The Politics of Power
episode
Climate360° : a changing climate's impact & brilliant people making a difference
43 min
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the background and motivation of Zali Steggall’s entry into politics?
Every prediction keeps being shown to be too conservative when it comes to the lowering of cost of renewable energy and the speed of uptake of people trying to do it themselves. Uh you only have to look at the uptake of the battery uh program and batteries, that that's been great. Governments then lag behind in not making sure it's uh available to more people, like stratas and not having access to. the batteries um subsidies. For example, we need to be doing more to ensure renters and people in uh medium to high density have access to cleaner energy and cheaper energy. So um there's so many ways in which the government can be more ambitious. Yes. We need to keep pushing them.
Welcome to Climate 360. I'm delighted to uh welcome Zally Stegel, the independent member for Oranga, to uh today's uh uh podcast. Um and as we do with our podcast, we like to ask uh our our guests to just very quickly introduce everyone will know who you are, but from your perspective, the one minute summary of Zally Stegel, who who are you?
One minute, 60 seconds or less. Uh, who am I? Uh look, I live in Waringa, which is uh north shore, northern beaches of Sydney. Born in Manley, I have had the privilege to represent Australia at four Winter Olympic Games as an alpine skier. I then went on to have a career in law as a barrister. I practiced in many areas. And since 2019, I have been in politics very much on the basis. of fighting for climate actions, uh to champion merit fact based policy around the big issues of our time. I think as a mum, as a professional, as an advocate, I felt that we needed politics to be brought back into the hands of communities and non-career politicians who could look at issues in a more uh uh impartial way, free of ideology and focused on uh policy that is fact-based.
That's really really interesting that that that the the the seat that you actually won, of course, uh has to be said, was was t was previously held by one of probably the most prominent climate deniers in Australian political recent history.
Uh a and that was the main reason for me getting into politics, right? I uh after being a professional s athlete and a a barrister for ten years, I had spent some time rallying at the T V, horrified at what was done in bar you know, the arguments he put forward and his constant um undermining of the con science and what we needed to do as a country to be safe for future generations. Uh And so for me as a professional woman, I felt that if I didn't step in to take on the responsibility of providing my community with an alternative option when it come to f came to the federal election, um you then you're complicit in the problem. And so for me, uh putting forward for the people of Waringa an alternative option of representation to what Tony Abbott represented was incredibly important.
What what gave you the confidence at that time, noting that he had a significant majority at that point? Um and it had been in liberal hands since this since the it began in nineteen twenty two. It was a long time. What what made you think I I can I can win this? Did you get a feeling from the community that they were ready for a change?
Absolutely. I mean, ironically, uh for my entire voting life I had no other federal representative but Tony Abbott at that time. So it was telling, but it was very out of step with our community. Our community was very front forward leaning when it came to treatment of refugees, when it came to same sex marriage plebiscite, and he had ignored the wishes of our community for a long time. So uh on climate, on Opportunity around where our future economic prosperity lies. All these issues here was completely out of step. So is it an easy challenge to take on? No, but I've never been daunted by what is hard or maybe difficult. But representing Australia at the Winter Olympics is not the most obvious thing to do.
A girl from Manley on the ski fields.
Yes.
Um, as a barrister you learn to take on that responsibility on behalf of your client to do the best you can to advocate.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the background and motivation of Zali Steggall’s entry into politics?
0:00–5:31
2
How does Zali describe the current state of Australia’s clean‑energy policy and its gaps?
5:31–11:32
3
What are the main challenges and opportunities for Australia’s 2023‑2030 clean‑energy targets?
11:32–17:25
4
Why does Zali argue that methane monitoring and gas phase‑out are critical for emissions reductions?
17:25–23:05
5
How do community‑driven independents influence energy policy versus fossil‑fuel lobby power?
23:05–27:49
6
What is the role of nuclear energy in Australia’s transition, and why does Zali view it skeptically?
27:49–32:59
7
How might COP 31 be leveraged to advance Australia’s climate agenda and global cooperation?
32:59–39:04
8
What actionable steps does Zali suggest for voters and policymakers to accelerate the energy transition?
39:04–43:38