600 climate strikes and events in Australia today

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Thank you to everyone who attended!

Virtual climate strike in Geelong
ORDER OF EVENTS
Introduction – Alex Marshall
Speaker – Neo Williams
Speaker – Ben Pocock
Speaker – Harper from SCEAT
Speaker – Katie Griffin
Song – Abigail Grace
Speaker – Zoe Brittain
Photo shoot
Reading chat messages
AYCC Geelong Special Video Message
Closing – Alex Marshall

Virtual climate strike in Geelong
COMMENTS excerpts

Belinda Moloney wrote:
“Hey legends, I’m a candidate in Kardinia Ward running as an independent in the local elections with the Put Climate First Alliance. Please feel free to send me a message on www.facebook.com/belindaforkardinia or send me a msg on 0492 934 474 or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindamoloney/ Let’s make our government accountable for saving our future and reducing the impact of climate change. Hope to hear from you soon, B”

Monica Winston wrote:
“Hi, I’m Monica Winston – living and campaigning on Wadawurrung land. I have devoted the last 14 years to helping to transition Geelong and Surfcoast communities to sustainable ones and still lead Transition Streets Geelong (feel free to join our Facebook page) for the last 4 years. Im a Put Climate First candidate for the Torquay ward in the Surf Coast Shire. We are 5 women’ running for 1) Zero emissions by 2030, 2) Localise goods and services (as a way of reducing demand for energy and other resources and increasing our local strength), 3) Regenerate Ecosystems and social systems and 4) Create a Citizen’s Democracy. Feel free to contact me on monica@putclimatefirst.org or 0439390557″

Elise Wilkinson wrote:
“Hello everyone- You are brilliant and inspire me!I am Elise Wilkinson Bellarine Candidate as part of Put Climate First Alliance. I stand for Council to give voice for real and immediate action to Climate Emergency. NO to Fossil Fuels NO to Gas. Please get in contact 0492970317 www.putclimatefirst.org/elise/ “

Libby Coker MP wrote:
“Hi, Libby Coker, Member for Corangamite here wanting to congratulate you for hosting this event. More strength to your arm! I stand for Australia as a renewable superpower and it makes sense for jobs and the environment and I say NO to NEW GAS and COAL.”

Louis Hehir wrote:
“hope everyone staying safe. my name is Louie I am one if the candidate in brownbill ward central Geelong. If people wish to contact me my fb tag is Louie Hehir Candidate for Brownbill. My email is louiehehirforbrownbill2020@gmail.com and mobile number is 0497 783 854.”

Sarah Hathway wrote:
“Always happy to hear from local residents, especially if you’re in Windermere Ward (northern suburbs) feel free to email me sarah.hathway@mail.com or call me on 0438 673 333. Great to see you all :)”

Kate Gazzard wrote:
“hello 👋🏼 I’m Kate Gazzard – on Wadawurrung land – local Greens candidate for Surf Coast Council, Torquay ward. feel free to contact me on kate.gazzard@vic.greens.org.au or 0400336261 xx”

Margie Abbott wrote:
“local action is where it all starts and leads to from little things big things grow thank you katie”

Katie Griffin wrote:
“Incredible song writing and singing! WOW!”

Corrie van den Bosch wrote:
“Beautiful song and great motivation for writing it. Well done.”

AARON FORD He/Him Wadawurrang Country wrote:
“She’s at work but wanted to send this song for us to listen too. If you’d like to hear more of Abigail’s Music follow her channel her. https://www.facebook.com/abigailgraceAUS/ “

Alex Marshall – MC – wrote:
“Tell us what indigenous country your watching from with this interactive map below: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia “

Harper Bolton from SCEAT wrote:
our website https://sceatau.wixsite.com/website

Vicki, Geelong Sustainability wrote:
“Great to hear our local MP @LibbyCoker saying NO to NEW GAS & COAL. Hope your view prevails with Labor. Will you also support Helen Haines – Australian Local Power Bill 2020? Our region wants to get on with its clean energy transition.
Is everyone aware that Viva Energy is proposing to build a gas import terminal as part of its Geelong Energy Hub ? These types of developments will lock us into gas and slow our transition to renewables. Follow GasFreeGeelong on Facebook to stay in touch.
Geelong would be one of 50 community hubs in the Local Power Plan. Please get behind this excellent plan https://www.localpowerplan.com/local-power-plan“

