Thousands rally in Melbourne over Climate Emergency

On June 13, 2009 thousands of people around Australia rallied for action on Climate Change. On a cold and bleak Melbourne winter day about 4,000 people gathered at the State Library where they heard from Greens Senator Bob Brown and 'Climate Code Red' author and climate activist David Spratt, and other speakers.

People marched down Swanston Street to the front of the Melbourne Town Hall where the crowd was asked to do a sitdown protest, reminiscent of the Vietnam Moratorium protests of the 1970s. Inside the Town Hall the Victorian State Conference of the Australian Labor Party was meeting. The Victorian tate Government under Premier John Brumby is committing the state to building a new coal fired power station and an energy intensive Desalination Plant to be run by a private corporation which will double water bills.

A woman from Tuvalu, Emeretta Cross, spoke on the rising seas threat to her country and other low lying nations and spoke of the need of acting for the children and their future. Damien Lawson, National Climate Justice Co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth, spoke on the need for a campaign of popular civil disobedience if politicians continue taking no action or ineffectual action to rapidly decrease carbon emissions.

At the march conclusio in Treasury Gardens the crowd listened to Teagan Edwards from Yarra Climate Action Now espouse the need for joining or starting local climate action groups to take action on climate change. Jessica from the campaign against the Desalination Plant at Wonthaggi spoke briefly about the reacton from ALP State conference officials when she entered the foyer of the Town Hall to protest the building of the Desalination Plant and the impact it will have on climate change and the coastal environment.

See Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/takver/sets/72157619603895083/

Other Reports:
http://www.greenlivingpedia.org/National_Climate_Emergency_Rally_Melbourne_Ju...

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• climate
• global warming
• climate emergency
• protest
• sitdown
• melbourne
• 2009
• climate change
• rally
• march

[boogiefever1985]

@ONR2650 Exactly. This tax will do nothing for the environment.

[boogiefever1985]

All of you should in this rally should disconnect the electricity from your houses, sell your cars, make your own clothes, and grow your own food. Once you've done that, make a youtube documentary of your lifestyle and I will consider whether I would like to do the same. Actions speak louder than words.

[ONR2650]

@drhead open your mind mate this is a scam to introduce a big new tax.

[drhead]

@ONR2650 Open your eyes mate.

[ONR2650]

What a load of over exagerated rubbish. Tempratures have fallen over the last 12 years as carbon output has increased. When will people realise the real agenda of global warming is to take peoples attention away from the real issues.