Young people are demonstrating at Minister Bill Shorten’s and Minister Chris Bowens’ office today in response to unpredictable extreme weather impacts around this country this summer. They are demanding a Climate Jobs Guarantee to take action on climate and cost of living.
“This summer we’ve seen extreme heat across parts of northern and western Australia, flooding rains and tropical cyclones. We know we can expect more frequent and intense extreme weather events in a changing climate, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen this summer” says local young person Jack Brady.
“Climate impacts do discriminate and vulnerable people like renters, the elderly and those living in regional and rural places are experiencing impacts the worst. Labor has left us behind in this cost of living crisis which compounds the impacts of climate change that we are seeing around the country. Renters can’t afford to move from unsafe houses, people can’t afford to rebuild after crisis and are one flood away from homelessness. We know the government can do better in caring for our communities.”
Young people in the MP’s office, shared stories of the impacts of the climate and cost-of-living crises on their lives, singing and demanding a bold, ambitious policy plan to address these crises at the scale and speed necessary – a Climate Jobs Guarantee.
“15 months ago, just a few kilometers away from where we are now, we saw catastrophic floods in which hundreds of people lost their homes. Some of us who are here today were on the ground helping people clean up after the waters receded, and saw the devastation firsthand. Ordinary people like us have already been caring for our communities in times of crisis, but the solutions we need are on a scale that requires us to not only do the work ourselves in our communities, but for our politicians to follow our lead and resource the jobs and services that our communities need. As our Minister for NDIS and government services, Bill Shorten can and should have better prepared for this summer by raising the rate of income support, and ensuring that NDIS supports include plans to help disabled and chronically ill people to manage the effects of extreme weather events and climate disasters on their health, and evacuate in an emergency if need be.” – Sophie, a local young person.
“The Labor government doesn’t have an adequate plan to protect us from the impacts of climate change. This summer of unpredictable climate impacts has shown us we are woefully unprepared and our communities are vulnerable. Young people across the country are looking for leadership and a plan that will address the crises and will take care of our communities. A Climate Jobs Guarantee would deliver good jobs, safe housing and prepare our communities for increasing climate disasters. It starts with raising the rate of support payments and investing in climate readiness support like the SES and CFA.” said Jack Simmons, Organiser at Tomorrow Movement.
