Quit Coal activists draped a banner across the facade of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on Monday morning in an action they say was to let Victoria’s Premier Denis Napthine know that he’s taking Victorians down the wrong track when it comes to energy.
Quit Coal is a Melbourne-based volunteer run collective that campaigns against the expansion of the coal industry in Victoria.
The 84 square metre banner read ‘get off the coal train, Denis and on track for renewables’.
The action lasted for around 2 hours; during which supporters on the ground handed out flyers to commuters. Once the activists descended, they were arrested and charged with trespass, bringing items that are likely to endanger another person or damage property and a causing a common nuisance .
Quit Coal wants the Premier to repeal previous Premier Baillieu’s restrictive wind-farm policy; which it states has cost Victoria around $887 million in lost or stalled investment and slowed the state’s move to clean energy.
The group is also demanding a moratorium be introduced on all new coal and unconventional gas projects in the state and for plans to allocate for export an extra 13 billion tonnes of brown coal from the Latrobe Valley to be scrapped. Brown coal is the filthiest of fossil fuels, generating 30 percent higher carbon emissions than black coal.
Quit Coal also wants increased support for investment in the renewables sector.
“Ted Baillieu’s recent resignation gave the Coalition government the opportunity to shake things up but they are fast taking Victoria down the wrong track,” reads part of a statement on the Quit Coal web site.
“The new Premier, Denis Napthine, must show he is listening to community concerns about coal and unconventional gas. He must support action on climate change and transition Victoria from polluting fossil fuels to clean renewable sources of energy.”
