Candidates from the seat of Batman, in Melbourne’s north, took part in a climate change forum on Monday at the Northcote Town Hall.
The leading candidates in the seat, ALP’s David Feeney and the Greens’ Alex Bhathal both participated in the Q & A style forum, as did independent Phillip Sutton and Rosemary Lavin from the Animal Justice Party.
The seat of Batman is considered one the safer ALP seats, which it currently holds by a margin of 7.8 per cent.
But, the retirement of current MP and Labor stalwart Martin Ferguson has introduced a few unknowns into the race, and the Greens hope to capitalise on its climate credentials in an electorate that is particularly concerned about global warming.
The forum was organised by the Darebin Climate Action Now, an independent local organisation focused on climate issues, and offered the candidates a chance to express their views and policies on climate change, as well as to answer questions from the audience.
ALP candidate Senator David Feeney talks with Rosemary Lavin from the Animal Justice Party. Senator Feeney affirmed his support of the move to an ETS, while Ms Lavin talked about the climate impact of methane gas.
Ms Sliwczynski was unable to participate in the forum due to a prior commitment but attended the Q & A later in the evening.
Mr Sutton is the co-author “Climate Code Red”, a book published in 2008 that puts forward a case for emergency action on climate change.
Ms Bhathal says that this is one of the first candidate forums actually held in Batman in many years – she is running in her fourth campaign for Batman.
Emil Jeyaratnam is a journalist, photographer and a recent La Trobe University graduate. You can view his work here or follow him on Twitter: @EmilJeyaratnam
Image Source (c) Emil Jeyaratnam
