Climate activists will hit the streets of Wollongong on Saturday to express their anger at politicians who 'can't yet hear' their message.
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Illawarra Climate Justice Alliance (ICJA) members have singled out Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and Wollongong MP Paul Scully, ahead of the protest to demand action on the climate crisis.
The rally will start at 2pm at the Illawarra Arts Precinct on Burelli St and will march to Lang Park, stopping on the way to target mining contractor and labour-hire provider Nexus Mining.
The activists are determined to fight against both the Liberal and Labor parties, who they say are committed to digging up more coal, oil and gas.
"Their handling of the bushfire crisis showed that they care more about making fossil fuel profits than helping ordinary people. We need to build alternative structures of power," they said.
ICJA organiser Ben Gava added he no longer trusted Cr Bradbery, despite the lord mayor having been publicly supportive of climate action and climate activists in the past.
Mr Gava though was even more disappointed with Mr Scully in advocating for Port Kembla Harbour to be home to a new gas processing terminal.
"Despite the best efforts of politicians and the gas industry to re-brand gas as a 'transition fuel', it remains the same old, dirty, polluting fossil fuel it always was and represents a step in the wrong direction.
"If Mr Scully wants to build the energy infrastructure of the future here in the Illawarra, he should be talking about a hydrogen processing terminal, not a gas terminal," he said.
Mr Scully hit back by pointing to a speech recently made by Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel.
"He said that gas will work as a transition fuel but also setting up gas facilities helps in the transition to a hydrogen based fuel source," Mr Scully said.
"Labor has said at a federal level we will work towards a position of net zero emissions but the science behind that says that will take some time.
"If we want to take into account the science of everything in decision making, the chief scientist is someone we have to listen to in these cases."
Student activist Mikaela Amos said the past 12 months had seen thousands of people protest for climate action on the streets of Wollongong.
"We've managed to move Wollongong City Council to first declare a climate emergency and then to set emissions reduction targets, and just last month we were in the process of mobilizing thousands of people to blockade the University of Wollongong's Coal Conference 2020.
"This saw UOW cancel the conference before that protest action was needed," the 16-year-old said.
"It's hugely frustrating, therefore, that some of our local politicians have failed to receive the message that the people of the Illawarra want action on climate change.
"If our elected representatives can't yet hear us we'll have to get even louder and that's why we're holding another climate rally in Wollongong."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
