Protests seek to bring change over climate inaction - Courier Mail

DURING
the mid-1980s, it failed to stop uranium mining in South Australia but
found success on the banks of Tasmania's Franklin River being
threatened by a dam.

Before those emblematic displays
of civil disobedience, there were the suffragettes winning rights for
women and civil rights activists winning rights for ethnic minorities.

At first glance, there seemed nothing all that different when 50
protesters scaled the roof of one of the world's most recognisable
seats of power - Britain's Houses of Parliament - to spend a few hours
irritating security staff, police and occupying news photographers.

In the coming days, they'll also occupy the courts and more than likely add to their lives the burden of a court conviction.

A British Government spokesman said protests were welcome, but they
needed to "respect the rule of law''. But aside from its obvious
lawlessness, the London action earlier this week deserves recognition
as part of an emerging cacophony of protest noise reverberating across
the planet, and it is a noise that is being fuelled by climate change.

As the December world climate talks draw closer, the noise will only
get louder. More than 2200 actions in 152 countries will take place on
October 24 as part of the 350.org campaign. More than 140 events will
take place on Australian soil.

In Australia, the world's biggest exporter of greenhouse-unfriendly
coal, hundreds of young and old campaigners are toying with court
convictions and even risking their own lives and health in an attempt
to influence the decisions of state and federal politicians.

Some have dangled from cables at sea at coal ports in north
Queensland such as Hay Point, others have clashed with police in
Victoria as they tried to place stickers on a coal-fired power station.
Some are planning hunger strikes.

"Many people, who are concerned about climate change, say that they
want to go beyond individual actions, such as changing light-bulbs and
taking public transport,'' says Dr Mark Diesendorf, deputy director of
the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South
Wales and author of just-published Climate Action: A Campaign Manual
for Greenhouse Solutions.

"They recognise that government makes the key decisions . . . they
say that voting once every three or four years is not enough; that the
big greenhouse polluters are lobbying government continuously and so
climate action groups must also exercise countervailing power.''

Mass civil disobedience, adds Dr Diesendorf, has a track record of
getting results when the public becomes sceptical of the pace of change
from political power brokers.
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"It achieved the expulsion of British colonial power from India;
votes for women in many countries; civil rights for black Americans and
the end to government support for slavery also in many countries,''
says Dr Diesendorf, who then continues his list with the toppling of
many dictatorships and, more recently, the cancellation of plans for
more than 50 coal power stations in the US.

With two convictions already to her name, it's too late for
24-year-old Eleanor Smith, of West End in Brisbane, to worry about
spending her life free of court convictions.

"We pulled the security cord and then locked ourselves on,'' says
Smith, recalling the five hours she spent attached to a coal conveyor
belt at Queensland's state-owned Tarong power station. It was an act
that cost her a $250 fine and 90 hours' community service, which was
spent with the charity Lifeline. The fine has been paid, but not by
her, she reveals.

"I have lots of people who are supporting what I'm doing. Most of my
time is spent doing legal protest activities, not breaking the law,''
says Smith, who has a job with a small workers' co-operative.

"But sometimes it just gets to the point where you need to break the law to show how strong you feel about the issues.''

She is a member of the climate change activist group Six Degrees,
affiliated with Friends of the Earth and campaigning for "the
transition of the Queensland economy away from coal''.

"The issue goes across so many boundaries,'' Smith says. "It's about
social justice and the environment and about who has the real power in
our society . . . and the coal industry has so much power.''

Smith is positive she'll be troubling the courts again, although the
next planned activity - a peaceful water-borne blockade of Brisbane's
coal port some time in the next month - is being done in consultation
with police.

David Hood, from Sydney, is a project co-ordinator for the
environment charity Greenpeace but says he doesn't get paid for the
time he spends protesting. The 37-year-old is currently one of 16
people on bail after staging protests at two coal export terminals near
Mackay and Bowen in north Queensland in August. Some reports estimated
the action cost taxpayers $1.5 million in lost royalties.

"We are seeing more people willing to take greater action and put
themselves in the front line and challenge authorities, primarily in a
peaceful way, and that makes this an issue which is highly visible,''
says Hood.

Perhaps the most extreme of all these actions will be hunger strikes by more than 70 individuals around the world.

Anna Keenan, 23, from north Brisbane but now staying with relatives
in the Netherlands, is preparing to survive on only water for at least
40 days from November 6.

"Absolutely this is a grab for attention,'' she admits. "But it's a
risk I'm willing to take. I disagree that it's a foolish risk.''

Part of the global campaign Climate Justice Fast, Keenan refuses to say how and when her strike will end.

"The one thing I can guarantee is that if our demands are met, then we will stop.''