Libby Coker MP wrote:
“Labor had a fantastic pre-election commitment to have sustainable community hubs to drive renewables at the grassroots level, powering social housing, community and school buildings – we need more of this approach.
Please come to our environment forum with the Shadow Minister, Terri Butler, to discuss how we protect our biodiversity and our waterways. We are also talking about the Morrison Government’s lack of support for a strong environment protection biodiversity conservation Act (EPBC) Here is the link to register: https://www.libbycoker.com.au/enviroforum “

Monica Winston wrote:
“Yes Libby great idea….and…Labor needs to come out as a whole (not just individual members) and say NO to gas and coal. Get behind backing the installation as well as renewables, of heat pump hot water systems and split systems (as per Tim Forcey of the Facebook page My Energy Efficient Electric Home)”
Governments donate 8% of their budget to prop up fossil fuel corporation so the Labor party needs to declare what they’ve received so far in donations and what they have as state governments in Victoria and Queensland used to prop them up.
Watch this from Dr Karl about the decades long misinformation campaign and exactly HOW we can reach by zero emissions by 2030. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7-DP745SCI

Tom wrote:
“Great to here a member of the Labor party speak out against gas 👌 well done all this is brilliant.
Gas is capital intensive, yet job poor
Although when burned gas emits half the emissions of other fossil fuels, the leakage during the extraction process or from venting wipes out any emissions gains. Gas in reality is just as dirty as coal.
Despite being the world’s leading exporter of gas, Australia earns next to no revenue from its own natural resource ( under $2 billion a year).
There is no economic, social or environmental argument to be made to invest in a “gas led recovery”.”

Sal – Geelong Sustainability – wrote:
“We need strong environmental laws to stop the destruction – ask your MPs re the EPBC review underway now.
We need our Federal Parliament to introduce Zali Steggall’s Bill to get us to transition to zero carbon. More info www.climateactnow.com.au Sign up to support it.”

Abigail, Zoe and Robyn wrote:
“If people want to understand more the way that Mining companies have gained influence over our federal government check out this video from Greenpeace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5f-ad-mtRY “

RED REBEL chris wrote:
“has everyone watched “Kiss the ground” on Netfix? All about “Drawdown”.”

Neil Plummer wrote:
“We have known about the problem for more than 30 years. We now know the solution and have the skills and technologies to solve the problem. We have the community will and energy and are motivated for a better future. We now need government’s to act without any further delay and to stop putting their chosen sponsors first. We must continue to build support for change.”

Sanja Van Huet – Ocean Grove Victoria – Wathurwurring wrote:
https://www.drawdown.org/the-book

Vicki, Geelong Sustainability wrote:
“Geelong Sustainability held a seminar about Project Drawdown back in March. Lots of info here https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/2020/03/26/project-drawdown/

Explanatory blog post about the critical tipping points being triggered now written by climate scientist, Neil Plummer https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/2020/06/19/tipping-points-turning-a-bad-situation-into-something-much-worse/ “

Caroline Danaher wrote:
“FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE GLOBAL HAS A DIFFERENT FOCUS. THEIR FOCUS IS: ‘THEY ARE NOT HEARD, NOT VOICELESS. THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR PRESENT, NOT JUST THEIR FUTURE. WE WILL NOT BE PRISONERS OF INJUSTICE.’ RING ME 0407 160 485 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF fff GLOBAL ACTION TOMORROW IN OTHER AREAS…BEARING IN MIND WE HAVE ONLY JUST THOUGHT OF DOING THIS.”

Tony Gleeson – Wurundjeri Country wrote:
“#VoteTheDifferenceInVicLocalGovtElections”

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climatestrike@climatesafety.info

“So many young people see mainstream TV culture as totally out of touch with their interests and concerns, and climate is a prime example. They see TV news asleep at the wheel.”
~ Jeff Cohen, a former cable-TV pundit and co-founder of RootsAction Education Fund

VIC communities send strong message on day of action against gas!

