Climate right for concerned seniors to take a stand

Maggie Broom clocked up 67 years as a law-abiding citizen — until this week.

Maggie Broom, 67, arrested in Melbourne on Tuesday, has grown frustrated with politicians’ inaction on climate change. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Maggie Broom clocked up 67 years as a law-abiding citizen — until this week.

The retired teacher was one of 59 climate protesters arrested in Melbourne on Tuesday and also one of the oldest.

It was her first protest and her first arrest and she can’t guarantee it won’t be her last given she’ll be camping out with fellow Extinction Rebellion members for the ­remainder of the week.

Ms Broom was arrested for taking part in the blockade of an intersection near Melbourne’s state parliament. She danced as she was led away by police.

“It was exciting. I was glad it happened,” she said. “I put myself up for arrest. I was very sombre to begin with … a lot of grounding (myself) to make sure I was going to be able to go through with it.”

A mature-aged protester. Picture: AAP

Ms Broom said she had been concerned for the environment since she first read Silent Spring, about the impact of pesticides, in 1962, which “gave me a huge amount of depression”.

The resident of Smiths Gully, northeast of Melbourne, has written to her local politicians and talked to people about how “awful” things were but hadn’t taken action before this year.

“I kept a close eye on what was going on but thought ‘the government has got things in hand … somebody will do something about this’,” she said.

“I’m through waiting and I have come to the conclusion that if I don’t do something, don’t take action, I’m just going to go into a complete depression,” she said.

A common sentiment. Picture: AAP

Ms Broom said watching people in business suits get arrested as part of Extinction Rebellion’s ­action in Britain this year was an awakening moment for her. She apologised to people affected by the group’s disruptions but said the protests were necessary.

“I’m the fire alarm because the house is burning,” she said. Ms Broom described herself as a “moderate” but less so than she used to be.

“I’m not a hippie and I’m not unwashed and I had a professional career,” she said, addressing a common stereotype about people who were taking action. “We’ve a range of ages, we’ve a range of genders, a range of skin colours, a range of professions. We’ve people from all walks of life.”

A mother and daughter make their point in Brisbane. Picture: AAP

Victoria Police has warned it expected an escalation of climate activism over the course of the week. “It's clear to me there is a ­deliberate tactic among the protest cohort to get arrested,” said northwest metro region commander Tim Hansen. “They see this as a successful outcome.”

In Sydney, Greens MLC David Shoebridge was joined in NSW parliament by three previously ­arrested activists, including a student who was held in custody for almost 30 hours and a grandfather sporting a large bruise on his side that he attributed to being dragged from the road by officers after he refused to leave.

All three activists were charged with failing to comply with police directions. “It’s time the police stopped acting brutally against protesters,” Mr Shoebridge said.

In Brisbane, a protester chained himself to a rail line and briefly delayed trains at Bowen Hills. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the disruptions were “getting beyond a joke now”.

She said the man who chained himself to the rail line was putting his life and the train driver’s life at risk. Ms Palaszczuk said her government was taking clear action on climate change and added that the protesters were not endearing themselves to the community through their disruptive actions.