Just before Christmas in 2014, supporters of renewable energy crowdfunded a gift of twelve solar panels for the Australian Prime Minister’s residence, Kirribilli House.
The organisers, the church-based organisation Common Grace, arranged with the Australian Solar Council for the solar panels to be installed at no cost, and invited the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott to ‘Accept the Gift’. Participants gathered at Manly Beach and arrived at Tony Abbott’s electorate office with a solar panel wrapped in a ribbon.
The government replied that it would not be accepting the gift based on heritage value, security and cleaning concerns. Comon Grace launched a petition, encouraging the government to reconsider. The government continued to decline the offer.
Visible
Tony Abbott’s intransigent attitude to renewable energy was made visible by his response. The project gained extensive media coverage. Media headlines included ‘Government rejects gift of solar panels for Kirribilli House’ (Sydney Morning Herald) ‘Christian group attempt to present the Prime Minister with solar panels for Kirribilli House’ (News.com.au and Herald-Sun) and ‘Abbott rejects Christian solar gift due to security concerns, cleaning costs’ (Renew Economy).
The event put the saying ‘show don’t tell’ into practice – recognising that people often respond most to what they see, and to what is shown to be true.
Tangible
The government’s attitude to renewable energy was made tangible through its refusal to accept the gift. A contrast was drawn with the approach of other governments: ‘the City of Sydney has already installed 5,500 solar panels on nearly 30 buildings’.
Focused
Tony Abbott’s stance came into sharp focus as a result of the initiative. He would be the Prime Minister who would either ‘accept the gift’, or reject it. The imagery generated by the initiative provided a focus for media coverage of renewable energy. Common Grace wrote, ‘The rejection of our gift of solar panels for Kirribilli House is symbolic of the government’s failure to invest in renewables’.
The future
The initiative sought to project a vision of a government embracing renewable energy. Common Grace stated, ‘We’re here to provide the Prime Minister with an opportunity to choose a brighter future for all Australians and to back the 9 in 10 Australians who want a strong Renewable Energy Target’.
Emotional power
In terms of emotional power, Common Grace writes about the enthusiasm and momentum generated by the event, with the gift of twelve solar panels being crowdfunded over just four days and 800 supporters signing their petition within five days.
An unfolding drama
This event featured a combination of stories and images: delivering the gift and the responses of both sides had the elements of an unfolding drama.
Impact
While this initiative hardly succeeded in changing the government’s mind, this was not the only goal that was important.
For those who were aware of the campaign—and the level of media coverage indicates that Accept The Gift gained a significant audience—the imagery provided a way to challenge and delegitimise the government’s position on renewable energy. While the particular factors contributing to the overall public image of the government’s stance on climate change can be difficult to track and quantify, ‘image events’ like this are memorable, and make their own contribution to slowly-accumulating broader public perceptions. Further, Common Grace was seen to be doing something worthwhile, enhancing the organisation’s capacity to draw new people into the movement.