A handful of environmental activists failed to spoil the party for Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday.
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The PM dropped by Port Kembla Steelworks to unveil a $1.9 billion renewable investment package to reduce carbon emissions.
He announced the continued funding of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which will expand its remit to include projects and technologies outside renewables.
The activists, which included University of Wollongong students and members of the Wollongong Socialist Alliance party, protested their disapproval of these policies outside the steelworks but their attempts to confront Mr Morrison were thwarted.
"Here we are, not even a year on from the devastating bushfires that engulfed the entire state of NSW, and Morrison is actively undermining what little support we have for the expansion of renewable energy. It's an outrage!" UOW student Jamie Caulfield said.
Fellow protester Nadine Porter argued that these changes would force ordinary people to pay the costs of the climate crisis and let big business off the hook.
"Workers, students, the environment are being thrown under the bus so Morrison can continue to defend the profits of big business. Globally the working class are bearing the brunt of this crisis, it's imperative that we protest these assaults on our standard of living," she said.
Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) education officer Robin Pierson said the PM was "failing our environment and university students".
Ms Pierson pointed to the Job-Ready Graduate Package bill to highlight her point.
She joined UOW academics and the union representing them, in urging the Senate to reject the bill which will "saddle university students with a massive debt they will never be able to pay off".
"Our education should be fully funded by the government. It should be for free. We shouldn't be punished or forced to pay for this economic crisis that the ruling class have forced upon themselves."
Ms Pierson added protests would continue until serious action was taken to expand renewable energy.
"We are past the point of no return when it comes to the climate crisis," she said.
"We need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy to minimise the effects of climate change, which means fully funding renewable energy and closing down all coal mines and gas extractors."
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