Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow, school students from around the country will go on strike, including students in the town of Castlemaine in my electorate. This is the second time that students from the town of Castlemaine will go on strike this month. Earlier, students went on a two-day strike. Students from the Steiner school and from the secondary school travelled to Bendigo to protest out the front of Senator Bridget McKenzie's office, and then, on the second day, out the front of my office. I met with the students. I was fortunate to be in Bendigo and had time to meet with them when they arrived at my office. I asked them why they were striking. It is a big deal for anybody to go on strike, whether you are a worker or a student. It is part of our democracy and social fabric that people go on strike to demonstrate around an ideal or a value. These students were striking about climate change and the inaction of the government to take climate change seriously. They are concerned about the use of fossil fuels. They want to see a just transition away from coal-fired power stations to newer, greener, cleaner energy. They were also protesting in support of protecting our environment and are devastated that in some areas we're still fighting for just and fair land-clearing laws. This what is the young people, these students, are striking about.