Building Power for Polluters to Pay – your guide to local campaigns targeting Federal MPs

Guide

Last updated: 29 May 2026

A movement to end fossil fuels - fast, fair, forever.

We can win a better world, but it’s going to take all of us.

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Your guide to organising your community to advocate for a Climate Safety Plan, paid for by big polluters. 

The Federal Government can deliver a fossil fuel export levy to pay for the damage they’ve done to our communities, but we’re going to have to organise real power in our communities that Labor listens to to get it done.

Global momentum, and Australian appetite for coal and gas companies to pay their fair share for the damage they’ve done is building, and the transition away from fossil fuels is underway. But our politics has so far failed to reign in coal and gas expansion, so our movement needs to change the way we are building and demonstrating power. We must be more organised than the billionaire lobbyists who are holding our government hostage.

That’s where this campaign comes in – if we can build the community support and momentum needed in the places that Labor listen to, in ways that show the public is on our side, we can win money for disaster relief and resilience AND a transition away from fossil fuels. 

The guide is for any group or leader who is keen to be part of the Make Polluters Campaign, and is a great next step for councils who have passed their motion.

Your guide to building local power

STEP 1: Survey your community 

  1. Understand the cost of climate change in your community
  2. Make the link between fossil fuels and the impacts people are feeling
  3. Gather ideas for climate resilience and safety

STEP 2: Design a local Climate Safety Plan

  1. Gather your community to design a plan to keep people safe in unnatural disasters 
  2. Work with your community and local experts to determine what measures make the most sense in your region, and help your community understand why we’re calling for fossil fuel companies to pay

STEP 3: Demand that the Federal Government makes polluters pay for the plan

  1. Once you have built community support for making polluters pay for your Climate Safety Plan, you need to make your Federal MP take notice using creative tactics, demonstrating the power you’ve built and engaging with your MP on your ask.
    Check out the full resource guide here

    And sign up to the Climate Justice Coalition if you’re ready to get started!