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Candidates, thank you for pledging to support solar and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres in your electorate and nationally, if elected.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR CANDIDATE'S PLEDGE

WHY PLEDGE?

In the lead-up to the federal election, we are asking all candidates to pledge their support for the rollout of solar and batteries for schools and early childhood centres in their electorate; and that if elected they will also support the rollout of solar and batteries in schools and early childhood centres across Australia.

Solar Our Schools will:

• Create 7000 renewable energy jobs around Australia,
• Savings from energy bills would enable another 4000 more teaching jobs, directly addressing the national teacher shortage. 
• Save 1.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions from going into the atmosphere each year.

DOWNLOAD MATERIAL FOR CANDIDATES: 

1. ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF SOLAR OUR SCHOOLS FOR CANDIDATE

2. A3 PLEDGE CERTIFICATE FOR CANDIDATES (PRINT QUALITY)

3. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

4. SOCIAL MEDIA TILE - INSTAGRAM

5. SOCIAL MEDIA TILE - TWITTER

6. SOCIAL CONTENT FOR CANDIDATES

7. MEDIA RELEASE FOR CANDIDATES

WHY?

More than 12,000 parents around Australia have put their support behind Solar Our Schools because they want to see practical, shovel-ready climate solutions embraced by our federal and state and territory governments working in cooperation. 

HOW?

Federal candidates are encouraged by local residents to sign onto the Solar Our Schools pledge.

In return, Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA) provides:

• An A3 pledge certificate for candidates  
• Where possible a photo opportunity with parents in their electorate
• Social media collateral for candidates to show they have signed onto the pledge

AP4CA will:

• Promote the candidate’s pledge via a media release to local media
• Promotion of the candidate's pledge campaign results in national media releases 
• Promotion of the candidate’s pledge via direct email to 15,000 supporters around Australia
• Promotion of the candidate’s pledge via our social media channels

We do not endorse the party or candidate, instead, we celebrate their support for the Solar Our Schools policy. 

AP4CA is non-partisan, so we will also encourage other candidates in the electorate to support Solar Our Schools. We aim to make climate action a non-partisan issue and want to create a race to the top in embracing shovel-ready climate solutions.

For more information please contact Communications and Campaign Director Heidi Lee Douglas, [email protected] 0401 092 570

Since July 2020, we have united more than 11,000 parents behind Solar Our Schools - asking the Federal Government to fund solar and batteries for every school and early childhood centre in Australia.

We are now calling on individual states and territories to progress a state and federal partnership on Solar Our Schools.

So far, State Governments have made wildly differing levels of progress towards putting solar and batteries on public schools, with absolutely no support for solar and batteries on independent schools or early childhood centres.

We need your help! Write to your State Education Ministers asking them to work in partnership with the Federal Government, to support funding Solar Our Schools and remove barriers to its implementation.

Click on your location to write a letter to your State's Education Minister: NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas NT ACT

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

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Infographic sources:

Federal: http://www.industry.gov.au/Energy/EnergyEfficiency/Documents/NSSP-Evaluation-Report-Final.pdf, p13

NSW: https://nsw.liberal.org.au/Shared-Content/News/2020/POWERING-OUR-PUBLIC-SCHOOLS-INTO-THE-FUTURE/ and https://www.solarmyschool.org.au/

Vic: https://reneweconomy.com.au/victoria-seeks-600mw-wind-and-solar-to-power-hospitals-schools-and-trains-20495/

Qld: https://qed.qld.gov.au/programs-initiatives/det/building-education/major-projects-and-initiatives/advancing-clean-energy-schools-program 

SA: South Australian Department of Education

WA: https://reneweconomy.com.au/w-a-to-spend-66m-on-solar-and-batteries-for-schools-communities-and-social-housing-92719/ 

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2020/09/McGowan-Government-launches-solar-schools-program-for-regions.aspx#:~:text=Education%20and%20Training%20Minister%20Sue,public%20schools%20throughout%20Western%20Australia.

Tas: Tasmanian Renewable Energy Alliance Inc.

NT: http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/mediaRelease/31965

ACT: https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/management-national-solar-schools-program

Image: Map Australia Divided In States from Vector.me

The next step to becoming a spokesperson for Australian Parents for Climate Action is creating a localised Solar Our Schools pitch.

