Thousands of students skip school to attend strikes for climate action
Crude signs targeting Prime Minster Scott Morrison were carried by students skipping school at huge protests in Melbourne and Sydney today. Some took it a bit far.
Incredible scenes are unfolding in Australia’s capital cities where thousands of students have skipped school in protest against the Morrison Government’s lack of action on climate change.
In Sydney and in Melbourne, huge crowds of students filled public spaces shouting at the top of their lungs.
They brought banners and signs reading “I’ve seen smarter cabinets at Ikea”, “I’m sure the dinosaurs thought they had time too”, “There’s no Planet B” and “We’ll be less activist if you’ll be less shit”.
Some were more blunt. One sign held aloft at Martin Place, where an estimated 10,000 students gathered, read simply: “F**k ScoMo.”
On social media, footage from the protests is being shared widely.
Look, at least they know who the prime minister is. #schoolstrike4climate pic.twitter.com/UBDMlGhmLY
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) November 30, 2018
Ten thousand kids in Sydney. #climatestrike pic.twitter.com/y3SkIDVVGm
— Sam Regester (@samregester) November 30, 2018
Leadership in action! So inspiring to see the next generation taking action #schoolstrike4climate #SchoolStrike #climateaction #melbourneyouth #melbourneschools #wecare pic.twitter.com/Cp3D1wAC2h
— Leadership Victoria (@LeadVic) November 30, 2018
"When kids make a mess, adults tell us to clean it up"#SchoolStrike
— Ms Gonzo (@ImNobodysMuppet) November 30, 2018
Martin Place pic.twitter.com/ZjN2V6DSrF
The strikes aren’t contained to the major cities. In regional centres including Byron Bay and Castlemaine students are gathering and chanting, too.
School Strike for Climate Byron Bay.#schoolstrike4climate @StrikeClimate pic.twitter.com/4LVcEnu1Bn
— David Michie (@dmichie66) November 30, 2018
Among those protesting is Nosrat Fareha. When she heard the comments from Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemning the schools strike she is helping to lead today, she felt really upset and then angry.
The Auburn Girls High School student is one of hundreds of students expected to skip school in Melbourne and Sydney to protest the government’s lack of climate change action today as part of the School Strike for Climate Action.
Students in other cities like Hobart held strikes earlier this week and in total, students from all capital cities and 20 regional areas were expected to head to their nearest Parliament House or MP’s office for the strike.
The event in Sydney has become so big that it had to be shifted from outside NSW Parliament House to Martin Place.
Fareha will be meeting up with about 10-15 other students from her school and then heading to the event taking place between midday and 2pm.
@naamanzhou I am Lilly and I have been on #schoolstrike in holland for 12 weeks and I wish the Australian students the very best on #climatestrike. This is a historic day in australia the politicans spoke but the children's voices are louder. We strike for our future! pic.twitter.com/McfPY1jiVc
— lillysplasticpickup (@lillyspickup) November 29, 2018
The 15-year-old told news.com.au that she had joined the Australian Youth Climate Coalition earlier this year.
“I realised climate change is a problem and will not affect politicians as much as it will affect me in the future,” she told news.com.au.
“Considering it’s a big problem, I was frustrated that no one was talking about it.”
By 2030, when the coalition’s target of 26 to 28 per cent reduction in carbon emissions is expected to be reached, she will be 27 years old and will have many years ahead of her to deal with the problems created by climate change.
The world has already warmed by about 1C above pre-industrial levels and is likely to reach 1.5C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.
“Young people contribute the least to climate change but we will feel the brunt of government inaction,” she said.
Fareha said many of her friends who were not interested in climate change had started to ask her more questions about the issue recently, especially after the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that showed all scenarios for keeping global warming to 1.5C would involve cutting the use of coal-powered electricity to practically nothing by 2050. If temperatures were to rise to 2C, the world would lose all the world’s coral reefs from 2050 onwards.
Fareha said she wanted the government to finally take immediate and effective action against climate change, to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets and for Australia to be a leader in environmental awareness on climate change.
RELATED: Government urged to fact policy ghosts of the past
But when asked about the strike in parliament earlier this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged students not to take part in the event and skip school.
“What we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools,” he told federal parliament.
Fareha said she expected more support for young people who would be Australia’s potential future leaders and politicians.
“I was really upset at first, then angry and then disappointed.”
She said she expected that reaction but it was sad because he was Prime Minister and there should be more support for future leaders. “Instead we were just condemned and patronised.”
The ‘Strike 4 Climate Action’, inspired by 15-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, will involve children in capital cities and 20 regional centres such as Ballarat and Newcastle.
Sydney student Jean Hinchliffe, 14, said in a statement: “Our future is on the line … We are striking to tell our politicians to stop all new coal and gas projects and take immediate action to move Australia to 100 per cent renewable energy.”
Greta Thunberg went on strike on September, ahead of Sweden’s national election, demanding the country’s leader to do something about climate change.
Continue the conversation @charischang2 | charis.chang@news.com.au
‘Suspicious’: Huge twist in bushfire chaos
A chaotic bushfire which destroyed at least one home and burned through 1000ha of land may have been deliberately lit, authorities have revealed.
‘Not safe to return’ as Vic fires rage
At least one home has been destroyed as fires tore through more than 2000 hectares of bushland, with authorities warning of “challenging” conditions yet to come.
Concerns before man crushed to death
A union says safety concerns at the site of a fatal turbine incident were raised with builders before a man was crushed by a fan blade.