Emma Dawson
What Happens Next? is the result of a hopeful email I sent to Janet McCalman in March 2020, to express my interest in engaging her to speak at a (now indefinitely postponed) Per Capita conference on the post-carbon economy. As the COVID-19 crisis developed, our online conversation evolved into the idea of gathering leading thinkers to write about the need for a reimagining of Australia’s society and economy to address the twin crises of climate change and inequality. My first thanks, then, are to Janet, without whose expertise, reputation, and, not least, generous mentoring this book would not have been possible.
Thanks also to the team at Melbourne University Publishing, especially Nathan Hollier, Louise Stirling and Katie Purvis, for their enthusiasm for this project and expert guidance towards its completion.
My thanks to the board of Per Capita, especially our Chair, Jacob Varghese, and head of our Research Committee, Rod Glover, for their support and advice. I am also grateful to the dedicated and talented Per Capita staff, Simone Casey, Marianne Daly, Shirley Jackson, Abigail Lewis and Matthew Lloyd-Cape, whose patience with my competing priorities and willingness to assist with my existing projects allowed me to give due attention to the commissioning and editing process.
Most of all, I thank my family: my parents, Gloria and Trevor, who instilled in me the values of social justice and equality, and who taught me to question power and speak up for what I believe to be right; my sister Lucie, whose wisdom and love are the bedrock of my sanity, and who never lets me get away with any nonsense; my daughter Iris, and nieces Ella, Bonnie, Millie, Tess and Edie, who inspire me to keep up the fight for a better future; and, last but not least, my husband David, without whose endless love, support and excellent and frequent cups of tea I would never have completed this endeavour.
Finally, to my late father-in-law, Jim Enever—I am sorry I failed to find an engineer to contribute to this book. I will try harder next time.
Janet McCalman
What Happens Next? had its genesis in discussions in 2019 with John Langmore and other members of the North Melbourne Branch of the Australian Labor Party, including Elizabeth Hartnell-Young. They are both contributors to this book. Our concern was the climate emergency and rampant inequality both in Australia and throughout the world. We began exploring the idea of a Green Accord, inspired by John’s key role in formulating the Prices and Wages Accord of the Hawke Labor Government.
The Victorian Fabian Society invited me to speak to these ideas, but between the invitation and the event, COVID-19 erupted and suddenly we were all in the midst of an immediate existential crisis. Everything was on the table—from food, to health, to work, to education, to governance. Then came Emma Dawson and the prodigious intellectual capital of Per Capita, Nathan Hollier and the team at MUP. My thanks to them all.
Finally, my family in our three-generation urban compound, tolerate my political obsessions with good grace and frequent constructive criticism. They keep me focused on young people and children—I hope this book will make some difference to their future.