A key part of our federal election strategy is to work with our local groups to have tangible, achievable, strategic climate actions “asks” that you are empowered to take to your local Federal MP’s, and to also get these “asks” covered in local and national media stories. 

Funding Solar Our Schools federally is a solutions-based policy you can ask your Federal MP to back in their party, as a concrete action that their party can commit to as part of their roadmap to net-zero emissions. 

Thus we need for you to be able to pitch Solar Our Schools to your local Federal MP as a policy that would be good for both your local community and the nation.

You can learn more about Solar Our Schools here.

The next step to becoming a spokesperson for Australian Parents for Climate Action is meeting with your Federal (or State) Member of Parliament.

Well done! You have secured a meeting with your Federal (or State) Member of Parliament.

The first thing to clarify with yourself is if you are planning to meet as a representative or supporter of AP4CA. If you meet under AP4CA branding then we do need you to ask that your style of communication and your ask aligns with our strategy. Read on to find out more!

If you don't want to stick to this strategy, then we kindly ask that you meet as an individual and not connect the meeting with AP4CA. Thanks!

We need your help to make a colourful, memorable impact on Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge to get him on board our Solar Our Schools campaign — to install solar panels and batteries at every school and preschool in Australia.

Australian Parents for Climate Action lodged a Pre-Budget Submission to the Federal government to include funding for Solar Our Schools in the May 2021 budget, and many of our supporters wrote a personal submission in support of Solar Our Schools — thank you, legends!

But so far our requests for Federal funding for Solar Our Schools, and our request for a meeting with Minister Tudge, have fallen on deaf ears, so we need to make sure he can hear the voices of the 11,000-plus parents and children across Australia who support Solar Our Schools!

Insiders tell us that letters and artwork from children make it to the top of the pile of Ministers' correspondence — so your kids artwork will get noticed in a way that letters from us adults won't!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Make a Time to Shine artwork with your child (check out our inspiration board below)

Create a sun artwork with a “sun clock” theme to convey the message to Minister Tudge that the clock is ticking on the need to reduce our carbon emissions, and we need him to advocate for funding Solar Our Schools! 

Older kids can write a letter — or make a TikTok video! — explaining why Solar Our Schools is a no-brainer. Here are some points they could mention:

• Solar and batteries on every school and preschool in Australia will lower school energy costs, create local jobs and lower carbon emissions!
• The Federal Government has fallen behind the states on renewable energy infrastructure investment. It’s time for the Federal Government to come to the party and shine on our schools!
• With a Federal election and the Glasgow COP26 conference both looming, now is the time for our Federal government to invest in renewable energy infrastructure that reduces our carbon emissions and creates green jobs across Australia!

2. Send your Time to Shine creations to Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge

Hon Alan Tudge MP

Minister for Education and Youth

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

(02) 6277 7350

[email protected] 

NB: If you are sending Minister Tudge your Time to Shine artwork or letters in the mail, take a photo of them before you send them off. 

3. Share your Time to Shine creations with us

Share photos of your artwork and letters and/or your videos on social media with the hashtags #SolarOurSchools and #TimetoShine, and our handle @ap4ca. 

If you want to tag Minister Tudge, his handles are: @tudgeMP (Facebook), @alan_tudge (Instagram) and @AlanTudgeMP (Twitter).

Also, please email them to [email protected] for us to share with our supporters so we can encourage others to send a message to Minister Tudge!

Come on, let's make some noise!

Here is some expert tips on writing a punchy and personal letter to the editor:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

• Grab a copy of your local paper or read it online to get a feel for the letters section – how many are printed, average length, types of topics covered, tone.

MAKE IT PUNCHY

• Be considered and critical where necessary, but avoid ranting. You are trying to convince people, not shut them out.
• Keep your letter short and succinct: 150-250 words is a good guide. Less is more.
  

WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT SOLAR OUR SCHOOLS 

• Focus on the positives – Solar Our Schools is great for:
  • Jobs and post-COVID economy
  • Saving schools money in electricity bills
    
  • Schools being able to re-allocate money saved from power bills into more teachers or educational resources
  • Millions of tonnes per year carbon emission reduction
  • While some schools/states have made progress with respect to solar, Solar Our Schools calls for every school and early childhood centre to receive solar and batteries – renewable power for all, not just a few.
• You could mention that you have signed the Open Letter to the Prime Minister to Solar Our Schools and you would like other people in your community to sign the open letter too.
• Or you could mention how you've made a Pre-Budget Submission to the federal government so they will (hopefully!) include Solar Our Schools in the next budget. You care what your taxes are spent on!

