25 March 2025

Dear Liberal (Ms Bola Olatunbosun), Labor (Dr Andrew Leigh MP), and Greens (Ms Dani Hunterford)

I’m writing on behalf of my Kippax Uniting Church congregation to express our deep concern over the impacts of climate change on all aspects of Australian society. We want to see much greater action to address the primary causes driving global warming. With a federal election on the horizon, we want to see clear plans of actions on all fronts in our society which drive climate change.

Uniting Church congregations across the country are taking part in a Uniting Climate Action Network Activation during March 2025 —a month of public actions to show our leaders that everyday Australians, including people of faith, care deeply about strong climate policies.

In the photograph attached with this letter we as a congregation stand with a sign urging that we build a better, cleaner, fairer, climate future. We see evidence that climate change is accelerating even faster than scientists expected, and we need to respond in kind: faster, and bolder. As Christians we have the responsibility of encouraging good stewardship of God’s creation. Climate change is something that is happening now.

Action is needed now!

As people of faith, we are called to care for creation and seek justice and the common good in caring for our common home. Taking strong action to address the climate crisis is an exercise in loving God and neighbour and standing for justice. We see justice as the Gospel wrapped in human form. Justice in the way we respond to climate change is therefore of fundamental important to us in the Uniting Church. Courteous and respectful dialogue with all stakeholders is needed, based on the most accurate scientific information about the causes of warming and what we can do about it, from increasing sunlight reflection to removing methane and other greenhouse gases. We see great value in integrating our Christian faith perspectives on ethics and justice into these policy conversations.

We know the climate emergency demands action from all of us if we are to prevent dangerous warming. Everyone has a role to play. We in the Uniting Church want to play our part by encouraging members, congregations, groups, agencies and councils to model ways of living and working that minimise the production of greenhouse gas emissions, while also encouraging new ways of thinking that reflect our interconnected planetary reality. We need to seriously and regularly include matters of environment and lifestyle change in prayer and worship and in community dialogue. We call on governments to implement policies that stand to deliver the most practical benefit in slowing and reversing climate change.

Our purpose in this letter is to urge you to bring forward policy and action plans that show clearly the steps to understand climate risks and impacts. We need to transform our energy, transport, manufacturing, service and agricultural industries to reduce greenhouse emissions and thus encourage investments in the sustainability of our whole society. We know that to do that that, we need to work together.

We welcome the opportunity to share and talk over these important matters.

Sincerely Yours

John Williams, FTSE
On behalf of Kippax Uniting Church Congregation
And as Facilitator for Uniting Climate Action Network (UCAN)
0419253915