Traffic Light Voting

The Vote Climate One team are currently working on the incorporation of the Climate Rescue Accord and the 3Rs into our assessment process. What follows on this page is the background of how we have deal with assessment in the past. The criteria is continually being refined and improved.

We have used the Traffic Light Voting System successfully in local government elections to elect councillors willing to act on climate change. Australia’s preferential voting system makes this strategy a very powerful tool for use in a Federal election. Our non-partisan guide will make your vote really count. Your vote for climate will encourage all politicians, regardless of party affiliation to take action on climate change.

First, we categorise political candidates into three easy to understand groups

The committment to climate action by single issue parties like Federal ICAC Now, Animal Justice Party, and Jacqui Lambie Network have been difficult to assess.

In a crucial parliamentary vote they may be vulnerable to deal making which would promise support for their single issue but at the cost of action on climate. We will continue to review their Traffic Light assessment and provide our findings in the political parties information.

How are the candidates assessed?

Questions

Our panel will assess each can each candidates against three foundational questions:

• Do you endorse a national declaration of an Ecological and Climate Emergency?
• Do you support the principle of aiming for zero emissions by 2030?
• Tackling the problems associated with an overheated planet will impact more on some sections of society than others. Do you endorse the principle of climate justice for all Australians?

In addition Independents will be asked whether they would support a Labor minority government if the federal election fails to deliver an absolute majority to either of the major parties.

There are 151 lower house seats to assess. Our panel will rely heavily on local climate groups and VOTE CLIMATE ONE volunteers to make a traffic light call on independent candidates.

Climate Score Cards

Many other groups like Vote Earth Now and the Victorian Climate Action Network are comprehensively examining climate policies and producing score cards. We will use this information to inform our traffic light allocation beyond the three questions above.

Parliamentary performance

Parties and sitting members will be assessed on their historic contribution to action on global warming in the national parliament. This record in government is particularly relevant when assessing the LNP.

Preference deals

Allocation of a candidate or party’s preference will also inform our decision. This criteria is particularly relevant to late nominations and dummy candidates.

Parliament of national unity

Traffic light decisions for the major parties will be influenced by the conviction that climate action would be better served by a minority government in the lower house of the Federal parliament. The two major parties have not earned our trust on climate action.