The Big Switch Pitch

Austinmer has the potential to be a climate leader, the Illawarra Flame reports

Could the popular seaside village famous for its twin pools ‘electrify everything’ and become a test case for the world to follow?

The figures stack up, Austinmer local Dr Saul Griffith told an audience of about 130 people who gathered for the launch of his book, The Big Switch, on 11 May at Thirroul Community Centre.

Deb Thompson, of event organisers Collins Booksellers Thirroul, said: “After two Covid-postponements, we finally welcomed Dr Saul Griffith, introducing his inspiring plan to transform Australia as outlined in his latest book The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future.

“Saul offered practical advice on taking a slow and steady (and budget-friendly) approach to help fight climate change, which can ultimately lead to individual households making a large impact.

“Our thanks to facilitator, Caroline Baum, and Voices of Wollongong for their involvement.”

The talk had been booked out but, possibly due to wet weather, about 70 people did not turn up.

“As a result, the wait-list of more than 60 people missed out,” Deb said. “Please let us know if you cannot attend events as your place will always be gratefully taken by someone else.”

Internet connection problems plagued a livestream of the talk. To listen to a recording, visit www.voicesforwollongong.org/speakers

Support from local Greens

Jeremy Park, of Voices for Wollongong, the non-partisan group that helped run the event, said that while all local politicians had been invited, only Wollongong Greens councillors Cath Blakey and Mithra Cox had attended.

“People were really inspired about the really practical and possible solutions that Saul presented,” Cr Cox told the Illawarra Flame.
“He paints a pretty compelling picture of how possible this transformation is, and not just that it’s possible, but that it can make life better and that it can actually make everybody’s life cheaper.”

On the idea that Austinmer could be a Suburb Zero and host a two-year pilot project in which cars and homes are fully electrified, Cr Cox said it would be “absolutely fabulous”.

“One of the things he was saying is that one of the most important factors is community buy-in to such a scheme. I think, on that criteria, Austinmer would be perfect.

“When he asked people who had already done various actions, like put solar panels on or switched their stove from gas to electric, there was already a really high take-up amongst the audience.”

Inspired by the ‘electrify everything’ argument, Cr Cox was set to ask councillors at Wollongong City Council’s May 23 meeting to consider switching off gas connections to all new households as a step towards net zero.

“There should be no more gas stoves connected, no more gas hot-water heaters connected,” she said. “I am confident it [the motion] will get up.

“We shouldn’t be building stuff that we know we need to shut down in the coming decades. Can you believe we are still doing that?”

Rewiring Australia

An engineer, inventor and recent advisor to the US government, Dr Griffith founded Rewiring Australia last year. During his talk, he said he had been lobbying politicians to launch community-based electrification projects. “Hopefully we get to do this in a few places,” he said.

No locations have been locked in.

Ahead of the election, Rewiring Australia published an online tool calculating how much each electorate might save if it electrified homes and cars. The average Cunningham household, for example, could save $4190 per year on energy and vehicle costs by 2030, while 1690 direct and indirect jobs were predicted to be created from community savings and installation work.

The Big Switch book is at Collins Booksellers Thirroul or listen to an audio edition at www.rewiringaustralia.org