Thousands of Australian students skipped school today and gathered with climate activists to call on the government to stop funding the gas industry, taking aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison's plans to fund a new gas plant.
"Today, together with tens of thousands of my fellow let-down Australians, I am striking from school to tell the Morrison government that they must stop throwing Aussie cash at gas," 16-year-old organiser Natasha Abhayawickrama said in a statement. Gas is also seen by the government as key to Australia's energy transition, as it is cleaner than coal and can fuel flexible power plants to back up wind and solar generation.Photos posted on social media at noon from Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, showed youths and activists holding placards reading "#FundOurFutureNotGas", and "Clean energy solutions not coal and gas pollution".
Mr Morrison has resisted global calls to commit to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, citing the risk of damage to the economy.
Baked beans ban would be a good starting point.
No. The headline should read 'thousands of students skipped school because it would be great craic' same as every generation who skipped a day to 'protest' something. It was for the day off, simple.