Australians Mock Government, Mimic Ostriches To Protest Climate Change Attitude
Australians have a unique way to mock their government. Over 400 protesters buried their heads in the sand at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Thursday to protest Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s unwillingness to address climate change at the G20 summit this coming weekend.
According to Reuters, Australians from babies to school children to adults dug holes in the sand and stuck up to their shoulders in the holes. The Australians were trying to mimic the tale that ostriches stick their heads in the sand when confronted with danger (though ostriches do not really avoid danger in the wild this way). Activist Pat Norman led the protesters by megaphone in their mock stances, encouraging protesters to have fun.
Norman blames the Australian Prime Minister as the key source for his government’s reluctance to talk about environmental issues.
“Obama’s on board, Xi Jinping’s on board, everyone’s on board except one man.”
#PRStunt in #Australia today, Australians bury heads in sand to mock governments climate change stance @guardianeco pic.twitter.com/l36eRPYCoP
— Shadow Giants (@shadowgiants) November 13, 2014
Australians put heads in the sand for Bondi Beach protest http://t.co/afBX9MtlXo #BondiBeach #Australia #protest pic.twitter.com/vmIJFKadSD
— etalia.net (@etalia_net) November 13, 2014
Australians even got creative with their mock stances.
Climate change protesters bury their heads in the sand at G20 summit venue (PHOTOS) http://t.co/pKnGxqhHo1 pic.twitter.com/oPlMENplKY — (@533D) November 13, 2014
Justin Field, who is running for a seat in the Australian parliament, thinks that the issue goes beyond the Prime Minister.
“To be so far behind the rest of the developed world embarrasses progressive Australia.”
The Independent reports that Australia is one of the only countries in the world which reversed its actions on cleaning up the environment. In July, the Australian government repealed a tax on greenhouse gas emissions. Abbott announced that his G20 agenda was focused on jobs and growth, rather than the environment. Abbot is also notorious with the protesters for saying that coal is “good for humanity.”
U.S. and Chinese governments have already committed to reducing emissions. President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, agreed to make climate change a priority for both governments on Wednesday. The informal agreement has already led to reactions in the U.S. both for and against government environmental regulations. As reported by the Inquisitr, climate has been named a major concern by the UN, a probable reason for why it has been a focus for multiple countries before the G20 summit.
[Photo Source: UK Independent]
