Thousands gather in Sydney CBD for bushfire, climate rally
Thousands of people gathered around Town Hall in Sydney’s CBD to protest against the federal government’s handling of the bushfire crisis and its stance on climate change.
NSW
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Thousands of protesters gathered in central Melbourne and Sydney to call for more action on climate change and the sacking of Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid the country’s bushfires crisis.
Despite pleas from Victorian police and the premier to reschedule the Melbourne event to a less risky fire day, several thousand protesters huddled under umbrellas.
As a cool change passed through the city yesterday evening, bringing rain and a heightened risk to the state’s raging bushfires, the crowd gathered at the State Library, while close to 10,000 rallied at Town Hall Square in Sydney, with many chanting: “Scott Morrison has got to go”.
Hundreds of protesters also rallied in Adelaide and Brisbane.
The Sydney rally, organised by Uni Students for Justice and Extinction Rebellion, marched from Town Hall to Parliament House.
Sydney protester Ambrose Hayes, 14, said people were “fed up” with Mr Morrison because he’s not acting enough on the “climate crisis”.
Mr Morrison says any national inquiry into the bushfires crisis would need to examine what impact climate change has had.
But while acknowledging there was an appetite to examine the impacts of climate change, he said he would not consider a stronger commitment to carbon emission reductions.
Australia was already “meeting and carrying” its burden on greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Morrison said on Friday.
The Melbourne protest was criticised by Premier Daniel Andrews who warned the protesters could jeopardise their standing by staging a protest that diverts police resources away from bushfires.
“The protest, against the advice of the police, in the middle of a disaster, that is when you start losing public support, not adding to your public support,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I respect people’s right to have a view, I tend to agree with a lot of the points that are being made — climate change is real — but there is a time and a place for everything and I just don’t think a protest tonight was the appropriate thing to do.”
Originally published as Thousands gather in Sydney CBD for bushfire, climate rally
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