Eve Jeffery
Estimates of close to 6,000 students and supporters have been reported from the Student Strike 4 Climate currently being held in Byron Bay. Other centres around the Far North Coast and the rest of the state are also reporting massive turn outs.
Students gathered at the Byron Rec Grounds in Marvel Street from 8am this morning and the planned 10am start was delayed by traffic getting into town.
Though the march did not have a permit to use the road in Byron, protesters spilled over from the footpath halting traffic in all directions. One young woman said there was nowhere else to walk but on the road. ‘There is no way that many people could have been contained on the footpath,’ she said. ‘The cops were blocking the traffic for students so they obviously realised it was futile to try, so better to be on the side of safety.’
She said that everyone was chilled and that the people who were stopped in their cars in traffic took it really well. ‘There was also lots of support from those watching from the footpaths.’
A car accident between the highway and the Cavvanbah Centre on Ewingsdale Road heading into Byron Bay before 9.30am saw hundreds of vehicles backed up along the highway to Tyagarah, including buses that had been hired to transport students to town.
Echonetdaily received a number of calls from people stuck in traffic on Ewingsdale Road who were unable to get to the march.
Organisers delayed the start of the march by approximately half an hour as they waited for arrivals that were coming in from surrounding areas.
Striking in Lismore and Pottsville
Students have been gathering in Magellan Street in Lismore from 10am. The street has been blocked off between Keen Street and Molesworth Street as numbers continue to build for a rally early this afternoon. The offical count for the event was 3,400 students and supporters.
On the Tweed, students gathered at Ambrose Brown Park in Pottsville.
The Pottsville Global Strike for Climate rally was attended by 1580 people, who marched along the main Street to make their point.
The rally was addressed by five individual students ranging from Primary School to Year 12. Saige Hill from Kingscliff High School acted as MC.
Tweed Mayor Katie Milne addressed the crowd with the welcome news that that Council voted last night to declare a Climate Emergency. She thanked Council’s Youth Advisory Council which had recommended that motion and provided an excellent speaker at the Public Forum session.
Not Business As Usual
It was not business as usual in Byron with nearly thirty shops, cafes, services and galleries closing their doors from 10am until midday as part of the strike.
Prior to the event dozens of businesses agreed to support the youth in their fight for serious action on climate change by shutting up shop, as part of a joint initiative by Stop Adani Byron Shire and Extinction Rebellion Byron Bay.
James Perrin from Stone & Wood encouraged staff to take time off to join the rally. ‘We’ve got most of our team here today,’ he said. ‘This was really driven by a groundswell of people in the business that are passionate about it; it didn’t come from the top down, it came from team members saying we should be standing up for something like this.’
Business around the shire who either closed or allowed staff to attend the strike included Bella Rosa, Endless Summer, Baskin Robbins, Tasa Jara, Retrospect Gallery, Etnix, Beyond Oil electric transport, Sustainable Futures Australia, Byron Beach Realty, Liberty Trading Co, The Rainbow Shop, Tree of Life, Ixtlan Jewellery, Miss Brown’s Vintage, In The Pink, Sparrow Coffee, Attik, Espressohead, Zanzi Hairdressing, Patagonia, Green Pack, Muscle Balance Therapies, Arnhem Warehouse, Hemp Culture, The Source Bulk Foods, Black Dog Surfing and Echo Publications.
Thirty additional establishments have supported the strike by displaying advertising posters in their windows.
Before the march organiser Emma Briggs said the response from business owners and managers was generally very encouraging. ‘The momentum has picked up during the past week as retailers have come around to the idea,’ she said. ‘This has also been implemented on an international level with the “Not business as usual” campaign. ‘The students understand this is a significant sacrifice for business owners in a busy period, but the sacrifices we’ll all have to make if we fail to turn around the climate crisis will be far greater,’ she said.
’It is the young people who will have the most to lose if we continue with business as usual.
‘We would like to thank all our supporters very much, and hope that consumers will consider patronising the participating businesses who have shown they care about more than just short-term profit.’
Pottsville climate strike
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
