More than 50 concerned parents, grandparents, local residents and kids joined a peaceful, family-friendly Moruya climate protest on Wednesday November 20th on World Children’s Day, calling on Scott Morrison to take urgent action to protect Australia’s children from climate breakdown.
Attendees, including representatives from 350 Eurobodalla and Eurobodalla Shire Councillor Pat McGinlay, enjoyed live music, kids' art activities and morning tea.
The event is part of a national week of action by Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA) to mark World Children's Day, which commemorates the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Australia is a signatory and as such is committed to protecting the rights of Australian children to health and safety.
AP4CA released an open letter to Scott Morrison, calling for urgent action to protect Australian children. The letter is signed by a host of environmental, parenting and health groups and experts, including Plan International Australia, Oxfam Australia, Doctors for the Environment Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation, parenting expert Steve Biddulph and director of the 2040 film, Damon Gameau. It demands immediate emergency-scale action from the Australian Government to safeguard the future for Australian children, by committing to all new policies being consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, as advised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Other AP4CA World Children's Day events took place in Melbourne, Sydney, the Gold Coast, Cairns, Port Stephens and Port Macquarie. Additional events are planned this week in Wagga Wagga, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin.
Australian Parents for Climate Action Eurobodalla organiser, local GP Michelle Mitchell, said: "Our kids are already feeling the impacts of climate change. Asthma rates are up, our young kids are anxious about the bushfires all around us and some have even lost their homes, communities are being evacuated in the middle of the night, schools are being closed or cancelling outdoor activities, our teens are anxious about how safe their futures are. The price, quality and seasonality of Australia’s food is increasingly being affected by climate change, contributing to cost of living pressures."
Dr Mitchell said it was well past time for all levels of government to tell the truth about the climate emergency.
"We need the government to know that communities are already suffering,” she said.
“They need to act on climate now, and we're so pleased that a group of Eurobodalla residents joined us in Moruya this week to make that call to our leaders."
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