On Tuesday, local students took time off school to protest at the NAB's financing of the coal industry. The Bass Coast Post asked Indigo Aurora why she attended.
Post: Why did you get involved with School Strike for Climate (SS4C)?
Indigo: I only got properly involved with SS4C this year, but I’ve been passionate about fighting for climate justice for years. When I joined Newhaven College at the start of 2023, my amazing friend and activist Joey Thompson introduced me to a local climate action group, and I’ve been helping to organise and attend local actions ever since. It makes me feel so empowered to get out there and fight for our environment, alongside other passionate individuals. Although we live rurally, it’s important that we join this national movement, as we can still achieve great things that will make an impact.
Post: Climate change makes me feel …
Indigo: Trapped, like my generation’s future is hopeless. It’s sometimes hard to maintain a positive mental attitude when it feels like the world is slowly crumbling around us.
Post: Why did you get involved with School Strike for Climate (SS4C)?
Indigo: I only got properly involved with SS4C this year, but I’ve been passionate about fighting for climate justice for years. When I joined Newhaven College at the start of 2023, my amazing friend and activist Joey Thompson introduced me to a local climate action group, and I’ve been helping to organise and attend local actions ever since. It makes me feel so empowered to get out there and fight for our environment, alongside other passionate individuals. Although we live rurally, it’s important that we join this national movement, as we can still achieve great things that will make an impact.
Post: Climate change makes me feel …
Indigo: Trapped, like my generation’s future is hopeless. It’s sometimes hard to maintain a positive mental attitude when it feels like the world is slowly crumbling around us.
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Post: Do you talk to your friends and family about climate change and climate action?
Indigo: I talk about climate change with my friends and family very frequently, as it’s on my mind so often. My family are more than supportive of me, and my friends seem to care when I discuss it with them. Post: Is this your first climate action or have you been involved in direct action before? Indigo: This is not my first direct action, I have attended over five in total, and helped to organise three. |
The Bass Coast SS4C (School Strike for Climate) group will join members of the Bass Coast Climate Action Network in Wonthaggi next Tuesday as part of the national Move Beyond Coal movement targeting banks that are financing the fossil fuel industry. The rally starts at the Wonthaggi NAB, on the corner of Billson and Graham Streets at 10.30am. |
Post: “You should be in class!” What’s your response?
Indigo: The SS4C movement is not at all disregarding the importance of our education, it’s simply asserting that it is so crucial to fight for our dying climate, that we will sacrifice an important part of our lives for it. Students and young people often get treated like we have no power, so we use one of the only things we do have – the ability to strike from school and disrupt the daily order of things, to force the government and other people in power to take the climate crisis seriously.
Post: Do you expect the June 20 rally to influence the banks? Or do you see other benefits to the rally?
Indigo: Of course our main goal is to influence the banks to end all relationships with coal corporations, but the June 20 rally will have many other positive impacts. By gathering a large student population, we will not only disrupt the banks, but also raise awareness and form a social bond between all the protesters. This opportunity to get involved is invaluable, especially in a rural community where large climate actions aren’t particularly common. We hope to see many people there, fighting for climate justice alongside us.
Indigo Aurora is a year 10 student at Newhaven College. She lives in Cape Paterson.
Indigo: The SS4C movement is not at all disregarding the importance of our education, it’s simply asserting that it is so crucial to fight for our dying climate, that we will sacrifice an important part of our lives for it. Students and young people often get treated like we have no power, so we use one of the only things we do have – the ability to strike from school and disrupt the daily order of things, to force the government and other people in power to take the climate crisis seriously.
Post: Do you expect the June 20 rally to influence the banks? Or do you see other benefits to the rally?
Indigo: Of course our main goal is to influence the banks to end all relationships with coal corporations, but the June 20 rally will have many other positive impacts. By gathering a large student population, we will not only disrupt the banks, but also raise awareness and form a social bond between all the protesters. This opportunity to get involved is invaluable, especially in a rural community where large climate actions aren’t particularly common. We hope to see many people there, fighting for climate justice alongside us.
Indigo Aurora is a year 10 student at Newhaven College. She lives in Cape Paterson.
2021 school climate strike, Wonthaggi. Photo: Aidan Windle,