Politics

The School Strike Kids Are Crashing MPs’ Offices Around The Country To Call For Climate Action

Go off, #SchoolStrike4Climate

by Sam Langford  3 May 2019
school strike 4 climate

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The students behind the School Strike 4 Climate promised they’d be back, and they kept their word — around the country today, thousands of students are crashing their local MPs offices to demand that they step up their climate leadership.

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Young Australians Have An Urgent Message About Tomorrow's School Strike For Climate

There are more than 70 climate strikes happening today, including at the offices of Scott Morrison, Bill Shorten, and Tony Abbott. The students want to make it clear that despite plenty of talk about climate change this election, they won’t be satisfied until their demands are met.

Those demands, if you’ve forgotten, are pretty clear: They want Parliament to stop Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, commit to approving no new fossil fuel projects, and introduce a target of 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. The targets are ambitious, but so are these kids. I mean, look at them go:

As Sara McKoy, a sixteen-year-old striking in Brisbane today, put it, “May 3rd is our last chance before the election to push politicians to commit to real, meaningful action on climate change”.

“We, students, are leading this fight — but everyone will be affected, and so we invite the whole community to get involved in urging our politicians to show the climate leadership we need.”

The students want to make clear that they’re not just protesting one party’s policies, either — the way the School Strikers see it, no party is currently doing enough. While Labor has made a real effort to present itself as a climate leader this election, Doha Khan, who has helped organise several student strikes in Adelaide, is skeptical.

“Federal Labor just committed 1.5 billion dollars to unlock gas reserves in the Northern Territory and Queensland — a move that can only be described as an utter disappointment,” she pointed out today.

“Why are our politicians sticking up for the coal and gas industries ahead of young people like us, whose futures are on the line if climate change remains ignored? We deserve a Government that takes climate change seriously.”

Just two weeks out from an election, this latest strike should come as a final warning for candidates from all parties: the youth want climate action, and they want it now. Given that young voter enrolment is at an all time high, the strikers hold a fair bit of power here. You’d be a fool to ignore them.

If you want to support your local school strike, or stay up to date on future actions, check out the School Strike 4 Climate website.