Solutions from the film

We have a lot to be grateful for with Australia’s democracy - preferential voting that ensures the least liked candidate never prevails, compulsory voting that ensures politicians have to reach a wider voter base, and an independent electoral commission that doesn’t favour one particular party.

However, we also need to acknowledge that aspects of our democracy are failing us. A majority of the Australian public want less money in politics and greater transparency. Political parties in Australia collectively received $168 million in donations for the financial year 2019-20 but the public are unable to find out where half that money came from.

What also became clear in our research is that most Australians want a greater say in their local communities. They feel that too many decisions about their region are being made by state or federal governments that are too far away.

It was also clear that some voices are not being heard or represented in our democracy. This includes the voices of the First Peoples, the voices of youth and for some, the voices of nature.

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• Community-led politics
• Online voting tool
• Participatory Democracy and Budgeting
• Youth Parliamentary Advisory Council
• Federal Anti-Corruption Commission
• First Nations Voice to Parliament
• Ecological Law

Learn more about Upgrading Democracy and the actions you can take.

back to the top

The true regeneration of Australia can only occur through a deep listening and healing process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A crucial first step would be enacting a Voice to Parliament. The ripple effect of this decision would likely transform Australia in profound and meaningful ways. For First Nations people, Country is a network of knowledge and wisdom on a grand scale. So in a time of degraded landscapes, species extinction and climate change, isn’t now the perfect opportunity to embrace that wisdom and learn from the people who have evolved with and cared for this land for tens of thousands of years?

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• First Nations Learning and Culture Centres
• First Nations Voice to Parliament
• Native Bush Foods
• Fire Ecology and Cultural Burning

Learn more about embedding First Nations wisdom and the actions you can take

back to the top

Until very recently, our entire energy supply has not only come from fossil fuels but has largely been centralised and owned by a handful of generators and distributors. Renewable energy technology has rapidly evolved and is now allowing us to decentralise and democratise our energy, which not only helps to keep the power and the profits within our communities, but also creates energy sovereignty and resilience for future climate related extreme weather events. The mining and use of materials for panels and turbines is, of course, still extractive but many solar panel and turbine recycling facilities are starting to emerge and will have to greatly increase in the years ahead.

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• Community Renewable Energy Systems
• Community Batteries
• Solar Gardens
• Electric Vehicles grid storage

Learn more about adopting community energy and the actions you can take

back to the top

Most of us are aware that our energy sources are rapidly changing. We are moving away from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy like solar, wind and hydrogen. What is lesser known is that the structure of our energy grid is also changing. Rather than the old model of large, coal fired power stations or gas pipelines pumping out energy from centralised locations, the new energy grid is decentralised and dispatchable. It is increasingly being made up of large solar or wind farms, rooftop solar panels, batteries, hydrogen facilities and community projects. All of which will ‘talk’ to each other to pull the energy from where it is being most produced to where it is needed. In winter, the grid may draw on the winter sun and wind from Queensland while the eastern states may utilise the sun that is still shining in the central states and Western Australia as people come home from work.

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• Decentralising the energy grid
• Electric Vehicles grid storage
• Making your home energy efficient
• Green Hydrogen
• Sun Cable project to Singapore
• Energy solutions for our regional neighbours
• Electric Vehicles grid storage

Learn more about building a scaleable, renewable energy infrastructure and the actions you can take

back to the top

Prior to the Covid pandemic, Australia boasted two of the busiest flight routes in the world. The Sydney to Melbourne journey and Sydney to Brisbane. The Sydney to Melbourne route was the 2nd busiest globally with 54,000 flights a year. This means Australians are burning huge amounts of carbon to travel between cities. With electric or hydrogen powered planes still a long way off, many have proposed that Australia could have a network of comfortable, high speed electric trains, much like China has. Trains that would deliver people into the heart of our capital cities and stop at key locations in regional areas. It is estimated that to get from the centre of Sydney to Melbourne central, a trip would take just over 3 hours. A similar time it takes now when taxis, check- ins and waiting at the gate are factored in.

