Extract from ABC News
Thirteen-year-old Ella O'Dwyer-Oshlack should be at school but she now doesn't have one.
Key points:
- Several rallies have been held around the country
- Students are calling on the federal government to do more to combat climate change
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the Commonwealth is taking the issue seriously
Instead, the Lismore teen on Friday told a crowd of about 1,000 people outside Kirribilli House in Sydney the recent floods had made her a "climate refugee".
The floods, which swept through parts of NSW and Queensland, were at the forefront of the latest round of School Strike For Climate rallies calling for greater action on climate change.
Holding placards reading "SCOMO has extinction FOMO" and "don't be a fossil fool", students descended on the Prime Minister's NSW residence to call for net zero emissions and 100 per cent renewable energy generation and exports by 2030.
It was one of more than 30 School Strike For Climate events held across the country on Friday, which drew thousands of children, as part of a global youth movement.
Ella said she travelled to join her peers in Sydney after watching her home go underwater.
The Lismore girl lost her house during the northern NSW city's flood catastrophe, just two years since the region was affected by bushfires.
She says she feels let down by the government and is "terrified" about the future.
"We have leaders that don't lead us in the right direction, in fact we are going in the exact wrong direction," she said.
Mr Morrison said his government was taking climate action seriously and pointed out it had committed to an emissions target of net zero by 2050.
"Now, and it's not just about reducing emissions because you've got to deal with the built-up, existing impact of climate change," he said.
"And so the impacts of weather events and these things are the product of things that have been happening for decades.
"Not for a couple of years, for decades and decades and decades. And so we have to build up our resilience and adaptation."
Natasha Abhayawickrama, from Western Sydney, said schools were forced to close when wild weather brought floods to the Harbour City.
The 17-year-old said she didn't believe the federal government had a real plan to combat the "climate crisis".
"Young people are just really frustrated, honestly scared and anxious, about our future," she said.
"We're already living through the climate crisis. We’re already seeing it."
Although many in attendance were too young to vote at the upcoming federal election, Natasha was confident climate would be an "integral issue" at the polls.
Rallies are being held in Australian capital cities on Friday, and regional centres including Newcastle, Wollongong, Toowoomba, Geraldton, Cairns and Geelong.
In Darwin, about 60 people rallied outside the Northern Territory's parliament.
Among them were siblings Bill and Alice Cotter.
Alice said she was attending the protest because she wanted to "have a future".
"There needs to be a little bit of recognition that this is a big issue and it should be addressed a little more early than 2050," she said.
Bill said he was "frustrated" he was not old enough to vote yet, so he was making his voice heard through the protest.
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