Honest Election Ad | Batman (Patreon)

We don't normally weigh in on local elections, but two things made me want to cover the Batman by-election that's taking place on March 17:

1. One of the central issues of this election is the fate of the Adani coal mine - the largest planned coal mine in the world. So although it's a very local election, the consequences have far-reaching implications for all of us, and our children - no matter where you are.

2. We actually live in the electorate of Batman (for our non-Aussie viewers, that's an electorate of Melbourne - not Gotham) and we just had to make a video about this, since it strikes so close to home.

I strongly believe we can no longer afford to sit by and watch new coal mines being built. That's what compelled me to make this video.

I am also aware that by its very nature and timing this video is explicitly political. That's why I decided not to include any Patreon links or even Producer credits; to avoid anyone here feeling they've been associated with a video whose political position they might not necessarily share.

That seemed like the right thing to do. But maybe I'm just being overly cautious... (Let me know in the comments!)

I also included a (genuine) authorisation message at the end, to make it clear that this video was not paid for by some political party or other organisation. And this really *was* necessary, since it's a requirement under the Australian Electoral Act.

I'm still planning to make a Patron-supported video in March, so we'll be back soon with more Juice.  

Meanwhile, let me know if you like this new format we've experimented with - Honest Election Ads. If you dig it, we might do more of them going forward! If not, we probably won't!

Giordano & team