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Eight climate change protesters arrested following vandalism outside Parliament House

Protesters demanding greater action on climate change have been arrested after spray painting slogans outside Parliament House and The Lodge in Canberra.

Eight protesters have been arrested for spray painting climate change slogans outside Australia's parliament and Scott Morrison's Canberra residence.
Eight protesters have been arrested for spray painting climate change slogans outside Australia's parliament and Scott Morrison's Canberra residence. Source: EXTINCTION REBELLION

Eight protesters have been arrested for spray painting climate change slogans outside Australia's parliament and Scott Morrison's Canberra residence.

Extinction Rebellion activists glued their hands to the federal parliament forecourt and set a pram on fire on Tuesday morning.

They spray-painted slogans including "climate duty of care" on walls outside of both buildings.

Five people, three men and two women, were arrested at Parliament House. Another three men were arrested at The Lodge. 

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the protests describing those responsible as selfish vandals.

"The Australian way is not what we have seen with the vandalism in our capital today," he told reporters.

"I don't associate in any way, shape or form that foolishness with the good-hearted nature of Australians who care deeply about this issue, as I do. 

"They have no part with that foolishness today, any more than we have seen in other selfish protests around this country."

Workers cover the slogan Duty of Care after an Extinction Rebellion protest outside Parliament House.
Workers cover the slogan Duty of Care after an Extinction Rebellion protest outside Parliament House. Source: AAP

The group labelled their protest an appropriate response to a government "that fails to protect its citizens and abandons future generations to the hell of climate breakdown".

"We take responsibility for our actions and are willing to face the consequences, unlike our politicians who won't even acknowledge they have a duty of care to the children of this country," Extinction Rebellion said. 

The United Nations' latest climate report released on Monday night showed the world was expected to warm 1.5C above pre-industrial levels in the early 2030s. 

Current commitments are not adequate to keep warming to 1.5C or below 2C. 

Australian land areas have already warmed by 1.4C and worsening climate change will only make floods, fires, droughts, cyclones and coral bleaching more intense and frequent. 

The worst-case scenario modelled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected global warming of up to 5.7C by the end of the century. 

Mr Morrison did not make any new emissions reduction commitments on Tuesday and reiterated the need to deal with the issue through technology not taxes.

"I won't be signing a blank cheque on behalf of Australians to targets without plans," he said.  


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP, SBS




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