'Sydney is angry': Protesters march to demand urgent action on climate change

Authored by smh.com.au and submitted by nolesfan2011
image for 'Sydney is angry': Protesters march to demand urgent action on climate change

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.

iGourry on December 11st, 2019 at 10:34 UTC »

"We hear you, we hear you. So... How many new coal power plants do you want us to build?"

donkyboobs on December 11st, 2019 at 10:32 UTC »

How much longer do we have to be held ransom by this climate change denying-coal money taking-xenophobic policy pushing-religious bill passing-drug war hungry-privacy breaching-pointless revenue raising government?

autotldr on December 11st, 2019 at 08:00 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 82%. (I'm a bot)

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".

On Tuesday, thick smoke from the bushfires forced thousands of workers to abandon work sites, schools to cancel excursions and firefighters to attend scores of jobs as the smoke triggered alarms in buildings across the city.

NSW Fire and Rescue firefighter Monte Partridge, who finished his shift at 6.30am on Wednesday morning, joined the march because "Not enough is being done".

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: firefighter#1 Fire#2 Sydney#3 march#4 climate#5