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• High Speed electric trains
• Hydrogen powered or electric boats and ships

Learn more about building cleaner long-distance travel solutions and the actions you can take

back to the top

Emissions from transportation accounts for 17% of Australia’s total emissions. The majority of these emissions come from our cars. Australia falls a long way behind the rest of the world when it comes to electric vehicle uptake. As of January 2022, electric vehicles account for around 0.5% of new vehicles sold, whereas a country like Norway now sits around 75% of new cars sold (they expect to reach 100% by late 2022). Apart from better policies, incentives and EV infrastructure, Australia would also lower its emissions by improving and incentivising the use of electric public transportation. By 2030 we could be running all of our buses, trams, trains and ferries on renewable energy.

Some of the solutions in this collective response you may have seen in the film include:

• Electric public transport (trams, trains, ferries)
• Electric vehicles
• Electric Vehicles grid storage

Learn more about embracing cleaner personal and public transport and the actions you can take

back to the top

One of the most exciting and fast developing solutions in Australia is happening on our farms. Australia has some of the leading regenerative farmers in the world; farmers who are moving away from high chemical, industrial farming practices to more natural, biological methods. The benefits are enormous. Apart from the high quality food they produce, these farms are capturing more water in their landscapes and improving the life and biodiversity on their land, as well as pulling carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in their soils. These practices are also creating more resilient farms as the land can hold far more water when a downpour arrives; therefore, the farms can endure the drier periods because of the depth of moisture in its soils. As magnificent as this all sounds, there is much work to be done to help farmers transition to these methods, to ease the load of their often crippling debts, and to make sure they are paid a fair price for their hard work.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Regenerative agriculture
• Measuring soil carbon and nutrition in the food
• Urban farming

Learn more about creating a regenerative and secure food future and the actions you can take

back to the top

Whenever we clear land and remove trees or vegetation, we are impacting the planet’s water cycle. Trees and vegetation transpire - meaning they take moisture from the soil and put it into the atmosphere. This can create rainfall and micro climates that have a cooling effect on the region. The vegetation also helps to capture water when heavy rains come. The covered ground slows down water flows and can prevent flooding; it also allows the water to seep further into the landscape filling up aquifers or passing into nearby rivers. Seventy-five percent of the planet’s land is currently degraded and bare, and is releasing carbon and radiating heat.

By increasing our tree and vegetation cover, as well as building healthier soils, Australian landscapes can remove carbon from the atmosphere, cool the climate and regenerate water cycles.

Learn more about restoring natural water cycles and the actions you can take

back to the top

'You are what you measure’ is a commonly used simple phrase. Currently the predominant measure in our society is economic growth and wealth accumulation. Not only is this focus incredibly narrow, but the growth we measure is coming at the expense of the living world with little to no mainstream mention being made. Research shows that Indigenous cultures which lived sustainably, measured their success and put great value in the health of the natural world around them. How would we change behaviours if our nightly news bulletins or town billboards contained regular updates on the health of our soils, the life in our forests and oceans or the pollutants in our air or waterways? These measurements of success would raise awareness and could become the measurements for which we strive.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Measuring our success
• Ecological Law

Learn more about changing what we measure and incentivise and the actions you can take

back to the top

Over the past thirty years, our economic system has rapidly moved away from the local, and prioritised the global. Subsidies and tax breaks have allowed the expansion of large corporations, and this has led to monocultures of food, media, medicine and social platforms where a handful of companies own and control the majority of the things we consume. Naturally, this has brought many benefits, but it has also increased emissions, generated huge amounts of waste, relocated jobs, driven income inequality and increased our consumption which has caused many aspects of ecological degradation. As a result, many people are now turning to locally sourced goods and services. This change creates deeper bonds and connections within communities; the profits therefore remain in the communities and often leads to less waste and extractive consumption.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

