On June 3, a small group of protesters educated Edgewater residents about the threat climate change poses to their suburb. Edgewater, one of Melbourne’s newest suburbs, could be partly underwater if climate change is not stopped. According to council data, 370 Maribyrnong homes were affected during floods in 1974.
Flooding has affected or threatened homes five times since then. Climate change will make this worse. Melting icecaps would likely cause sea level rises more than one metre during this century alone. Serious flooding along the river would become frequent, and much of Altona would be washed away.
The protesters demanded action to phase out fossil fuels and said Hazelwood power station (Australia's most polluting) should be closed down.
They asked that the federal government move to 100% renewable energy and create thousands of new, green jobs. The action was held outside the office of federal Labor MP Nicola Roxon.