To: Tweed Shire
Make Big Polluters Pay Their Fair Share: Tweed Shire
Communities for Climate Compensation
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We support big coal, oil and gas corporations paying their fair share for the costs of climate change. Local councils and residents shouldn’t be left holding the bill while corporations pocket the profits.
We call on Tweed Shire to pass a Polluter Pays motion to support a Climate Compensation Fund, which would help protect local services, strengthen and repair infrastructure, and fund disaster response and preparedness – ensuring our community can stay safe and thrive.
Council should formally call on the Australian Federal Government to:
- Establish a Climate Compensation Fund, paid for by a levy on major coal, oil and gas export corporations – not ratepayers and taxpayers;
- Earmark funds for local councils to cover the rising costs of climate adaptation, disaster recovery and resilience;
- Provide sustained, legislated funding so councils can plan for the future with certainty; and
- Prioritise protecting ratepayers and taxpayers from bearing the escalating costs of climate damage.
Why is this important?
The "Polluter Pays" principle is simple – if you make a mess, you should clean it up.
Communities like ours are already paying the price of climate change through higher insurance premiums and increasing disaster recovery bills. Meanwhile, big coal, oil and gas corporations are making billions exporting Australia's resources, often while paying no tax and pocketing huge government subsidies.
Our community is already experiencing the impacts of climate pollution – from floods and bushfires to heatwaves and coastal erosion. Local councils are on the frontline, responsible for roads, drainage, community facilities and emergency response – but right now the costs of disasters are rising faster than council revenue.
A Climate Compensation Fund could help pay for:
- Disaster response and preparedness
- Insurance relief for disaster-hit communities
- Flood-proofed homes
- Upgraded community halls and evacuation centres
- Shaded streets and cool public spaces
- Well-resourced emergency services
- An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Climate Self Determination Fund
- Support for a just transition for workers and their families
- And much more
How it will be delivered
This petition will be delivered to Tweed Shire, who will be encouraged to table it as part of a successful Polluter Pays motion.