Students strike to save the planet

Deloraine’s Rohan Swinsberg joins the student strike for climate change, with Esther Godfrey of Carrick and Freya Cooper from Mayberry. Photo by Sharon Webb

Sharon Webb

‘You are the adults in the room when it comes to climate change’, yelled Extinction Rebellion’s Graham Bailey and the 300 strong crowd at Launceston’s Riverside Bend Park roared.

On strike over climate change, kids and teenagers from schools all over Launceston gathered with similar groups Australia wide to voice their concern that adults and politicians were doing nothing to save the world for them to live in.

And they had one adult in particular in mind – Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

‘Scott Morrison is visiting but where is he?’ Esther Godfrey of Carrick asked the crowd.

‘Scott Morrison is blatantly ignoring the youth of this country.’

Later Esther, who attends Launceston College, commented, ‘It proved our point. We invited him, and he was in town, but he didn’t come to our event. He doesn’t want to know.’

St Patrick’s College students Laura Bye and Lydia Kelly led crowd chants of ‘People power!’

About 20 St Patrick’s College students attended the rally in school uniform, including Year 8 student Marguerite McClintock of Evandale, who held a banner blasting, ‘I want hope for the future not HEAT for the future.’

Deloraine’s Rohan Swinsberg, who organised media coverage of the rally, said last minute hitches meant organisers used social media to get word out about an eleventh hour venue change.

‘The fact that we had a rally at all was amazing. The night before, Launceston Council couldn’t approve Civic Square for COVID reasons’, he said.

‘Considering climate change strikes have gone on the back-burner through 2020 because of COVID we were happy with the turnout.’

Student banners ripped into the Federal Government for propping up polluting gas and coal industries.

Intriguingly, young adults were running the rally but around the edges was an entirely different age group, a border of 70 and 80 year olds smiling their approval at the goings on.

A man in his seventies held a banner saying ‘The ONLY planet!’ and a white-haired woman’s banner read ‘Look around you. You are not alone. Into the future these are the people who will be at your side.’

Esther said she appreciated the contribution of 12 year-old Malaika Hayes from East Launceston Primary who ‘spoke eloquently’, and thanked the Wilderness Society for practical help.

‘It was so important that we do something like this now because we couldn’t do it last year’, she said.

‘This strike was two or three months in the making and there will be more. So watch this space!’