Benalla people act on the National Day of Climate Action

People from in and around Benalla walking
 to illustrate their discomfort with climate
decisions made by the Tony Abbott
 led Coalition Government.

Benalla and district people were among the tens of thousands of Australians have turned out for climate change rallies across the nation last Sunday, calling on the Abbott Government to keep the carbon tax.
The National Day of Climate Action was organised by activist groups including GetUp!, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Organisers say about 60,000 participated at the rallies, which were held in capital cities and more than 130 towns and regional centres.

Benalla and District Residents Join National Day of Climate Action

 On Sunday 17^th November, more than one hundred people attended the Benalla Climate Rally which was organised by Benalla Sustainable Future Group. People came from Yarrawonga, Wangaratta, Mansfield and Euroa to join with Benalla residents and take part in the National Day of Climate Action.

 President, John Lloyd, said that the major focus of this National Day of Action was to send the following message to the Abbott government and all politicians. “It is time to stop playing politics and do something meaningful about climate change – our future depends on it.”

 BSFG member, Yvonne Szwedyc, spoke about the impact of the Black Saturday bushfires and also highlighted the number of species that would become extinct if strong action was not taken to mitigate climate change.

 

Bedecked in their 'heatwave' colours
the people from Benalla and district
gather to illustrate their disapproval of our
government's climate decisions.

Rob Knowles, a representative of the Fire Fighters union also addressed the rally and emphasised that climate change is having an effect on the frequency and intensity of bushfires. He said, “The bushfire season is starting earlier. Look at the recent NSW fires in October – and the official fire season hadn’t even been declared! All emergency services personnel are demanding action on climate change because they are the front line services that have to respond to the bush fires, floods and other extreme weather events.”

 Over one hundred signatures were collected on a petition calling on Cathy McGowan, the Member for Indi, to promote within the federal parliament much stronger action on climate change. This includes increasing to 25 percent the reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, implementing a price and a cap on carbon emissions to help achieve stronger emission cuts and a commitment to move Australia from fossil fuels to more renewable energy.

 The Benalla rally was one of more than 100 events held right around the country intended to send the new government a powerful signal that Australians won’t stand for going backwards on climate action. People across the nation are turning up the heat, calling on the government to aim higher on climate.