School Strike 4 Climate campaign sees rally at Robertson Park
Students strike from school to protest inaction on climate change | Video, photos
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Micah Parton, Sebastian Ringbauer and Lucy Abberton. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Students were joined by other residents in the climate change protest in Robertson Park on Friday. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Laurence Magick Dennis, Angela Weckert, Bella Woodroffe, Kaia Jarvis and Luke Sanger. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Jade Read, Indigo Jaggers and Kaia Jarvis. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Joel Everett, Sue Duchnaj and Luke Sanger. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Maya McGrath, Stephen Nugent, Rosie Forsyth, Bridget Annand and Lucy Butler. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST:Lucy Abberton speaking up. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Students were joined by other residents in the climate change protest in Robertson Park on Friday. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Harriet Ringbauer and Ivy Hawker. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Emma Parish, Zoe Fox, Evie Parton and Dougald Hook. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Councillor Stephen Nugent speaking to the crowd. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Angela Weckert. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Cilla Kinross. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Jasmine Ninnes. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
CLIMATE OF PROTEST: Students were joined by other residents in the climate change protest in Robertson Park on Friday. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
Students from several school in Orange and surrounding towns walked off campus on Friday to protest government inertia towards climate change.
Teenagers from Orange High School spoke out to a crowd of around 100 people, which included their peers from James Sheahan Catholic High School, Kinross Wolaroi School and Orange Anglican Grammar School.
Orange High's Milly Marton was one of the pupils involved in organising the student demonstration at Robertson Park, which occurred in conjunction with student strikes across the country.
Whether or not they want to hear our voices - we'll make them heard
Milly Marton
She said the protestors had "canned" the outdated misconception that children should be seen and not heard.
"If you're not going to do something about climate change we will," she said.
"Whether or not they want to hear our voices - we'll make them heard."
Milly said for too long the people with the power to make change had allowed the pollution of the planet to continue and she wanted to see action taken now to protect her future.
She pointed to the Murray-Darling Basin as evidence of environmental damage which was affecting our farmers.
VIDEO: Friday's students protest in Robertson Park …
Milly said the actions of the Swedish student Greta Thunberg, who initiated the international student movement, were inspiring.
"Before I might have thought, 'I'm just a teenager, I can't do anything' but if she had the power to walk out of school and stand up against something so can I."
Student protester Kaia Jarus said he had felt alone in his concern over the rate of global warming.
"I've felt angst about it since I was a little kid," he said.
He said until recently the level of inaction from the people around him had made him feel like giving up.
"My aunty said to me 'we need you here, we need you to put your foot in it' - with everyone else standing up today it's woken me up."
Kaia said the more people who made noise the harder they would be to ignore.
Peer and fellow pupil, Rob Clipperton agreed.
"If they [the government] don't see this kind of stuff they'll give up," he said.
The Greens party candidate for Orange Stephen Nugent said the fact that he and Labour party candidate Luke Sanger had attended the rally was proof that there was political support for climate action in the region.
As many as 55 separate protests were expected to have taken place in Australia by about 40,000 students as part of the School Strike 4 Climate campaign on Friday.
That number is about twice that of a similar student strike action in November, with about 100 nations expected to have taken part this time around.
Greta Thunberg has been credited for starting the strike through her decision to boycott school on Friday's to protest outside the European parliament in Brussels.
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