It’s a strike organised for school students, but all age demographics are being represented across Australia today in their push for more action on climate change.
Today’s School Strike 4 Climate Australia comes as a landmark case is being heard in Melbourne, brought against the Australian government by Torres Strait elders for failing to prevent climate change. Pabai Pabai and Paul Kabai, will speak at the strike, noting that “the more voices we have, the stronger our fight will be.”
And today’s events come as Gregory Andrews enters day 16 of a hunger strike outside Parliament House in Canberra. The Former Ambassador and Threatened Species Commissioner of Australia is doing the hunger strike for climate and, “for my kids and my country”. Yesterday, he shared on social media that he was visited by Katherine, who, in her mid-seventies, is facing a criminal conviction for a peaceful climate protest she participated in to disrupt a fossil-fuel conference. “We’re all in this together,” he said, sharing a picture of the two of them in front of a “Day 15” sign.
High on the protesters’ agenda is the Albanese Government’s approach to climate action, particularly with the approval of new coal and gas projects approved by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Coalmine expansions and developments approved from January to August in this year alone are expected to contribute an additional 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere over the course of their lifetimes.
A number of students will be marking to the environment minister’s office to share speeches around lunchtime today, with a plan to block the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle at the end of November also to be unveiled, co hosted by School Strike for Climate and climate defence group Rising Tide. It will be called “The People’s Blockade” and, run for four days, with an expectation of attracting 3000 people.
One of the students participating in today’s strike and the blockade at the end of November, 17 year old Anjali Beames, said that young people will feel the consequences of the climate crisis for the rest of their lives. “Yet, instead of taking the urgent action required, our government is continuing to approve new coal and gas projects, turbocharging the climate crisis and threatening all of our futures,” she said.
In 2018, then prime minister Scott Morrison famously said about students participating in the protest that, “what we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools.”
This year, the Albanese Government is being a little softer in its approach to students — but would still clearly prefer they stayed in school. Education minister Jason Clare told The Guardian, “While it’s great to see students passionate and engaged on this issue, students should be at school during school hours.”
But then, as one of the placards spotted so far today reads, “Why should we go to school if you don’t listen 2 the educated?”
Photo above is from the 2019 School Strike 4 Climate in Sydney. We will share photos from today’s event in Sydney on Instagram.