Climate change is warming the seas as well as the atmosphere. Water expands when it warms. So the seas are rising – around 200mm last century and accelerating. This is the sort of basic science that Tony Abbott and his cynical crew are denying. And they are stuffing the future of Australian sport, among other things.

OzCoasts mapping indicates that lots of the grounds used for sports in Sydney’s inner West are threatened by sea level rise from climate change. Some Federal Members of Parliament are playing the wrong game and facing the wrong way.  Some are standing up for action.

Grayndler

One of the scenarios modelled by OzCoasts for this century, if we do not act effectively on climate change, right now – 1.1 metres of sea level rise – shows the following grounds suffering inundation (factoring in high tides and without even accounting for storm surges):

• Ewen Park, Hurlstone Park would be heavily affected with 1.1 metres sea level rise

• Mahoney Reserve, Marrickville (used for AFL)
•  Steel Park, Marrickville
• Marrickville Golf Club are all shown as heavily affected

• Mackey Park, Marrickville is shown as experiencing almost complete inundation

•  Fraser Park Marrickville, is shown as experiencing complete inundation:

• Callan Park, Lilyfield shows inundation for the fields used for cricket and soccer

The Federal Member for all these grounds is Anthony Albanese, Member for Grayndler, a long-time and staunch advocate of climate action. As Environment spokesman for Labor. he put climate action into the ALP Platform in 1998, and has not faltered since then.

Barton 

Just across the Cooks River, it’s the same threat – but a very different story. No advocacy or voting in Federal Parliament to defend your turf and our game.

The new Liberal member for Barton, Nickolas Varvaris, should know better about climate issues from his time at Kogarah Council – which has actually won awards for their work on climate change. But as a new Federal MP, he has lined up behind Tony Abbott and voted for abolition of carbon pricing; reversal of pricing on even more dangerous greenhouse gases like synthetic refrigerants; abolition of the Climate Change Authority; and abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

What he hasn’t voted for – in fact, what he has voted against – are grounds in his own electorate which are under threat and on OzCoasts maps are marked with blue:

• Beaman Park Earlwood: Grounds 1-4 would all be affected
• The Wills Ground, Earlwood (used for rugby) also shows as inundated

• Gough Whitlam Park Earlwood: Some high tides already have the adjoining tidal Cooks River onto outer areas of this ground thanks to the sea level rise we’ve already had in the last century. The council has already had to make expensive changes to paths and drainage between the ground and the river. Further rising sea levels would see the whole ground under water.

• Cahill Park in Wolli Creek, a fine ground used by a number of sports, including women’s and girls’ cricket, is under particularly serious threat. TheOzCoast maps for sea level rise of 1.1 metres shows that complete  inundation would result for Cahill Park – as well as a section of the adjacent Princes Highway
  

• Even with the impacts from 50 cm sea level rise , Cahill Park – which is next to the tidal Cooks River – would see salt water on much of its area.

Time for Nick Varvaris MP to review that decision and back local interests! Or get someone better on the team, with a change to Labor next election.

Bennelong: John Alexander playing for Tony Abbott, not your kids’ team

John Alexander might know a bit about the elite sport that gave him success and fame back in the day. But where is he, on standing up for the grounds your kids play on? Voting the wrong way, that’s where.

He’s said he accepts the science of climate change. Yet he voted for abolition of carbon pricing; reversal of pricing on even more dangerous greenhouse gases like synthetic refrigerants; abolition of the Climate Change Authority; and abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

What he hasn’t voted for, are grounds in his own electorate which are under threat, and which on OzCoasts maps are in the areas marked blue:

• Bill Mitchell Park , Gladesville (grounds 1, 2)
• Morrison Bay Park, Putney (several grounds)

• Ozcoasts maps for impacts of sea level rise of 1.1 metres from climate change also show most of the grounds down by the river at Meadowbank as inundated or badly affected.

These grounds are also important for other sports, of course. For example, Morrison Bay has netball fields (for the biggest community participation sport in Australia) which would also experience inundation.

In sharp contrast to John Alexander, Labor’s candidate for Bennelong – Jason Yat-Sen Li – has done major work himself on climate action in the corporate world. He led climate initiatives for IAG, in particular. Which one is really the good sport?

Reid: is Craig Laundy really on your side?

New Liberal Member for Reid Craig Laundy referred in his maiden speech in Parliament to playing cricket in the area. But when it came to voting, he joined those with Tony Abbott who were sledging the umpire,  kicking down the stumps, obstructing the field, and reversing climate action.

He voted for abolition of carbon pricing; reversal of pricing on even more dangerous greenhouse gases like synthetic refrigerants; abolition of the Climate Change Authority; and abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Not just following orders when he votes, either. Since then he’s been tweeting rubbish about how we can’t afford the Renewable Energy Target.

OzCoasts maps show threats in particular to

• Campbell Park, Chiswick (also relied on heavily for soccer) starts to experience inundation at 1.1 metres sea level rise

•  Russell Park in Chiswick experiences complete inundation

•  Taplin Park (next to Drummoyne Oval) experiences substantial inundation

• Timbrell Park, Fivedock (2 grounds) experiences almost total inundation – and so do nearby and other sections of the City West Link road

• In Canada Bay, the Barnwell Park Golf Club shows extensive inundation at 1.1metres sea level rise.

• The Massey Park golf course at Concord shows complete inundation with the impacts of 1.1 metres sea level rise.

• Bressington Park and Mason Park in Homebush start to experience inundation from the tidal channel between them with 1.1 metres sea level rise

Last century (when industrial greenhouse emissions were just getting going) there was already over 200 mm sea level rise. Half the CO2 from human generated emissions ever has been since 1985. This is an accelerating problem, and we need to act right now. Ringing the Council wet weather line won’t cut it on this one.

Climate change: the time for games is over

Authorised by David Mason, 47 Charles St Marrickville NSW