Tens of thousands rallied around Australia on Sunday 5 June with one single message – YES to action on climate change.
From Prince Alfred Park in Sydney to the Wetlands Stage in downtown Perth, families, friends, grandparents, teachers, children and even pet dogs (!) came out in huge numbers to demonstrate that the Australian community says YES to a price on pollution, to greater investment in renewable energy and to support for developing countries to tackle climate change.
Around the country Oxfam Australia staff, volunteers and supporters took to the streets. Did you attend an event? What was the buzz like in your city? Share your story with us below.
Here’s what the Oxfam team had to say…
A warm sunny day in Melbourne brought thousands of people in to the city to Say Yes to a price on pollution and a clean energy future. The message of people power was prominent amongst the crowd. Local band, Blue King Brown rounded off the fantastic day with some inspiring music.
In Sydney the inspiring 13 year climate change activist Jack took to the stage in front of thousands of people to call on our government to invest in clean energy, to fund solutions not pollution. We met people there who had travelled into Sydney from as far as the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Newcastle so they could add their support to this momentous day!
In Perth many students were among the estimated 3000 people who packed the Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge, waving signs and banners with messages including “Kids get it, why don’t adults”, “Pay Now for Our Kids’ Future” and “Say Yes to cutting carbon pollution.”
More than 5, 000 people packed out Brisbane Riverstage to hear from many inspiring speakers, including Greenpeace CEO Lynda Selvey who said she believed Australians overwhelmingly supported combating climate change and cutting pollution.
We know that while tens of thousands of us came together on Sunday to show our support that there is still a way to go before our government commits to action to reduce our pollution. Now is the time to keep up the energy to show the naysayers that Australians do want action to tackle climate change.
Get involved by…
- Downloading our handy booklet ‘Getting Smart on Climate Change’ and sharing it with your family and friends.
- Signing up to join the Say Yes Australia campaign