ACT students strike for climate action outside Parliament House ahead of federal election

Students skipped school to demand more from political leaders, ahead of the federal election on May 21.

Amelia Condon-Cernovs, a Melba Copland Secondary School student, said witnessing the current election campaign felt like picking between the lesser of two evils.

"Look, it's all sort of morally grey, you know? Tomato, potato, which one's bad, which one's good?" she said.

"One party may have slightly better climate policies, but at the end of the day, we can't relate to these men in any way."

Around 100 climate activists gathered on the lawns, with organisers eager to distance themselves from the persistent anti-vaccination protesters who refused to move on.

With students attending from at least five Canberra schools, the protest coincided with School Strike 4 Climate rallies in Sydney, Brisbane, Armidale and Frankston.

A major rally took place at Town Hall in Sydney, while students planned a sit-in at Defence Minister Peter Dutton's Brisbane office.

In Canberra, students phoned the Prime Minister's office to share their concerns, before marching around the lawns of parliament.

Canberra Girls Grammar School student Tiffany Henson said it felt like the central focus of this election campaign had been the economy.

"While we have to acknowledge how much small businesses have been impacted by COVID-19, we also need to acknowledge that there's not going to be any small businesses if the climate is not protected," she said.

"This centring on economics once more, rather than looking at climate change, especially from the two major parties is a big issue."

The 17-year-old said she believed the current government had left both young and old people lacking trust in policy and promises.

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The election campaign had been about individuals popularity, not the real issues affecting Australians, she said.

"It centres on themselves and it does not centre on what we as Australians need," Tiffany said.

"Time and time again we've just been shown that we cannot rely on the people that are supposed to serve us in government."

Students condemned the Coalition's climate record and called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and donations.

School Strike 4 Climate Action, attracting a much smaller crowd than the 15,000 people who showed up in Canberra pre-pandemic, will plan another multi-jurisdiction demonstration before year's end.

Mt Stromlo High School student Ash Martin said it was a distressing realisation that those in power weren't making the necessary changes to prevent climate disaster.

"It's like this gut-wrenching feeling knowing that the adults, who are meant to cater to the new generation, simply aren't," Ash said.

"So it's our job to come out here and we have to spend what should be the best years of our lives protesting for our right to live."

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