Geraldton students taking a day off to strike for change

A group of young climate activists will travel to Perth this week to join a nation-wide strike demanding meaningful action on climate change.

Six members from the Geraldton Youth Regeneration Organisation will skip school on Friday to protest at Parliament House as part of the student-led School Strike 4 Climate.

Year 11 student and GYRO member Tabitha Murdoch said State and Federal governments were not doing enough to address a climate crisis.

The October 15 climate strike demands the Government ban new fossil fuel projects, transition to 100 per cent renewable energy generation by 2030 and fund a transition for all fossil-fuel workers and their communities.

While the young protesters have been criticised for missing school in the past, GYRO facilitator Lara Sampson said they were simply practising their political right.

“They aren’t doing it to be rabble rousers, they are committed to the cause,” she said.

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GYRO has organised three climate protests in Geraldton since the group formed in 2019.

But instead of holding another local strike, the climate-conscious youths wanted the experience of being part of a bigger movement in Perth.

“While the protests we’ve organised in the past have been amazing, it takes a lot of energy to organise and it is draining,” activist Tabitha Murdoch said.

“We don’t want to put on a sub-par event.”

In the past, GYRO has copped criticism for its climate marches, but the group says they do not let the negative commentary get to them.

Ms Sampson said keyboard warriors did not understand the group’s position. “People aren’t reading the real message,” she said. “It’s not about blaming baby boomers, it’s about making the right decisions for now.”

GYRO meets at Lester House every Sunday from 3pm.