Too young to vote - but Anabelle Bremner is urging climate action at the ballot box. By Anabelle Bremner
I REMEMBER the Black Summer fires not by the smoke in the air but by the silence in our house. Throughout the desperate scramble to get away from Mallacoota, my dad was heading towards it. Working in emergency management means that when there’s a bushfire, a flood, or a storm, he’s one of those stepping in to help.
During those fires, it was hard to sleep. I could only check the news, refresh the emergency alerts, and hope that nothing had gone wrong. I was 11, terrified, and fully aware that this wasn’t just a disaster — it was a warning.
My fear wasn’t misplaced. Every year, the fires get worse. Floods tear through towns. Heatwaves break records. And still the people in charge act like it’s business as usual. That silence I felt back in 2020 — the waiting game, the uncertainty — it’s not just in my house anymore. It’s in Parliament, in policy, in every half-hearted promise that puts profit before people.
I REMEMBER the Black Summer fires not by the smoke in the air but by the silence in our house. Throughout the desperate scramble to get away from Mallacoota, my dad was heading towards it. Working in emergency management means that when there’s a bushfire, a flood, or a storm, he’s one of those stepping in to help.
During those fires, it was hard to sleep. I could only check the news, refresh the emergency alerts, and hope that nothing had gone wrong. I was 11, terrified, and fully aware that this wasn’t just a disaster — it was a warning.
My fear wasn’t misplaced. Every year, the fires get worse. Floods tear through towns. Heatwaves break records. And still the people in charge act like it’s business as usual. That silence I felt back in 2020 — the waiting game, the uncertainty — it’s not just in my house anymore. It’s in Parliament, in policy, in every half-hearted promise that puts profit before people.
Australia has almost perfected its disaster management. We’ve been able to protect more lives, property, and infrastructure than ever before. But what our leaders refuse to do is address the root cause of these devastating events — climate change. We’re treating the symptoms, but ignoring the disease.
It’s not enough to rebuild what’s lost after every catastrophe. We have to shift the tide of climate change that threatens our very existence, that day after day encroaches upon our shores and destroys the planet we love. Every year of delay means more species lost, more communities shattered, and more futures stolen.
It’s not enough to rebuild what’s lost after every catastrophe. We have to shift the tide of climate change that threatens our very existence, that day after day encroaches upon our shores and destroys the planet we love. Every year of delay means more species lost, more communities shattered, and more futures stolen.
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This isn’t a distant thing. Climate change is affecting us every single day. I see it in the faces of kids evacuated from their homes. In the disappearance of the beaches we hold so dear. In the hollow silence of burnt bush where birdsong used to live. I see it in my generation — how so many of us feel anxious, unheard, dismissed. We’re expected to grow up and fix a future we didn’t break, while our leaders keep choosing short-term profits over long-term survival.
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Act for Climate San Remo Foreshore, 2pm on Saturday, April 26. Students rally for climate action. All welcome, whether you're 15 or 75. |
We need to act on climate change before it’s too late — and to do that, we need to hit our leaders where it hurts.
This election, you can vote for the earth. You can vote for candidates who care more about community than coal and know that a safe future is built on renewable energy, not gas expansion and greenwashing. You can make it clear that empty words and delayed actions aren’t good enough. You can vote in a government that understands that climate action isn’t just a political talking point — it’s a moral obligation.
That’s why we’re rallying. We’re calling on voters to use their power to choose a better future — one that puts people and the planet first. Whether you’re 15 or 75, your voice matters. Show up for the planet at the San Remo foreshore at 2pm on Saturday, April 26. Bring your friends, your signs, your hope, your anger. Let’s make it loud. Let’s make it count.
Anabelle Bremner lives in Inverloch and is in Year 11 at Bass Coast College.
This election, you can vote for the earth. You can vote for candidates who care more about community than coal and know that a safe future is built on renewable energy, not gas expansion and greenwashing. You can make it clear that empty words and delayed actions aren’t good enough. You can vote in a government that understands that climate action isn’t just a political talking point — it’s a moral obligation.
That’s why we’re rallying. We’re calling on voters to use their power to choose a better future — one that puts people and the planet first. Whether you’re 15 or 75, your voice matters. Show up for the planet at the San Remo foreshore at 2pm on Saturday, April 26. Bring your friends, your signs, your hope, your anger. Let’s make it loud. Let’s make it count.
Anabelle Bremner lives in Inverloch and is in Year 11 at Bass Coast College.