(AU) Hundreds Of Children's Shoes Laid Out In Silent Brisbane Climate Protest

The Age - Lucy Stone

Hundreds of pairs of children's shoes have been laid in front of Brisbane's City Hall to demonstrate the impact of climate change on future generations, in a silent protest by Extinction Rebellion.

The circular installation set up in King George Square on Saturday morning used shoes temporarily donated by charities.

Hundreds of pairs of children’s shoes laid out outside City Hall for an Extinction Rebellion protest. Credit: Lucy Stone

Organised by a west Brisbane branch of the climate change activist group, the installation was titled For Our Childrens' Sake and was inspired by other protests across the world during the year.

Activists Sue Melloy and Bill Cruickshank said it was important to send the message to governments that while current generations were experiencing the impacts of climate change, "it's actually going to be far worse for our children, and our children's children"."We've laid out these hundreds of pairs of children's shoes to give that message, for a fairly COVID-safe protest," Ms Melloy said.

"Many people in XR are grandparents and very middle-class, very law-abiding people stepping up to the game.

They were laid out in concentric circles, with messages. Credit: Lucy Stone

"So we just wanted to do an action that was at the other end of the spectrum, so very law-abiding, more of a vigil."

Ms Melloy said both of them still believed in the XR ethos of disruption to get attention, and had been arrested for breaking the law at other protests.

Mr Cruickshank said multiple scientific reports clearly showed delaying action on climate change would worsen the lives of future generations significantly.

New research published earlier this month found heatwaves had become more frequent and longer lasting in Australia and globally, in an accelerating trend.

The shoes were laid out in concentric circles, each pair side by side, with several Extinction Rebellion flags in the centre and messages written on paper and cloth along several pairs of shoes.

"Our children and their children are, in all probability, going to have a worse life because of climate change than we do," Mr Cruickshank said.

"Things are on the decline if we don't do something about it."

Links

• Meet The 8-Year-Old Climate Activist Cleaning Up India
• Children Of The Crisis
• Every Child On Earth Faces 'Existential Threats' From Climate Change, Report Finds
• How Climate Experts Think About Raising Children Who Will Inherit A Planet In Crisis
• Health Impacts Of Climate Change On Children Don't Need Exaggerating
• Q&A: Short-Term 'Tribal' Politics Is Failing On Climate Action, John Hewson Says
• One Thing You Can Do: Talk To Your Children About Climate Change
• Our Young Girls Are Bearing The Burden Of Climate Action. But Should They Be?