Unprecedented fires have devastated Australia for more than one month, and summer is not even half over. This is what the climate emergency looks like. Now is the time to fight.
Get onto the streets to demand:
1. Compensation for volunteer firefighters and adequate funding.
– It’s a disgrace that while politicians go on holiday, firefighters have had to use their own credit cards or crowdfund to buy fuel and equipment. Many are missing out on weeks of paid work in order to fight the fires.
– The resources of volunteer firefighters are not as adequate as the paid, state resources. For example, the trucks of volunteer firefighters are not equipped with roll cages, which can be life-saving when confronted with high winds.
2. No new coal, gas or fracking!
– While Australia burns, in a few weeks Scott Morrison will jet off to India to spruik the virtues of new coal exports. This devastating fire emergency is only the beginning. We need to say NO to opening the Galilee, NO drilling in the Bight, NO LNG projects in Western Australia. These environmentally destructive industries need to cease, and the government should guarantee a just transition for affected workers.
