22/05/2021

(AU ABC) School Strike 4 Climate: Thousands Of Young Australians Call For Urgent Action On Climate Change

ABC News

Thousands of protesters around the country joined the School Strike 4 Climate events. (ABC News: Tim Swanston)

Key Points
  • Thousands of students and supporters turned out to events in Australia's major cities
  • They urged the federal government to do more to ensure a renewable energy future
  • Some said because they were too young to vote, it was the only way to make their voices heard
Thousands of students and their supporters have walked out of classrooms and workplaces to join School Strike 4 Climate events around the country, becoming part of a global youth-led movement pleading for urgent action on climate change.  Attendees made their way to large rallies in the CBDs of every Australian capital city, with events also planned in dozens of rural and regional areas, from Alice Springs to Atherton.

Organisers are demanding the federal government turn its back on emissions-intensive energy sources, including by:
  • Resourcing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions that guarantee land rights
  • Funding the creation of secure jobs that fast-track solutions to the climate crisis
  • Funding projects that transition the economy to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030
Taking place in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, all events were arranged with input from relevant state and territory health authorities, according to organisers.

There were loud cries for change, stories of grief and witty signs in abundance.

Here's what happened across the nation.

Thousands of people attended the event in Sydney.

Throngs of protesters in Sydney braved the rain to march from Sydney Town Hall to Prince Alfred Park to make their voices heard.

A key issue for many in attendance was the Morrison government's recent announcement that it would spend $600 million on a new gas-fired power station.

Protest organisers said they were hopeful between 5,000 and 10,000 people would attend the events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, and crowds in harbour city were estimated to reach well into the thousands.

Hundreds of businesses around the country temporarily closed to take part in the action.

Attendees expressed disappointment over more recent investment in gas projects. (ABC News: Tim Swanston)

Further north in Darwin, crowds also spoke up about local issues, many of them drawing attention to plans to develop the Beetaloo Basin gas field. 

"The government is putting in a gas-led recovery for COVID, and that's not what we're striking for. We're striking for renewable energy," 16-year-old Leila Higgins said.

About 150 students and supporters gathered outside the city's Parliament House, and some of them said they were bitterly disappointed by an apparent lack of action.

"I think we're all extremely frustrated, especially as young people, that we're still having to come down and do these strikes," 17-year-old Bridgette Davies said.

About 150 people gathered in Darwin. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)

Some attendees said they had been attending protests for years without change. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)

Protesters had to be turned away from the event in Hobart from about lunchtime, after the event reached its capacity of 1,000 people.

Some Tasmanians who made it in spoke about the need to protect the state's pristine natural areas, on which the local tourism industry depends. 

Hundreds of people in Canberra gathered to make similar demands, including calls for more investment in renewable energy.

The protest in Hobart quickly reached capacity. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)





Attendees spoke about the importance of the state's pristine natural environments. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Organisers of the Adelaide event said about 2,000 students and young people rallied at Victoria Square before heading to King William Street, blocking traffic as they marched.

Helen Taylor's son, Leif Justham, was killed by a truck as he cycled around Australia raising awareness about global warming.

She told the rally she intended to carry on his legacy.

"Together, we thought the only thing we can do is try and share his story as far and as wide as he can so that even though nothing will bring him back, at least he'll live on through others and through his story," she said.

More than 1000 people gathered in Adelaide's CBD. (ABC News)

Thousands of people also turned out to Melbourne's Treasury Gardens before marching through the CBD, where a number of roads were blocked off to make way for the students.

Some in attendance told the ABC they were too young to vote, so were choosing to protest so their voices could be heard.

Melbourne protesters attended with coronavirus safety guidelines in mind. (ABC News: Billy Draper)





The protest drew smaller crowds than a much larger event in 2019, with protestors donning masks, keeping their distance and using hand sanitiser in a bid to remain COVID safe.

One protester, Tuan, arrived in full personal protective gear.
"The climate crisis is a health crisis — that's why I'm dressed in PPE," he said.
This protester arrived in full personal protective equipment. (ABC News: Billy Draper)

Thiruavana Arunchalamelantheral, a Year 12 student at Melbourne Girls College and the environment captain, dismissed comments from detractors that the students should have stayed at school.

"To be honest I have learned a lot more stuff at the strike than I learned in the classroom," she said.

"I think we should all be here, learn more stuff about what's happening, climate change, the environment and sustainability."

Organisers expected thousands of people would attend the protest in Melbourne. (ABC News: Billy Draper)

At the event in Brisbane, hundreds of people gathered in King George Square to demand no new coal, oil or gas projects.

Hundreds of protesters filled King George Square for the event in Brisbane. (ABC News: Jessica Ross)

It was a similar scene in Perth, where people gathered on the Supreme Court gardens to demand the Morrison government switch its gas-fired COVID-19 economic recovery plan to a renewable energy one. They also want oil and gas company Woodside to abandon plans for its Scarborough gas project in the state's north.

Organiser Mena Tabshabar said the government's climate inaction left her with no option but to act.

"The government is currently investing billions of dollars of public money into the gas industry," Ms Tabshabar said.

"The choice will have disastrous consequences for both the economy and the environment."

Some students said their schools dissuaded them from attending, while others said their schools were very supportive even allowing the posting of flyers about the event on school grounds.

Attendees at the Perth event have urged the federal government to re-think its plans for a gas-led economy recovery. (ABC News: Samia O'Keefe)

Earlier this week, a report by the International Energy Agency found immediate action was needed to meet a target net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — including no new investment in new oil, gas and coal projects.

A day later, the federal government was slammed by environmental groups for announcing the $600 million Hunter Valley power station. 

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The government is also tipping tens of millions of dollars into fast-tracking the development of the gas-rich Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, a key pillar of its planned recovery from the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently said the nation remained on track to meet its Paris Agreement target of a 26 to 28 per cent reduction on the country's emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

But he came under pressure at a recent global climate summit to set a more ambitious target, as several other countries did.

The next round of global climate talks — where emissions reduction strategies are likely to be reviewed and updated — is due to take place in Scotland in November.

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