An
estimated 20,000 protesters marched from Town Hall to Hyde Park on
Wednesday evening, taking over George Street to demand stronger climate
action as bushfires continue to rage across the state.
The event,
titled "NSW is Burning, Sydney is Choking - Climate Emergency Rally!",
was swiftly set up on Facebook last week by Extinction Rebellion, Uni
Students for Climate Justice, and Greens MP David Shoebridge, in response to horrendous air conditions and ongoing bushfires across the state.
Thousands of protesters gathered at Town Hall on Wednesday.Credit:Wolter Peeters
Buses
were diverted away from Elizabeth Street and Park Street because of the
march, with some buses delayed by up to 30 minutes and more than 60 routes affected.
After
a series of speeches, the crowd began marching down York Street at
6.40pm, before turning onto Park Street and heading east towards
Elizabeth Street and Hyde Park.
NSW Police Inspector Gary Coffey said "it’s a very big crowd", and later told the Herald there were an estimated 20,000 people in attendance.
Chloe Rafferty, one of the organisers, said she was angry about the lack of climate action from all levels of government.
"The
state is angry, Sydney is angry," she said. "I have hope that people
will see the need to take action into their own hands and disrupt
business as usual, we can't let the biggest city in Australia having
hazardous air quality become the new normal."
High school student
Amy Lamont addressed the thousands of protesters wearing P2 face masks
and said: "The reality is these fires will be around all summer."
"The
rage we all rightly feel right now needs to grow if we have any chance
of actually challenging that destruction of the status quo that is
burning around us," she said.
"Only we, the majority, have the ability to hold the rich and political elites in this country accountable.
"Students shouldn't have to worry when going to school that they might come back to a burnt home."
David Whitson has been attending protests dressed as a koala since October.
"When you talk about silent Australians, I don’t think of anything more silent than our beloved flora and fauna," he said.
The loss of wildlife, especially Koala Bears, were the focal point for this protest sign.Credit:Wolter PeetersHe
said he thought bushfires would occur early next year, but "it’s caught
everyone by surprise how early and severe the fires are".
Fire
Brigade Employees Union state secretary Leighton Drury has been a
firefighter for 20 years and said the fires ravaging NSW are the "worst
we’ve had in decades".
"Just as the world grapples with the effects of climate change –
fiercer and more frequent bushfires, droughts, floods and freak storms –
Australia is doing its darndest to cut down more trees. Forests are
disappearing so fast in NSW and Queensland that WWF International has
put Australia on its list of global deforestation hot spots – the only
one in the developed world – while koala populations continue to be
decimated through habitat loss.
Climatologists say one of the
easiest and cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions is to preserve
forests; deforestation accounts for 18 per cent of global emissions, far
surpassing vehicles and aircraft combined, according to the Climate
Council."
