The horns of frustrated motorists were almost drowned out by the chants of climate change protesters who brought Wollongong CBD traffic to a halt on Saturday afternoon.
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Police came to the aid of irate motorists whose day was interrupted when hundreds of young people marched up Crown Street Mall and into the intersection of Crown and Keira streets.
Activists from the Youth Environment Alliance organised the protest at midday to demand action on climate change.
Those gathered created civil disobedience and protested against the newly re-elected Morrison government.
Their message was clear. They want the government to immediately transition to 100 per cent renewable energy and stop the Adani Coal Mine in Queensland.
Protesters chanted, marched and held placards to make their views heard.
Protest organiser and Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association representative Darcy Turner said the protest was about holding the government to account.
"It is so good to see that people have come out, one week from the election, and are committed to fighting the new Liberal government," he said. "We need to keep up the pressure."
Mr Turner said the group was inspired by the recent high school student strikes and the Extinction Rebellion protests in London.
The activists are calling on school students, university students and workers to join them in their protests and do not believe it is up to the younger generation alone to resolve the climate crisis.
"From workers to students, to ordinary Australians, we all have an interest in fighting for a liveable planet," he said.
WUSA president Chloe Rafferty got protesters riled up when she said the world was facing a "climate crisis".
"The richest people in our society, the one per cent who hold the power, are complicit in denying the young people in the crowd a future," she said. "Australia is a disgrace for having two major political parties that both support opening what would be the biggest coal mine in the southern hemisphere.
"Young people, in particular high school students, are taking the lead and are taking a stand against the climate criminals who would destroy our future to make some profits in the short-term."
Several high school students, Greens councillor Cath Blakely and Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery spoke at the rally.
Wollongong Police District Inspector Don Faulds said police were "disappointed" in the protest organisers who had not sought the necessary permission to hold the rally.
"The protest caused major traffic disruptions and put protesters, motorists and the general public's lives in danger."