Oliver Lees
Riddells Creek’s children took to the street last week demanding greater action be taken on climate change.
As part of the worldwide School Strike 4 Climate, students and parents from Riddells Creek Primary School marched from Lions Park down Main Road in Riddells Creek to protest the federal government’s dependency on fossil fuels.
Organiser Aga Jones said it was important for the future generation to speak on what’s important to them.
“As a parent, it’s all about giving the kids a platform to talk about what they believe in,” she said.
“The message to our politicians is to fund our future, to fund projects that will transfer 100 per cent of our industry to renewable sources by 2030.
“We’d also love to see First Nations people leading solutions that guarantee native land rights while fast tracking us toward solutions that help us out of the climate crisis.”
The Schools Strike 4 Climate started after Swedish student turned activist Greta Thunberg gained global attention for her strikes outside the Swedish parliament building.
Ms Jones said this year’s strike was focused on pressuring the federal government away from its gas-led energy policies.
12-year-old Riddells Creek Primary School student Theo said it was time for change.
“We need to wake up! People have been doing despicable things to our planet and we can’t let it continue as there is no Planet B,” he said.
Last week, the federal government confirmed it will spend $600 million to construct a gas-fired power station in the Hunter Valley just days before the International Energy Agency released a report stating that Australia could not afford to fund any further fossil fuel projects.
