Having attended the climate strike in Orange last Friday, I wanted to say how impressed I was by all the students involved.
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You did your schools and families proud, but most of all you did yourselves proud.
Congratulations to the organisers for a great program with a fabulous welcome to country, engaging mix of activities and tight running sheet.
It struck the right balance between the need for urgent action and positive empowerment, creating a mood that was upbeat and defiant in equal measure.
Congratulations to all the speakers. You spoke with a passion, eloquence and intelligence that are missing from a lot of public debate. You were inspiring.
And congratulations to all for being there and taking action.
There were some special moments including the James Sheahan students arriving en masse from the south west corner followed closely by the Kinross Wolaroi students from the south east, and all the students standing behind the 'Unite Behind the Science' banner to finish the rally.
Please don't be put off by the critics who try to make out that you have to choose between education and activism, or practical action and speaking out.
Those are fallacious arguments because of course you can do them all.
In the absence of meaningful leadership from many of our elected representatives, thank you for being leaders on this issue, the most important issue of our time.
- Reader, and Orange City Councillor, Stephen Nugent
You are part of a global movement that is not going away.
In Australia, we've seen climate strike participation jump from 15,000 in November 2018 to 150,000 in March and 330,000 last Friday.
And there are now 1,034 jurisdictions and local governments worldwide that have declared a climate emergency covering 266 million citizens.
In the words of the mighty David Attenborough, "never before have we had such awareness of what we are doing to our planet and never before have we had the power to do something about it; the future of humanity and indeed all life on earth, now depends on us".
So thank you for taking action for our common future.
In the absence of meaningful leadership from many of our elected representatives, thank you for being leaders on this issue, the most important issue of our time.
Stephen Nugent
Councillor, Orange City Council
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