School Strike 4 Climate protest at PM’s Kirribilli House slammed

Climate activists are encouraging students to carry out more protests as the federal election gets underway, using campaign materials to instruct them.

Organisers of the latest round of school student climate strikes are planning a new rally today outside Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Kirribilli residence, their first big action post-pandemic.

But education experts say students have suffered enough disruptions with the Covid-19 lockdowns and need to knuckle down and study.

Rally organisers are also ramping up their efforts to use children politically in the build-up to the next federal election, with anonymous organisers behind the scenes of School Strike 4 Climate providing slick packs of “promo materials” for the youngsters to use against MPs and encouraging school “walkouts”.

School Strike 4 Climate students preparing for the protest.

But Australian Catholic University’s senior fellow Dr Kevin Donnelly slammed attempts to persuade the students to miss classes as “activism”.

“To urge students to wag school and go on a useless and ineffective strike after over two years of Covid-19 disruption is unforgivable,” he said.

“For the organisers and the NSW Teachers Federation to incite students to leave the classroom and demonstrate is also an example of woke indoctrination and activism.”

The promo packs distributed to the students include sample permission slips to skip school, key talking points, information about holding “walkouts” during the upcoming election campaign and even a “style guide” dictating the font sizes and colours to be used in making posters.

Education expert Dr Kevin Donnelly believes children have suffered enough disruption. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

They are also being given a simple three word message to sell – “people not profit”.

The IPA’s Dr Bella d’Abrera says it was “outrageous that they are being encouraged to miss invaluable face-to-face learning in favour of going on a protest”.

“It’s not surprising that they are staging this protest,” she said.

“The proposed National Curriculum not only tells children that it’s wrong to question Climate Change, but it also wants to turn them into left-wing activists for a range of global issues.” 

The coaching on the Federal election includes a handout called “election strategy chronology of tactics”. Students are told to go to their local politicians and run “MP teach-ins”.

Originally published as School Strike 4 Climate protest at PM’s Kirribilli House slammed