Street March! Tell the ALP: “Save the climate – say no to coal!” Parade through the streets of Newcastle, home of the world's biggest coal port, and demand real action from the Labor Party against the causes of climate change, not more hot air and coal. Visit the State and Federal Members for Newcastle and deliver this open letter . What to bring - Floaties, snorkels, surfboards, etc: things that say “rising seas”.
- Umbrellas, raincoats, beached coal ships, etc: things that say “climate chaos”.
- Placards, banners, etc: whatever you need to get the message across.
- Drums, puppets, flags, streamers, etc: whatever you need to make the street parade vibe.
When – 12pm Tuesday 31st July.
Where – Meet at the fountain, Customs House, Newcastle. March to the office of Sharon Greirson, Federal ALP Member for Newcastle.
Why?
Coal exports are Australia's biggest contribution to climate change, surpassing all other greenhouse pollution combined. As the Federal election impends, neither major party has the guts to stand up against the coal lobby, which is pushing aggressively for a massive expansion to coal mining and exports. While Labor and Liberal pay lip-service to growing public anxiety about climate change, they seek to ignore our major contributor to the crisis – coal.
The Federal ALP should be providing a real alternative to the climate criminals in the Howard government. Instead, their climate change policy is designed to “protect the future of Australia’s coal industry”. It is therefore incapable of solving climate change. Kevin Rudd and Peter Garret plan to hand over half a billion dollars of public money to the coal industry, hoping that by the year 2030, they'll be able to burn coal without producing greenhouse pollution.
Meanwhile, the world's biggest coal port is about to get twice as big – with bipartisan support.
The NSW Labor government has given coal companies the nod to build a third Coal Export Terminal at Newcastle, which will be the equivalent of doubling NSW greenhouse emissions from all sources. The Iemma Government has also given the go-ahead to the massive proposed Anvil Hill coal mine in the Hunter Valley,
ignoring thousands of letters and submissions from the public.
Politicians are arrogantly ignoring community demands for action against the causes of climate change, while claiming to do the opposite. Politicians talk, while drought bites, freak weather strikes, and coal exports go through the roof.
Enough is enough, let's tell the Labor Party that they can longer get away it! Let's take to the streets of Newcastle and demand:
- No new coal mines
- No new coal exports
- A just transition to a sustainable future.