Media release – Extinction Rebellion Tasmania, 19 August 2021

EXTINCTION REBELLION TASMANIA BLOCKADE FUEL DEPOT

In response to the latest IPCC report declaring the climate crisis a ‘code red for humanity’ Extinction Rebellion Tasmania (XR) will be forming a human blockade outside Hobart’s fuel distribution facility on Selfs Point Road, Newtown. As part of a nationally synchronised push, supplies around Hobart, Adelaide and Brisbane will be disrupted.

XR protesters from Hobart, Launceston and across the state will not move until they are physically removed from the blockade devices as they face arrest.

Pale faced oily characters akin to oil drenched birds will bear witness to the protesters who will be locked onto concrete barrels blocking the fuel trucks from entering and exiting the site. Recorded classical music and live music will accompany the action with a rendition of a Pogues cover called ‘Dirty old fuel’, complete with banners placards and flags.

The fuel depot disruption will continue for as long as possible to draw attention to Australia’s continued dependence on fossil fuels for our transportation system. The burning of fossil fuels drives the escalating global climate crisis and the much-revered Australian car is a major contributing factor to climate change. It is time to bring much needed attention to this uncomfortable truth through non-violent direct civil disobedience.

Unlike most other countries the Australian government has no intention to phase out our dependence on high emission fuels such as diesel, petrol and LPG. Likewise, there is no intention to raise our non-existent emission standards to be in line with the standards applied to most of Europe, America, Japan and China. Hence, we, as consumers, are forced to use some of the dirtiest and highest emitting fuels in the world every time we fill our cars. This is just wrong and our government needs to take their heads out of the sand, stop putting profit over planet and for the sake of our children’s future transition now!

  • The demands of XR are simple, clear and supported by science:
    The government has a duty of care to protect us and our children from the dire consequences of climate change. These consequences include water shortages, food insecurity, massive displacement of people with hundreds of millions of refugees globally and an estimated one third of all species will likely go extinct by 2050. We demand the government fulfil its duty of care.
  • The government needs to rapidly transition our economy away from fossil fuels, and towards renewable and more sustainable sources of energy.
  • The government needs to ensure no jobs are lost and more jobs are created as Australia starts to benefit from its rich access to renewable energy sources. Currently, 40,000 people are employed in coal mining, by 2025 we could already see 45,000 jobs in renewables, one of the fastest growing industries in the country.
  • The government needs to improve the emissions standards of the fuel we still need to use while we transition. Australian regulators allow producers to produce some of the dirtiest fuel in the world.

The XR protesters are from all walks of life and include teachers, nurses, care workers, tradies, bus drivers, students, scientists, professionals and grandparents. They put their bodies on the line to draw attention to the Government’s criminal inaction.

Dominic, student at UTAS, comments: “In Tasmania it is often cheaper to drive than to catch public transport so our government has a responsibility to offer more sustainable less emitting modes of transport. In this state there are no incentives to change the way we get around. Electric vehicles might be a more sustainable mode of transport for the more affluent among us. But we need alternatives for us all: affordable electric public transport, safe cycle path networks and shared electric vehicles are the future. We need the government to lead the way in transitioning us onto a sustainable path and not widen roads to accommodate more cars.”

Dominic adds: “The Australian taxpayer is subsidising the fossil fuel industry with a staggering $10.3 billion in 2020/21. Every minute of every day we give away $19,686 to coal, oil and gas companies and major users of fossil fuels. This has to stop, and it has to stop now!” imagine if that money was instead directed towards affordable electric public transport for all.

Claire Smith, a retired GP, says: “If people find themselves to be working in industries that are major contributors to climate change, then those workers need Government support via a consultative process to transition away from those jobs and not be left high and dry when those industries inevitably go bottom up.”
“If the government really cared about these workers, they would have started these just transition conversations a decade ago as they have in Europe. There may be less food on the table when you lose your job but there’s even less on a dead planet when the resources won’t be there to support you.”

Sharee, a molecular biologist, mother and spokesperson for XR says: “We peacefully disrupt and we are aware that we inconvenience people in order to bring much needed attention to the most urgent issue of our times. However, this is nothing compared to the impacts of climate change on the lives and wellbeing of current and future generations. To be clear this is a last resort that I don’t take lightly after years of getting nowhere writing letters and attending legally permitted protests. As a scientist, I act on evidence and the evidence shows that civil disobedience works when polite actions fail.”

Sharee adds, “We want a future, for us and our children. And if we continue like this, due to climate change, there will be no future left. We demand systemic change. The federal and state governments should be funding and supporting the use of alternative forms of transport that are significantly less damaging to the environment instead of propping up the fossil fuel industry with massive amounts of taxpayer money.”

“In the future, it won’t be those peacefully blockading bridges or blocking roads that history judges badly. It will be those who shut their eyes and blocked their ears and failed to act on silence. People from all generations and all walks of life have had enough of those with power failing to act.”