“In what has been heralded as the most widespread day of action against gas in Australia’s history, the September 25th: #FundOurFutureNotGas day of action saw hundreds of actions from Perth to Cairns, Darwin to Hobart, and the red centre of Alice Springs.

Here in Victoria, where communities are once again on the frontline of gas extraction – strong messages were sent out in opposition to plans to further open up coastal waters to ocean drilling and risk prime agricultural land to onshore exploration.

In Apollo Bay, Southern Rock Lobster Fishermen and local climate action group OCEAN have joined together to support the call to action. Over one hundred cray pots were used to spell NO NEW GAS at the Port of Apollo Bay over the weekend.

Markus Nolle, an Apollo Bay fisher, said, “Why is the Government pursuing more gas exploration at a time when we should be transitioning away from fossil fuels? It’s recklessly damaging our sensitive marine environment and it just doesn’t make sense.”

Farmers and community members from Protect the West also sent a covid-safe message of solidarity with the student-led day of action! The group was key in winning the permanent ban on fracking in the state of Victoria adopted in 2017.

Protect the West representative Patricia Nesbitt said, “For people in the south west, the impacts of gas are not an abstract threat. We face the resumption of onshore gas drilling next year and the prospect of new onshore to offshore drilling and, potentially, offshore gas drilling. This will impact directly on our landscapes and oceans and the businesses that rely on them”.

Here in the city, with Melbourne still in stage 4 lockdown, Friends of the Earth activists dropped banners from significant Melbourne landmarks (*digitally!) to spread the message of solidarity and raise awareness abut the localised threat of gas in Victoria.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that we need a COVID-19 recovery led by renewable energy, First Nations land rights, local eco-tourism, and respect for our natural landscapes. New gas will dash these hopes for a fair and safe climate future” Friends of the Earth’s Phil Evans said this morning.

Regional communities care about the beauty in their backyards, the viability of their farmlands and the need for climate action. All along Victorian coastlines, people are learning about the dangerous plans to drill for gas in oceans and along the coast – and they are not happy!

Keep an eye out for more actions and ways to get involved in the campaign to stop plans for drilling in the Otway Basin. Check out all the actions from the School Strike here! In Solidarity,”

Jemila Jemila Rushton
Friends of the Earth Melbourne
Based in Warrnambool

SchoolStrike4Climate Australia media alert on 25 September 2020:

600+ School Strike for Climate events taking place today in biggest-ever national action against gas

The 25 September #FundOurFutureNotGas day of action sees over 600 powerful, Covid-safe actions around Australia.

· New national YouGov polling shows over 6 in 10 Australian voters support student demands of no public funding for gas or other fossil fuels (61%).

· Almost two thirds believe Australia should rely on renewables not fossil fuels to power us in the future (65%), including nine in ten Gen Z voters (92%) [full details below].

· Over 600 colourful actions in capital cities, regional centres and small towns around Australia.

Thousands of students and supporters join forces today to demand that the Federal Government fund their future, not the gas industry, with hundreds of actions taking place across the country.

With last year’s school strikes ranking amongst some of the largest protests in Australia’s history, this year with Covid-19 restrictions students have had to find new ways to have their voices heard, with powerful socially distanced actions, Instagram livestreams, banner drops, “climate classrooms” on the lawns of State Parliament, and art installations.

School strikers are calling for the Federal Government to spend economic stimulus money on clean energy to create thousands of jobs, rather than propping up the failing gas industry that puts our climate and economy at risk.

Brisbane student Neha Pauly, Year 11, said: “Students here in Queensland want Scott Morrison to invest COVID-19 recovery funds into renewable energy, creating thousands of jobs that would also help tackle climate change. Giving billions of taxpayer dollars to the polluting gas industry is putting the interests of the gas industry ahead of the public interest,” she said.

“In the lead up to the Queensland election we are also calling on all our state MPs to rule out public funding for gas and commit to clean energy jobs for Queenslanders. We are the Sunshine State, we need to make the most of it!”

Anjali Sharma, 16, one of the lead organisers of Friday’s Melbourne Day of Action, said that the Federal Government’s lack of action on climate change was forcing young people in Melbourne to continue to protest, with Melbourne protests taking place online due to the city’s lockdown laws.

