A huge climate change protest has ravaged Melbourne’s CBD on Friday night, with more than 300 university students and other young people blocking intersections across the city.
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The protests were part of the Extinction Rebellion movement, which has sparked the interests of young people around the world for its motivations of making climate change a problem that is “impossible to ignore.”
According to 9News, the intersection of Bourke and Swanston Streets were swarmed with protesters at sunset tonight. Protesters held signs, sang and chanted “the oceans are rising, no more compromising” as trams were brought to a halt by their occupancy.
The entire CBD was disrupted by the protest that organisers were calling “a flashmob with a cause”, Herald Sun reports.
“We know that the bosses, the rich and the government don’t give a shit about us or our future,” Activist Siobhan McGlynn said.
Although protests are really annoying, especially when you’re on your way home in peak hour traffic, but the activists raise a pretty valid point. It’s pretty obvious that we’re not doing enough when it comes to environmental issues.
Whether you’re a fan of the protests, or you were disrupted by them, I think we can all agree that it’s time the government, and society as a whole, starts to prioritise the planet a little bit.
“We know that all they care about is profit, and not the lives of the people that are living on this planet or the future generations to come,” Ms McGlynn continued. “We have to stand up, make a fuss, annoy the hell out of them until they change – until action is made.”
The protest only lasted at that intersection for about half an hour before relocating to Flinders and Elizabeth Street intersection, one of the other major traffic spots during Friday afternoon peak hour.
All traffic from cars, buses and trams was halted at 6.30pm on Friday night, but reportedly cleared by about 7pm, with trams running behind schedule following the delay.
Other areas targeted included Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, which was swarmed prior to the rally. Protesters were seen hanging flags and signs over the famous gold clock, while a woman with a megaphone shouted chants from one of the upper levels of the popular shopping centre and train station.
“We are Extinction Rebellion,” the unnamed woman chanted. “We are the first and only people taking time out of lives to disrupt business as usual because business as usual is the destruction of our planet.”
Police presence in the area was higher than usual, with mounted officers and public order response officers surrounding the protests. Authorities expected and braced for up to 10,000 protesters, but only about 300 people actually gathered for the event.
The protest organisers provided little information to PTV and authorities, so it was difficult for Yarra Trams and other transport services to alert the public of potential delays.
It looks like only one arrest has been made in relation to the protests, but Victoria Police were unable to confirm this when questioned by 9News. However, a Victoria Police spokesperson released the following statement regarding the protests:
“Police make every effort to engage with event organisers to facilitate their right to lawful protest whilst discussing expectations around appropriate behaviour. As always, anyone coming to an event in Melbourne looking to disrupt others or create conflict and incite violence can expect a firm response from police.”
If you’re looking to get a message across, this is sure as hell a way to do it. Whether you agree with it or not, they definitely brought attention to the issue.
