I’m writing to thank every Victorian who supported Cancer Council’s Daffodil Day this year. For four decades, Daffodil Day has united our communities in a shared message of hope for the future, and once again it was inspiring to see Victoria’s tremendous response. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity shown by so many last month, this year’s campaign raised more than $5.6 million nationally to support life-saving cancer research and vital support services. Victorians played a significant role in this achievement, demonstrating once again their commitment to helping make a cancer-free future a reality. Nearly all of us have been touched by cancer in some way, whether through our own experience or that of someone we love. While significant progress has been made over the past four decades, cancer continues to affect too many Victorian families, and there is still much work to do. The next breakthroughs in research and treatment depend on continued community support. This year, Victorians once again showed they are ready to stand up to cancer. Whether you donated, fundraised, took part in the Daffodil Day Dip, purchased a daffodil, or simply helped spread a message of hope – every contribution made a difference. You shared a powerful show of support for the countless families challenged by cancer today, while helping drive the discoveries and innovations that will save even more lives tomorrow. While the job is not finished, this continued commitment gives us every reason to be optimistic. Together, we are growing hope, funding future breakthroughs and ensuring more people affected by cancer can get the support they need. Lyrian Fleming-Parsley, Cancer Council Victoria Disappointment in Coalition for scrapping pollution reduction Farmers for Climate Action, representing more than 8000 farmers across Australia, is deeply disappointed with the intentions announced by the Coalition around scrapping pollution reduction. Reducing pollution and emissions from coal and gas were the key to protecting Australia’s farm families. Climate change is sending farm insurance costs through the roof. The Australian Insurance Council, has said: 'Industry and governments need to continue to tackle the underlying driver of worsening extreme weather, climate change, by maintaining a focus on achieving net zero by 2050 with a focus on driving down emissions this decade.' Insurance prices rise, and the most effective way to reduce pressure on premiums and reduce the protection gap is to mitigate or eliminate those risks. In 2022 alone insurers paid out over $7bn in extreme weather claims from 302,000 claims. Farmers are already paying for climate change driven by industrial pollution: ABARES estimates typical farm profit is down by nearly $30,000/yr or $550/wk per farmer. Scrapping vehicle pollution standards is just extremely odd. Vehicle pollution laws have given Australian drivers far more choice in vehicles than we’ve ever had. Those same laws will likely deliver our farmers good choices in electric utes in the next two years. Australians have voted with their wallets, with electric vehicle sales racing skyward. Scrapping vehicle pollution laws means less choice for Australian drivers and risks us becoming the dumping ground for vehicles the rest of the world doesn’t want. More than a third of all cars sold are electric in some form. Our Energy Sovereignty report demonstrated that electrification makes our regions more resilient, and will reduce our vulnerability to volatile international conditions over time. Endless data from multiple sources shows wind and solar, backed by pumped hydro, big batteries and home batteries are the cheapest forms of power. Former Australian Land and Water CEO, Professor Andrew Campbell, has done research which has found enormous volumes of water would need to be taken from farmers to run nuclear energy. In the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland Victoria, his research suggests about half of farmers’ entitlements from the nearby Macalister Irrigation district would need to be bought to run a nuclear reactor, because water currently being used to run the coal-fired power station is required to fill the open cut coal mine, which takes around 30 years. CSIRO has estimated building nuclear reactors would take at least 15 years; state governments including Queensland’s LNP Government have rejected the idea, and we still have no idea where the nuclear waste would go. We ask the Coalition to fight for farmers, not polluters. Verity Morgan-Schmidt, CEO Farmers for Climate Action