MAKE IT LOCAL

• Make it relevant to the readership – why should other locals care about the points you are making?
  • Do schools in your area desperately need solar?
  • Are classrooms too hot, and the best way to cool them would be air-conditioners powered by solar?
  • Is there something else about Solar Our Schools or AP4CA that you think would interest your local Member of Parliament?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• Mention your perspective as a parent:
  
  • What kind of world would you like to see your children grow up in?
  • What do you worry about as a parent when it comes to climate change?
  • What does Solar Our Schools mean to you and your family personally?
• Sign your name rather than just your school/organisation. 

SUBMITTING YOUR LETTER

• The paper (or online version) will provide contact details – a general editorial email address, contact details for the editor or instructions on how to submit a ‘letter to the editor’.
• Be sure to follow any specific instructions about your letter (format/word length/content). 

SIGN OUR OPEN LETTER TO STATE AND FEDERAL LEADERS

We’re calling on state and federal governments to fund solar panels and batteries for every school and early childhood centre in Australia that doesn’t yet have solar - or needs more!

It's a no brainer: creating clean local jobs Australia-wide, slashing school electricity costs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to protect our climate! We're asking state and federal governments to make this a reality!

Solar and batteries significantly cut power bills for schools and early childhood centres by using and storing free energy from the sun. Research by Beyond Zero Emission shows that installing solar panels and batteries on Australian schools and early childhood centres would:  

• Save $114,000 in annual energy bills per large school 
• Save $12,700 in small schools*

To achieve these savings, schools need grant funding for their solar and battery system, and  to become part of a "virtual power plant" where they can sell their excess solar power to the community.

SOLAR PROVIDES AN IDEAL INVESTMENT FOR THE CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

As Australia needs to moves toward clean energy in all sectors of the economy, solar and batteries for schools supports the clean industries of the future and leaves polluting industries, like coal and gas, behind. Solar Our Schools would create many thousands of regional jobs - at least 6,870 jobs*! Solar installers are local businesses in the regions where the schools and early childhood centres are, so local economies would benefit.

SOLAR ON SCHOOLS IS PART OF AUSTRALIA’S CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE 

Solar energy is used directly by the school or early childhood centre for their electricity needs, instead of them buying coal-generated power from the electricity grid. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions because it means less coal-generated power is needed. Installing solar panels and batteries on an all Australian schools and early childhood centres would save 1.4 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions per year*. 

YOU CAN HELP WIN SOLAR ON OUR SCHOOLS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRES!

By asking state and federal governments for solar and batteries for all Australian schools and childcare centres,  you can play a part in creating a cleaner, better, safer Australia. 

1. SIGN OUR OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER

Add your name to the call for clean-energy investment into solar and batteries for all schools in Australia! We want thousands of parents, teachers, students and community members to sign the letter, so please share it too! Here is a poster you can download!

2. VOLUNTEER AS A SCHOOL OR CHILD CARE CHAMPION AND GET YOUR COMMUNITY ON BOARD!

We have resources and organisers to help you connect with your school or child care community to get them on board. We'll help you get the ball rolling! 

3. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR LOCAL POLITICIAN ASKING TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR OUR CAMPAIGN

We need to let politicians across all of Australia know that Aussies want the government to Solar Our Schools! Please email or write to your local MP to ask them to get behind funding solar and batteries for all schools, not just those that can afford it.

It’s estimated that at least 42% of the 9503 schools (public and private) in Australia don’t currently have solar*. Many more child care centres and preschools also have no solar. Many schools and centres that do have solar panels often don't have a large enough system to meet all their needs.

The Solar Our Schools open letter is endorsed by:

^Source: Beyond Zero Emissions ‘Million Jobs Plan’ 2020 - This plan, developed in conjunction with Tesla, provides for large schools to utilise 250kW of solar plus a medium battery and small schools to use 25kW of solar panels plus a small battery.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 JANUARY 2021

AUSTRALIAN PARENTS for Climate Action has renewed calls for the Federal Government to prioritise funding for solar panels on every school and early childhood education centre in Australia, ahead of the deadline for public submissions for the next Federal Budget.