Scone students talk climate change

SCONE secondary-students met with Upper Hunter Greens candidate Sue Abbott and Greens MP Cate Faehrmann yesterday afternoon to talk about their concerns for the future, which mainly revolved around climate change.

Acknowledging that some of their families are employed in the mining industry, the students, who are too young to vote in the upcoming by-election, said that climate change was a question of urgency, underpinned by the threat of their families losing jobs.

The students were all inspired by Greta Thunberg and found the response of adults towards her disappointing.

“Children acting like adults seems to make adults act like children. Much of the media framing of Greta has been so wrong,” they said.

Ms Faehrmann asked the students whether they were part of the school strike groups that have popped up across the country and the world.

Students explained they felt a gentler approach was required here and they are trying to set up an environmental sub-group with the Youth Council of Upper Hunter Shire Council to raise awareness and move the conversation away from the current mindset of some of their families in a non-threatening way.

The students said it was important to have a conversation with indigenous communities and were saddened by Australia’s lack of respect to First Nations people who have looked after the land for thousands of years.

They also expressed concern over Torres Strait islander people who are feeling the devastating impacts of climate change despite not having contributed to the climate change problem.

“Cultural and environmental laws need to change,” said Ms Faehrmann.

“Right now you can get heritage permits to destroy aboriginal ancient and sacred artefacts and that is outrageous,” she said.

“Our environmental laws and how they operate facilitate the destruction of nature. The Environmental Protection Agency allows you to pollute and to chop and to blow up. The next generation of environment lawyers will oversee a new set of environment laws, laws that will say contributing to climate change will be a crime and that is a good thing,” she said.

Air quality around Aberdeen and Muswellbrook also worried students. One particular student highlighted dust being such an issue that sometimes when driving from Muswellbrook to Denman, it is impossible to see the road.

Upper Hunter Greens candidate Sue Abbott said it was important to listen to the views and concerns of young people who do not have a vote and yet whose lives are so significantly impacted by decisions made by politicians today.

“It was very moving listening to the students and I was so impressed by their nuanced approach to their families’ realities and all of their futures. Their collective wisdom gives me hope but also makes me feel sad that we have placed such a burden on their young shoulders,” Ms Abbott said.

“The lack of intergenerational equity is a human rights catastrophe, not only in terms of the depletion of resources available for future generations, but also the true cost exacted on nature and us as a result of continuing to belch carbon into the atmosphere,” she said.

“The public interest truly ought to include the interest of future, as opposed to current, generations,” said Sue Abbott.

For more information on where candidates stand: Voting 101: Upper Hunter by-election.