Children take a sick day to attend national climate change sit-in protest

Schoolkids across Australia have ditched the classroom in favour of climate change protests, including a group who held a sit-in outside the environment minister’s Sydney office.

Thousands of school students across the country walked out of classrooms on Friday to join a major student strike to protest in favour of action on climate change.

Organisers School Strike 4 Climate called the strike to demand the federal government shift focus away from dependence on fossil fuels in Australia’s energy generation.

School students gather for a “teach in” outside the office of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Friday in Redfern. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“Despite the devastating impacts on climate disasters, such as bushfires, floods and droughts, across the country and the world, disproportionately impacting our rural and regional communities, First Nations communities and our Pacific Island neighbours, Labor has continued to listen to their fossil fuel donors instead of the demands of the people,” reads the event description on their website.

Protests are being held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, as well as in a handful of regional locations in NSW and Queensland.

School Strike 4 Climate urged students to take a sick day in order to attend protest events around the country. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Hundreds of students turned out for Friday’s rally in Sydney, starting in Belmont Park. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

School Strike 4 Climate had “sick notes” available to download on their website, allowing kids to leave school for the purpose of attending a climate rally.

The letters claim the student is “unfit due to a major climate health concern,” and are experiencing “increased anxiety, elevated stress … and feelings of despair,” over the global climate emergency.

The letters could also be signed off by academics Dr David Karoly, Dr Nick Abel or Dr Lesley Hughes, all of whom have studied and researched within the field of climate science.

Students were encouraged to generate their own “sick notes” signed by climate science academics in order to leave school and attend. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The group is calling on the federal government to take steps to end Australia’s dependency on fossil fuels. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The Adelaide event started at 9am with a “study-in,” a play on the traditional sit-in demonstration, and includes a “duty of care submission workshop,” “social lunchtime” and “youth alliance strategy charts,” finishing up with some drumming and dancing at 3pm.

Events in other locations are expected to run much the same.

The Sydney event started at Belmore Park, with 160 students indicating they would be attending on Facebook, with a further 215 interested.

The group marched to Redfern, to the electorate office of federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Some teachers joined the rally, having used the opportunity as a teaching exercise. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Video on social media shows dozens of teenagers chanting “HEY HEY, HO HO, PLIBERSEK HAS GOT TO GO,” as they made their way to the minister’s office.

“Plibersek has got to go”

Fantastic energy at the school climate strike today. Students marching out of school and onto the streets to demand an end to fossil fuels, a just transition for workers and First Nations rights. Currently sitting in outside Tanya Plibersek’s office. pic.twitter.com/MEy3pIWQiJ

— Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) November 17, 2023

Federal Education Minister Jason Clarke said students shouldn’t be attending the strike.

“I want our kids to be passionate, I want our kids to care about democracy and I want our kids to care about the future, but I also want our kids at school,” he said.

While Education Departments in NSW and Victoria have said schools would not be accepting the generated doctors’ notes because they’re “not a legitimate medical certificate.”

The Sydney students started in Belmont Park about midday, before making their way to Environment Minister Plibersek’s Redfern office. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Dylan Robinson

Thousands of other students in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and some regional towns held similar demonstrations on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Dylan Robinson

Dr Karoly on Thursday said he hoped some teachers will consider the strike to be a learning experience.

“I think in some schools there will be teachers organising excursions and this has happened in the past,” he said.

“In 2019, there were schools that were encouraging their students to participate and there were groups of students going from schools as a learning experience.”

The Friday climate strike has been an ongoing campaign started by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who in 2018 began skipping school on Fridays to urge Sweden’s government to tackle climate change.