1. Localisation
2. Remanufacturing
3. Doughnut economics

Learn more about creating locally focussed circular economies and the actions you can take

back to the top

Australian landscapes are in trouble. Around two-thirds of our agricultural land is now considered degraded, and a recent report from a team of scientists found that nineteen major ecosystems - including seagrasses, woodlands, forests, mangroves and kelp forests - are all showing evidence of collapse. Regeneration is our only option. Ecosystems, like forests, are not just a large cluster of trees but are home to a dazzling array of interconnected relationships. By regenerating and restoring ecosystems, we are not only sequestering and storing carbon, reviving soils and repairing water cycles; we are importantly bringing back life - life which Australian landscapes are in trouble. Around two-thirds of our agricultural land is now considered degraded, and a recent report from a team of scientists found that nineteen major ecosystems - including seagrasses, woodlands, forests, mangroves and kelp forests - are all showing evidence of collapse. Regeneration is our only option. Ecosystems, like forests, are not just a large cluster of trees but are home to a dazzling array of interconnected relationships. By regenerating and restoring ecosystems, we are not only sequestering and storing carbon, reviving soils and repairing water cycles; we are importantly bringing back life - life which supports our own lives.

In the film, we say that Australia could start meaningfully regenerating its landscapes and protect its threatened species for around $2 billion a year. This fact comes from a group at University of Melbourne and RMIT who state that at least $3 billion a year would be needed for more widespread regeneration. This is an amount we could achieve with private and public finance.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Seaweed regeneration
• Reforestation
• Restoring degraded lands

Learn more about restoring and regenerative habitats and the actions you can take

back to the top

Despite being home to some of the most unique and magnificent nature in the world, Australia is one of the worst-performing developed countries for deforestation. Our broad scale deforestation practices are wiping out endangered forests and woodlands at a rate of an MCG-sized area every eighty-six seconds. This process is killing tens of millions of native animals (including threatened species) and we are now recognised as a global leader in wildlife extinctions. In the last two hundred years we have cleared nearly one-half of our forest cover; unfortunately, it is a similar story in other ecosystems like mangroves and kelp forests. Protecting these habitats is an urgent priority for addressing both climate change and species extinction.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Native animal sanctuaries
• Ecological law
• Forest and marine protection

Learn more about protecting plants and animals and the actions you can take

back to the top

Humans are social animals. We look for cues from each other about how to behave and interact. We also tell stories, and these stories combine to make up what we call culture. Hence, the conversations we have, the messages we share on social media, the songs we write, the art we display, and the films we make have never been more important. We are the creators and carers of culture. If more of us (especially those with a high profile) are brave enough to talk about regeneration or climate action or Indigenous rights, and make it a social norm, the culture will then shift. And when the culture moves, the politics follow.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Climate and sport
• Art and culture
• Ecological law
• Measuring our success

Learn more about cultivating a regenerative culture and the actions you can take

back to the top

To quote renowned author, Janine Benyus, “When the forest and the city are functionally indistinguishable, then we know we have reached sustainability”. Multiple studies now show the significant benefits to human beings when they are surrounded by nature. Given that most of us live in cities, would it not make more sense to bring more nature into such cities? By wilding and greening our suburbs, towns and cities, we will not only cool their temperatures, which will be crucial as climate change intensifies, but the fight-or-flight response in our brains will also be lowered: this will allow us all to better deal with the world.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Wilding towns and cities
• Green spaces

Learn more about bringing nature into our living spaces and the actions you can take

back to the top

In ‘Regenerating Australia’, Indigenous writer and fire ecology educator, Victor Steffensen, states, “The regeneration of Country cannot happen without the regeneration of people”. This is a profound statement. Our journey to regeneration will only come with the love and acceptance of ourselves and the love and acceptance of others. We all have pain and trauma, some more than others, but the regenerative changes we want to see in the world can only happen when we take responsibility for our own trauma and emotions. There are difficult and complex conversations that we need to have and we need to create the spaces to hold those conversations. Our current mainstream social platforms are woefully inadequate to deal with the complexity of the issues we face. There is pain, trauma and loss that we will all have to confront and feel, but this is a healthy and essential part of the regenerative process.

Some of the solutions in this collective response that you may have seen in the film include:

• Group work
• Meditations
• Community building

Learn more about healing our relationships to self and others and the actions you can take

back to the top