Bushfire Protests Targeting Scott Morrison To Go Ahead Despite Concerns

A set of protests are expected to go ahead today around Australia targeting Scott Morrison's handling of the bushfire crisis.

There are several rallies organised for capital cities and small towns that are designed to criticise the Prime Minister for not doing enough during the worst bushfire season the country has ever faced.

The events will take place despite concern from police that some of the protests will require their presence.

Eliot Hastie

Uni Students for Climate Justice have organised one to take place in Melbourne and will shut down parts of the CBD later tonight. However Acting Assistant Commissioner Tim Hansen has urged attendees not to go because their services are needed in bushfire affected areas.

"We will meet those obligations, but this is a distraction for us," he said. "We see frontline police returning from the fire ground, returning from the fire zone that are fatigued, that do need a break, and this is now another operation we need to resource."

He said the police force had tried to get Uni Students for Climate Justice to reorganise their planned rally or at least move to later in the year, but they allegedly wouldn't budge.

In addition to calling for the sacking of Scott Morrison, the protest will focus on getting all firefighters to be paid, aid for affected communities, an immediate transition away from fossil fuels, according to the ABC.

ABC

Uni Students for Climate Justice group convenor Anneke Demanuele said: "It will be going ahead and I think a storm in a teacup has been created around this, which is actually just distracting from the real issues.

"I think actually it's important we have these demonstrations. Because we're living in a climate emergency, a climate crisis. The bushfire season started earlier, it's more intense, and it's going to be ongoing.

"So we need to start the political movement now to demand adequate funding for firefighting services, to demand we transition away from fossil fuels ... these national demonstrations I think are drastically needed so we can take real action around the question of the climate crisis."

The Melbourne protest has been criticised by both side of politics and called a 'kick in the guts to our frontline officers and the broader community'.

Uni Students for Climate Justice is planning for 'rolling' protests across the summer until they see a change.

Topics: News, Bushfires, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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