By Alexandra Middleton | @AlexandraMidd16
Photo credit: Alexandra Middleton | @AlexandraMidd16
Hundreds of students marched down Swanston Street this morning as part of the Stop Adani Student Climate Strike.
Students from RMIT, Melbourne, Monash and La Trobe universities joined the thousands of university and high school students across the globe striking for climate action.
The crowd of students blocked the Swanston and Latrobe Street intersection, carrying signs that read ‘Stop Adani’ and chanting ‘the oceans are rising, no more compromising’.
La Trobe University student Belle Gibson said it’s amazing that students are the ones taking climate change the most seriously.
“I hope this will achieve the basis for a movement,” Gibson said.
“Shutting down the Adani coal mine would be an amazing victory, and a nod to the climate change movement that we’re doing something right”.
Monash University student Meg Hill believes these protest movements will force the government to act.
“The government’s position, both Labor and Liberal, on this issue is atrocious,” Hill said.
“They’ve shown determination to expand the fossil fuel industry and I think the Adani mine is the best example of that”.
The growing throng of students repeatedly shouted “occupy Adani, we’ll shut it down!” and “no Adani, no way, we’re gonna fight it anyway!” as their procession arrived at the front of the State Library.
RMIT student Caleb Boer hopes the strike will encourage both primary and secondary students to continue getting the attention of older generations who aren’t listening.
“We need to listen to them as human beings rather than just kids who don’t know anything.” Boer said.
“There will be nothing left if we continue on the path we’re going, there’s more to life than classroom education”.
“I’m wagging a tutorial to be here today, but it’s the future we’re talking about.” Boer told Catalyst News.
First year RMIT student Sean Tran agrees that nothing will change if the government doesn’t acknowledge the problem.
“Students are here to disrupt the system,” the first year student said.
The crowd of protesters applauded as Northcote High student Marco Bellemo addressed them through a megaphone, insisting that climate change is a catastrophic and ecological crisis that needs to be addressed immediately.
“We have done our homework, but the politicians haven’t.”
Protesters planned on meeting thousands of other university and high school students at the Old Treasury building in the afternoon to continue their strike for climate action.