Ed’s Letter, Your Say

Over the Easter break, I drove up and down the Hume Highway, stopping each way at my favourite pie-stop: Holbrook. The small New South Wales town (population 1715) feels like it almost doubles in size outside the bakery, where there’s always a queue for coffee, quiche, slices and sangas. And there were just as many folk stopping off to explore the famous submarine, HMAS Otway – an interesting quirk for an inland town sitting some 260km or so from the ocean.

As we chomped on our pastry-encased delights in the shadow of the war vessel, which was covered by clamouring children, a smaller vessel reversed into the carpark next to me: a gleaming white Tesla. Distracted, I hadn’t noticed the EV charging station, one of more than 3000 around the country.

My first sighting of an EV powering up in the wild, I sidled up to the owner, who explained charging his car was like charging a mobile phone. Today, he reckoned, he’d need around 20 minutes: “Just as long as the queues up the road waiting to pump their cars full of dinosaur juice.” And he wasn’t wrong. Not only that, but this particular roadside charger was free. FREE! My pastie was more expensive than his whole trip from Sydney to Melbourne. The cost-benefit of doing the right thing for the planet was clearly in this guy’s favour.

But how much will it really cost us to tackle climate change and save the planet? That’s the US$50 trillion-dollar question writer Eve Livingston unpacks in this edition. And while that enormous figure may sound incredible – especially when you consider Elon Musk’s Tesla-driven fortune sits at US$265 billion – it’s not impossible. As we find out, the global COVID-19 response has been estimated at $12 trillion, and the business of doing war collectively costs us $14 trillion per year. While the cost of doing nothing? That’s not something we should even consider.

The Big Issue is an independent, not-for-profit magazine sold on the streets around Australia. It was created as a social enterprise 25 years ago to provide both a voice and a work opportunity for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage. Your purchase of this magazine has directly benefited the person who sold it to you. Big Issue vendors buy each copy for $4.50 and sell it to you for $9, keeping the profits. But The Big Issue is more than a magazine.

• Our Women’s Subscription Enterprise provides employment and training for women through the sale of magazine subscriptions as well as social procurement work. • The Community Street Soccer Program promotes social inclusion and good health at weekly soccer games at 23 locations around the country. • The Vendor Support Fund will offset the cost price of products for vendors, allowing them to earn a larger margin on their own street sales. • The Big Issue Education workshops provide school, tertiary and corporate groups with insights into homelessness and disadvantage, and provide work opportunities for people experiencing marginalisation.

We’ve relished The Big Issue for yonks! Originally customers of Wayne in Fairfield, we’re now in Warrandyte, subscribing via the wonderful WSE team, and delighted with the occasional calls asking how we’re enjoying our Big Issue. Answer every time: we adore all the features, devour every page: Click, Ear2Ground, Hearsay, Streetsheet, cover story, the reviews, even the Ed’s Letter! Lovin’ Lorin Clarke’s Public Service Announcements, and the face-off with rockin’ Ricky French and the wry, winsome Fiona Scott-Norman. Cheers to years and years of The Big Issue!

JOY & MALCOLM SMITH WARRANDYTE I VIC

Michael, it was lovely meeting you on Collins Street today. You helped me pick out a fantastic issue Stories from the Street, which has given me lots to reflect on. Keep up the amazing work. I Imagine it mustn’t be easy at times with all the pandemic curve balls. The work you are doing is meaningful and sure to bring a smile to people’s faces.

TASH MELBOURNE I VIC

Joy and Malcolm win a copy of the new Yiayia Next Door cookbook. You can check out her chicken and rice recipe on p40. We’d also love to hear your thoughts, feedback and suggestions: