22.1 C
Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Student power rises up across the country

Latest News

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Other News

Breakfeast, Bluesfest weekend

Victoria Cosford Oh to be a cow with a four-chambered stomach system! Farmers’ market, Bluesfest long weekend, a spot of...

UK court seeks assurances from US over Julian Assange

The UK High Court of Justice has released a 66 page judgement seeking more information from the United States relating to Australian citizen Julian Assange, which it says it needs before deciding whether to grant the WikiLeaks founder leave to appeal his extradition.

Way of the dog

One of the more disappointing aspects of the decline of Byron Bay, and I have a long list, is...

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Roller derby rocks the Cavanbah Centre

The Red Kennedys have once again dominated the Northern Rivers Revolt Roller Derby Tournament held at the Cavanbah Centre over the weekend of March 16-17.

Biz confidence up, says Business NSW

The state's peak body for business says confidence in the sector has increased but cost of living pressures continue to impact customer spending.

Byron school strike for climate change. Jeff Dawson.

From breast feeding babies up children, teens and their supporters came together across the region as part of the school strike 4 climate action this morning. Over 700 people gathered in Lismore’s Quad and over 1,000 in Byron’s Railway Park with the majority of the gatherings made up of students who were being supported by parents and other responsible adults.

Talking about why she was at the climate change strike ten year old Elsa, who was at the Lismore rally, said, ‘If we don’t do anything about it there won’t be a world. We won’t be able to adapt to climate change quick enough. So nothing else will really matter – so we need to focus on this while we can.’

Defiance

Students representing all the local high schools and primary schools were at the rallies defying the NSW education departments statement about the climate strike rally that ‘Any student not in classes on a school day will be marked absent and unexplained absences may be subject to the school’s disciplinary code.’

Ella Whan and Mia Thom who were key to organising the Byron Shire rally led the thousand strong crowd from Railway Park to the Byron Bay Surf Club with the chant ‘What do we want? Climate change action. When do we want it? Now’.

‘This is our future,’ said Mia and and Ella addressing the crowd gathered at the Byron Surf Club.

‘The world is already dying and politicians continue to deny climate change is even real. We have the resources and the technology’ to take action on climate change but ‘we are not abundant in time,’ they pointed out to the cheers of fellow students.

‘It is time to re-define our governments priorities. We can’t stand by and watch our one chance at a future being destroyed.

‘What do we want future generations to remember us by? What do we want out legacy to consist of?’ they asked the crowd.

‘But most importantly – do we want a future at all?’

Several hundred students and their supporters took to the streets of Murwillumbah to call for action on climate change. Photo supplied.

Murwillumbah

Around 200 students and their supporters gathered this afternoon at Knox Park in Murwillumbah to join their voices with those across the region, the country and the world.

They marched through the main streets of the town chanting ‘keep the coal in the ground’ and ‘stop denying the earth is dying’.

‘It was a really good turn out for a town like Murwillumbah,’ said one of the supporters Greg Reeves who also admired their loud and strong messages.

National and international action

It has been predicted that there will be students from over 60 cities and towns around Australia that will be striking in support of action on climate change today as well as students from over 100 countries from around the world.

The two 14 year old students Milou Albrecht and Harriet O’Shea Carre who kicked off the school strike movement in Australia with fellow students in Central Victoria, said, ‘A Federal election is around the corner, but our politicians are not listening to the Australian people. Extreme weather is all around us and we need our politicians to be climate leaders.

‘We may still be in school but we know the mining and burning of coal, oil and gas is driving dangerous climate impacts, including droughts, bushfires, and heatwaves. We only have a decade to act in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change yet our politicians are wasting time and putting our future in danger,’ said Milou.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Congratulations to all the students around the world for taking this action. It is a shame that our NSW Minister for Education has taken this opportunity to turn this into a fantastic display of bullying. On the National Day of Action against Bullying he decides to bully the NSW school kids into abstaining from their protests against climate change. What and example Rob Stokes. Enjoy your last week in office.

  2. Isn’t it funny, the one thing that is killing our planet and is the root cause of all our problems and pushing every other creature on it to extinction is Human over population. So I would hope that these children, who are protesting and are part of the Human over population problem will have a good look at themselves in the mirror when they reach breeding age, will make make the decision to only have one child.
    Yep, the earth is flat and pigs fly…..

  3. Clearly we as a society need to do a lot more than burning fossil fuels as our main argument to lower emissions on ‘climate change’.
    Our future society needs to be ensured by the globe that strong measures need to be put in place over business interests which many countries seem to be employing as the argument for say; ‘jobs & growth’ which is a significant argument for fossil fuel power continuing to meet the demands of such a widening of population growth that has also increased since the revolutionary society took grip in the late 19th century.
    So who has the answer, and who is willing to commit to a global strategy to ‘global warming’ due mainly from increase in demand for sustaining population density growth?
    Personally, I use to be against the ‘nuclear’ option mainly due to our lack-lustre vital asset protection, but I think now we are up to the engineering challenge to get the power station deep underground and the waste to be significantly disposed of ecologically within our own country since we also have one of the largest wilderness of any continent.
    It is true that you will need a mix of energy which will guarantee energy supply up to a new era of say, hydrogen power etc?

  4. The students in the Lismore Climate Change Action day today were
    well informed, polite & [perhaps?] hopeful their message would be
    heard, thought about, & acted upon. I marched & protested with
    them. They deserve respect, & as adults, we owe them that – if not
    more: much more.

  5. Truly amazing and inspirational actions by students and supportive adults at all the protest meetings across the country and around the world today. Our Leaders have failed to urgently act and they are the ones that deserve condemnation and they should hang their heads in shame instead of dishing at verbal bullying to students that skip class. Our Leaders should perhaps do some learnings for themselves and look up The Rights of the Child under United Nations Conventions.

  6. I saw some of these children leaving from the bus stop in Mullum, many of whom had a mobile phone stuck in their ear hole, clearly they have not read the warning which is contained within their phone which warns against holding the phone against the body, why is brain cancer now the biggest killer of children in Australia?
    Why do tumours appear on the side where the phone is held?
    If these children are concerned for the future they may not even live to see it if they do not question things a bit more?

  7. It’s quite possible that we will all thank our so called kids for being the last straw against the sheer apathy of our current governments. Afterall, if kids talk sense, and are ropable at governmental inaction for so long, what does that tell them!!
    The fact that kids are as mad as hell, might mean, gee,, They may not take it anymore.
    And the ages of discontent today, are getting even younger, so politicians better watch their future electorates’ concerns, or find another career path.
    Us oldies were heartily impressed with the kids today. Their adult sense of responsibility, has no peers at all in current governments.
    We voters must rid ourselves of the blatant arrogance, ignorance, and apathy of the current governments, to show some long needed respect for all life on Earth, especially our kids’ futures.

  8. Love this. Youthful action by those that will inevitably be running things in the future. I hope these scenes will be shown all around the world. Take note old thinking politicians.

  9. In 1971 I did 1st level geography and we studied the greenhouse effect. We knew about it then and still the world is slow to act. Great to see a new generation of activists.

  10. The recent student climate change rallies have shown that Australia’s young are aware of and concerned about climate change. They want to re-ignite the conversation – that’s a good thing. A suggestion for the next powerful action and steps for the students is to make a connection between their climate change concerns and what they do in their day to day lives (as well as influencing us older Australians in what we do). In this article and the coverage more broadly I have heard and seen the student concerns and many comments related to urging “governments to do something” but haven’t really seen much about what each individual plans to do. Is part of the reason that there are plans for new oil rigs in the great Australian bite due to the fact that many of us (including, I would guess, the students) whack the air conditioning on as soon as it hits 28 degrees. In our western societies we have privileges that are usually big contributors to our climate problem. Much of Australia’s wealth and what we have become accustomed to at home (mobile phones, laptops, a fourth pair of new shoes, a/c, etc) is related in some way to coal. We are the biggest exporter of coal in the world ($40.6b) and the fourth largest producer. The basis of our economy relies on it. It will take some effort to wean ourselves off it. To do this quickly we, individually, will have to make some sacrifices. I suspect our standard of living as we have become accustomed to will decline. Are the students and more broadly Australians up for the challenge?

    • Great balanced view gary .. !! And yes our young millennials and parents will have to make sacrifices and the very privileged life mosts Australians are accustomed to will change and how !!! If coal is phased out , short or long term …so the next peaceful protest thats organized.. please plan and consider alternative transportation to and from .no buses , no cars , no trains , no planes, no push bikes , or skateboards, no mobile phones, laptops, ipads , all coal related!!!! And there’s more just google what we use in our every day lives thats related to coal ? So if we are to take climate change seriously please consider the above ..PS walking will be acceptable in regards to getting to the climate change protests . good exercise !!! Also the so called invaders of this great country have lots to say on climate change? What about the custodians of our lands 100.000 years of history that we know of.. has anyone ask them there thoughts on this climate change hysteria? Surely they would have some experience on the subject? Anyway good to see our kids have a opinion and do respect that …!!

  11. I listened to the students before & during the power-walk [by
    that I mean ‘flat strap walking pace] & did not see one mobile
    phone being used. These students are aware of what they
    must cut back on or quit if local & global climate change is to
    be reduced. I’d say they’re more ‘savvy’ than adults regarding
    house ‘heat & cooling’ & the rest of the junk adults seem to
    think they need & can’t live without. They also understand
    the ‘population’ question. They don’t need lectures on the
    obvious.

  12. Excellent point Elsa, the old chestnut argument that the economy will suffer is totally irrelevant if there is no where to spend your money!
    And as for our current leader and his pathetic excuse for a government’s position that kids should be in school rather than participating in activism, they will learn more from an experience like this day then they would take from a month at an underfunded, umderresourced, understaffed run down public school!
    Should be more involvement from the future leaders of society, not less!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Making Lismore Showground accessible to everyone

The Lismore Showground isn’t just a critical local community asset that plays host to a number of major events each year, but has also been used as an evacuation centre during past natural disasters in the region. 

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.