Rain, hail or shine; hundreds of local school students and other community members battled the pouring rain and demanded climate justice at the ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ at Civic Park on Friday, May 21.
The climate strike was the fourth of its kind held in Newcastle and joined thousands of others across Australia.
School Strike 4 Climate Australia organised the protest in response to “the Morrison Government’s continued support of a gas-fuelled economy”.
Many youth representatives from local schools, climate change groups and community organisations spoke to the cheering crowd, including Save our Coast Student Representative Asha Niddrie and Newcastle East Public School student Heath Bailey-Hepburn.
“I am here today because our politicians are destroying our future,” Heath said.
“I may only be 11, but I have already seen our skies turn red from bushfires last summer.
“I have already seen my favourite river turn bone dry, and there is much worse to come if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels.”
Amongst the students was also NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Jack Galvin Waight, who said he was truly inspired and proud of the student’s efforts.
“I would like to acknowledge all of you, for this amazing work you are truly inspiring, you should be really proud of yourselves—I want to make one point really clear, on behalf of the NSW Teachers Federation, on behalf of 60,000 teachers across the state, we support the students right to strike,” Waight said.
“We stand with you today, and we will stand with you in the future until we achieve climate justice.
“Enough is enough; every year our government does not take action on climate change, every year our government subsidies the fossil fuel industry, we should be investing in renewables, for our future, for your future.”
Co-Convenor of the Maitland Greens and youngest candidate to run for a seat on Maitland City Council, Campbell Knox, focused his speech on the proposed gas-fired power station at Kurri Kurri.
“A report by the Sydney Morning Herald found that the gas plant in Kurri Kurri will only employ ten full-time workers and operate for only two per cent of the year,” Knox said.
“Locals are staunchly opposed to this plant because they’ve realised it’s a reckless waste of public money, providing a push up of power prices, damaging farmland and worsening the impacts of climate change.
“There is no future, job opportunity, or community growth in the fossil fuel industry.”
The Federal Budget, which was revealed in early May, saw a controversial plan to build a $600M new gas-fired power station in Kurri Kurri, located in the Hunter Valley.
According to Political Editor Phillip Coorey at the Financial Review, the power station would be built by the government-owned corporation Snowy Hydro Limited and be listed as a cash-for-asset transfer, having no impact on the budget bottom line.
The idea was first mentioned last year by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said that NSW power prices could rise by 30 per cent if energy companies did not fill the gap left by the 2023 closure of the Liddell Power Station in Muswellbrook.
The government also said the new project would create 600 jobs in the region and secure reliable and affordable energy for NSW.
With a focus on gas-led recoveries and low emission technologies, a Federal Budget loser was renewable energy with no new direct funding in place, except for a $30M battery and microgrid project between Katherine and Darwin in the Northern Territory.
According to ABC News, “…the government’s putting $643.4 million over the next four years into low emissions technologies, including $539 million in funding for two ‘clean’ energy schemes”.
These schemes include $275M funded towards four more hydrogen hubs and $237M for carbon capture and storage projects.
Commenting on both projects, The Climate Council and The Australia Institute are concerned that hydrogen will still contribute to emissions if it is not produced using entirely renewable power.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), to achieve global net-zero emissions by 2050, a complete transformation of energy systems that underpin our economy is required immediately.
IEA released a world-first comprehensive energy roadmap that shows the required government actions needed to boost clean energy, reduce fossil fuels, create jobs, lift economic growth, and keep the net-zero emission goal in reach.
Along with funding for low emission technologies revealed in the Federal Budget, a $100M ocean protection package was announced.
The investment would help to manage ocean habitats and coastal environments, contributing to the global task of reducing emissions and “…target ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems that involve seagrass and mangroves playing a key role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere”.
“This investment is a major contribution to domestic and international efforts to build healthier oceans and combat climate change,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
“Our oceans are part of our national identity and critical to the daily lives of millions of Australians.
“Around 85 per cent of our population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast, so every Australian understands the vital role our oceans play.
“This investment will boost the seagrass and mangroves that will help cut emissions, and it’ll mean cleaner beaches, lower fisheries bycatch, more fish stocks, better protection for turtles and seabirds, and help for coastal and Indigenous communities reliant on the ocean for their livelihoods.”
This ocean protection package comes as the contentiously debated PEP 11 proposal still continues, which sees a plan for an established gas and oil industry off the NSW coast.
Hayley McMahon
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