news, local-news, bendigo, castlemaine, schools, strike, climate, bill shorten, canberra, moonee ponds

CASTLEMAINE students calling for climate change action could receive an audience with opposition leader Bill Shorten, after protesting outside his electorate office. The instigators of the School Strike 4 Climate Action campaign were among about 20 students from central Victoria who travelled to Moonee Ponds on Friday to make their concerns known. Mr Shorten’s office did not receive them, but the students said the Labor party had since been in contact about the potential to meet Mr Shorten in Canberra. Harriet O’Shea Carre, 14, and Milou Albrecht, 14, say they are terrified by how unstable the climate has become and will not stop protesting until those with the power to act on climate change start treating the issue like the crisis it is. RELATED: The Adani coal mine will be high on their list of priority talking points. “We really want him to come out and say where he stands instead of sitting on the fence,” Miss O’Shea Carre said. The students intend on taking strike action each Friday until March 15, when a Global #ClimateStrike is planned. “We’re not going to stop fighting until we know we have a safe future,” Miss O’Shea Carre said. The students say protest is their only form of political expression until they are old enough to vote – and they are hoping someone will take their views, and those of many other young Australians, into consideration well before then. Their strike action started in central Victoria, but has since grown to international prominence and mobilised thousands of people in Australia and abroad. “Bill Shorten, Scott Morrison and their parties can either listen to us and deal with the climate crisis by stopping Adani, keeping fossil fuels in the ground and powering Australia with 100 per cent renewable energy or they can ignore us and deal with the growing community outrage that we will direct at them until they do,” Ms O’Shea Carre said. Their earlier protests prompted outrage from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Resources Minister Matt Canavan. Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.

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