Real Deal: Reimagining the Australian economy

There has been a demonstrable failure to build a national consensus on how to decarbonise. The debate has become too polarised.

Only fragmented voices are heard ¬– typically those with substantial financial resources. And too often the workers and communities directly affected by transitionary change are portrayed as threats to the climate and campaigned ‘at’ by being told things like: ‘you need to change your views’.

There are very few places where people from diverse communities can come together to negotiate for their future. The Real Deal aims to fill this hole. It is a genuine attempt to give countervailing power to communities confronting structural change. We aim to reduce fear of the future by giving communities agency over what comes next. 

The Real Deal project began in the wake of the 2019 Federal Election – a time of great social polarisation in Australia where climate was pitted against the economy and cities were pitted against regions. Using a process of co-design informed by community organising, we have brought together an unusual coalition of climate, union, community and business groups to explore how we can find common ground.

In the wake of COVID, we produced a report outlining five benchmarks for a ‘Real Deal.’ It identified that financial support and stimulus, while essential, was insufficient to address the critical issues the country is facing. It identified five benchmarks that can guide the development of a Real Deal, building on the best of research into the social and economic impacts of the pandemic:

1. Major public investment is back, but policy must be attuned to the shape of the economy too.
2. The pandemic exposed pre-existing inequalities and injustices that must be addressed for good.
3. We need bold community vision for an economy that serves us all, and a plan to make it happen.
4. A Real Deal is generated by the active participation of people in decisions that affect them.
5. Collaboration is the foundation for a Real Deal that can deliver long-lasting solutions.

We believe this approach is capable of generating enthusiasm from all parts of Australian society.

We have built an ever-expanding network of place-based projects across the country. These projects are nominated by local communities and selected according to several strategic considerations, including: their connection to climate industries (fossil fuel or green industries), their social and cultural diversity, their community engagement, and the extent to which the community might inspire and lead change elsewhere.

The Sydney Policy Lab is seeking partnerships with organisations that can resource long-term research action work in these communities, seeking to find funds to create local project officers and research partnerships. Our first place-based partnership has been with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund.

In early 2021, three place-based projects were selected – Geelong, Gladstone and Western Sydney: 

• Melbourne’s West & Geelong: These large urban communities are some of the most culturally diverse places in the country, and are home to some of Victoria’s most precarious workers. Once industrial powerhouses, their manufacturing industries are now in transition. This includes major oil refineries like that in Altona. This project was nominated by the United Workers Union and is supported by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
• Gladstone: Home to Queensland’s largest Port, Gladstone is a changing industrial community in Central Queensland. We are working with the Qld Community Alliance and the Australian Conservation Foundation to hold community conversations and work with community leaders to plan for a thriving future. 
  
• Western Sydney: home to Sydney’s most culturally diverse community and possessing one of the world’s hottest summer climates, Western Sydney is a climate affected community that demonstrates the need for climate policy to be built out of broad based listening and cultural engagement. We are working with the Sydney Alliance to advance climate transition policies, focusing on Parramatta and Bankstown.
  

We are also exploring place-based projects in Narrabri, NSW and Collie in Western Australia, while continuing to work alongside the Hunter Jobs Alliance. 

• 2023. A Real Deal for Geelong: Community Listening Report for Climate Transition (pdf, 4.1MB). 
• 2020. A Real Deal: A research action agenda for transforming Australia in and beyond the pandemic (pdf, 2.5MB).