responsible for maintaining community infrastructure (e.g. town halls, libraries, parks and gardens) and may make and enforce local laws, provided they do not contradict existing state or federal laws.”[ii]

These four years are a significant and crucial period for mitigation, adaptation and resilience, to how we manage energy transition, how we secure water and food supply and quality and manage conflict in this space, how we develop and deliver circular economy approaches and bend the curve to nature positive, protecting what we have and growing nature back.

Over the next 4 years we need to advocate for fair and just transition.

In this 4-year window we will be expecting local as well as state and federal action.

More about Council elections.

· Victorian Electoral Commission

· Victorian Government

· Parliamentary Education Office

Other notes on what I have learned in my own Shire Council.

I have been learning to navigate the local government system to understand how my knowledge about sport and climate can help influence my community to take accelerated action (this is still a work in progress). I did not know until this year that I could pitch an idea to the council regarding where I think they should spend money and why by relating this to council strategies and plans, making a submission and attending a budget planning session to have my 3 minutes of question time. HOW COOL IS THAT!

Another thing I have found interesting is the Have Your Say process – Did you know in your local area you have a say on new council proposals, not just the property development next door, or level crossing removal? Here is an example of what this looks like in the Macedon Ranges. https://yoursay.mrsc.vic.gov.au/. I think this is much easier to navigate in regional areas, it may take a little extra investigation with intent in metropolitan councils.

There are also webinars and workshops to help with bushfire preparedness, regenerative agriculture, invasive weed control and choosing plants for biodiversity relevant to your Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC) on offer where I live.

Community small grants for groups like sports clubs are available to accelerate action within the councils strategy, for example increasing participation, safety or environmental outcomes.

#greenplanetsport #greensports #sustainablesport #regenerativesport #voteclimate #sportspeoplevotetoo #localcouncilelections #vec #victoriavotes #climatecomeback @ecoathletesteam