“Although the pandemic has brought the world to a halt, it certainly hasn’t brought the climate crisis to a halt and that is why we cannot stop protesting this and demanding that the government prioritise our futures over anything else,” she said.

The students’ actions have been endorsed by institutions representing 3 million Australians, including 25 union bodies and businesses such as Patagonia and Ben & Jerrys.

National YouGov polling
A poll of 1015 people, conducted between 14-16 September, to a nationally representative sample of Australian voters found:

Powering the country
The majority of Australian voters believe that Australia should rely on renewable energy sources to power the country in the future (65%), rather than fossil fuels such as coal and gas (20%). Younger voters are the strongest supporters of Australia moving to rely on renewables, including nine in ten Gen Z voters (92%) and three quarters of Millennials (74%). Whilst support is lower among older voters, the majority of Baby Boomers (60%) and Gen X (55%) still support the move to rely on renewables over fossil fuels.

Support for student demands
Just over six in ten voters (61%) support student demands for the government to not use public funds for gas, and instead take urgent action on issues such as guaranteeing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights, creating jobs that focus on tackling climate change and backing renewable energy projects.

More info: Visit the national day of action website: ss4c.info/sept25

Photos: Best vision from the day can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157715482575817

Video: Best footage from the day can be found at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7587992

NSW – 206 ACTIONS STATEWIDE

SYDNEY EVENT
Friday Sept 25th, 10am sharp AEST,
Martin Place outside Channel 7 (near Martin Place / Elizabeth St Intersection)

· Students: Veronica Hester, Natasha Abhayawickrama; Narrabri farmer Ed Nankivell; Steve Murphy, National Secretary, Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union; Linda Whitten, Gomeroi woman, whose lands are under threat from gas in NW NSW

VISION: Speakers + socially distanced crowd of 20 max holding a large banner saying Fund Our Future Not Gas. Behind everyone, a tableau of 100 placards hanging from washing lines to represent all the students who can’t be there due to the pandemic.

NSW event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716012891081

VICTORIA – 211 ACTIONS STATEWIDE
MELBOURNE ONLINE EVENT
Friday 25 September 10am-3pm
School Strikes for Climate Melbourne and Victoria Instagram

· instagram.com/schoolstrike4climatemelb

· instagram.com/vicschoolstrike4climate

Livestreamed talks on gas and climate, free livestreamed concert with Melbourne band Husky, demos on how to lobby politicians to demand they fund the future, not gas.

Victorian event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716013475318

QUEENSLAND – 61 ACTIONS STATEWIDE

BRISBANE EVENT

Friday 25 September 1pm

Parliament House, George St, Brisbane

School Strikers for Climate speaking out in front of Brisbane Parliament House

Queensland event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716012956216

TASMANIA – 16 ACTIONS STATEWIDE

HOBART EVENT

Friday 25 September 10am-3pm

Lawns, Tasmanian State Parliament, 1 Salamanca Pl, Hobart TAS 7000

Students will set up their own “classroom”, structured like a school day, with a series of talks on how climate change is affecting Tasmania, how they can take action and why the Tasmanian Government must do more to tackle climate change.

Tasmania event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716013477138

ADELAIDE EVENT – 11 ACTIONS STATEWIDE

Friday 25 September 11:30am

Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide

Students and supporters will gather at Hindmarsh Square to hear from speakers, then together will march to Origin Energy’s headquarters to protest their plans to frack the Northern Territory.

South Australia event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716012962451

CANBERRA EVENT – 14 ACTIONS TERRITORY-WIDE

Friday 25 September 10:30am

Parliament House Lawns

70 school climate strikers with protest placards positioned across lawns and a massive Fund Our Future Not Gas banner

ACT event photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ss4c/albums/72157716017348117

NORTHERN TERRITORY – 3 ACTIONS TERRITORY-WIDE

DARWIN EVENT

Friday 25 September 12-1pm

Shop 5/36 Parap Place, Parap

Students, workers, Aboriginal leaders and community members will confront Chief Minister Michael Gunner at his Parap electorate office

The demands of September 25th are that no public funds are spent on gas or other damaging fossil fuels. Instead, recovery funds should be spent on: