Rising Tide Australia

Parliament House Sit-in Nov 23rd 2009: Copyright Conor Ashleigh www.conorashleigh.com

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23 November 2009, Canberra: Two hundred people are blockading Federal Parliament in a peaceful civil disobedience demonstration this morning.

The participants, from across Australia and from every walk of life, are calling on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to secure a strong, legally binding treaty at the upcoming international climate negotiations.

The protest comes just two weeks before the nations of the world meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to finalise a new global treaty on how the world addresses the threat of climate change.

The demonstrators are staging a sit-in, blocking the doors of Parliament and refusing to move. They have accused Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of not doing enough to secure a strong climate treaty at Copenhagen.

“There are people here today from every state in Australia, and most of them have never undertaken peaceful civil disobedience before,” said Georgina Woods, spokesperson for the demonstration. “We are here today on behalf of every Australian whose children and grandchildren will be affected by the devastation of climate change.”

“We’re here to issue a moral challenge to Rudd to demonstrate true climate leadership at Copenhagen. While he says a legally binding climate treaty is important, the commitments he has put on the table are drastically weakening the deal.”

“The Copenhagen climate talks are the world’s best chance to prevent devastating climate change. Prime Minister Rudd has the opportunity to play a role in determining how today’s leaders respond to the climate crisis, to leave a courageous legacy for future generations. Rudd needs to go to Copenhagen with an absolute commitment to securing the deal the climate science demands.”

“Australia has to commit to cutting our greenhouse pollution by 40%, we must make a fair contribution to international climate finance and we must make emission cuts at home, not weasel out of them by buying forest offsets internationally. The world will judge whether Rudd is walking his talk, or if it’s just empty rhetoric.”

“When the nations of the world meet in Copenhagen in just two weeks time, they will have a choice. They can continue their dangerous delay tactics, or they can put aside petty differences and craft a strong, fair and binding global climate treaty address the devastating threats posed by climate change. We want Rudd to know that the people of Australia are watching.” Ms Woods said.