Wed, 8 Nov 2023 04:46:11 +1100
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/whatever-it-takes-the-activists-who-risk-prison-to-shatter-australias-climate-complacency>
"Brad Homewood has two jobs. His paid gig requires the 50-year-old to drive a
mini-mix concrete truck around suburban Melbourne. His volunteer work has
resulted in him being arrested 13 times for taking part in protests meant to
disrupt an economic system driving a climate and ecological emergency.
Last week Homewood glued himself to a nine-metre metal pole erected in the
middle of a road at the entrance of the Port of Melbourne’s Appleton Dock.
Traffic was stopped for two hours before emergency service workers could
separate him from the pole and remove him from the site.
He was not acting alone. Homewood was one of 21 activists connected to the
group Blockade Australia arrested across five mornings last week for shutting
down major ports in Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle. Some protesters
livestreamed their actions on Facebook.
Several activists from the group told Guardian Australia the actions were
part of a coordinated escalation to force attention on an issue that hardly
anyone takes seriously enough.
“We know that 19 key ecosystems … are showing early signs of collapse,”
Homewood says. “How that is not mainstream news is beyond people in the climate
movement because if those ecosystems collapse we know what follows, and that’s
societal collapse.
“If you listen to what some of the world’s best climate scientists are telling
us, that’s the trajectory we’re already deep into.
“We’re deliberately targeting the ports around the nation because we know 98%
of the trade of Australia goes out through the ports. This is the economic
lifeblood of this system, and Blockade Australia very much focuses on the
system, because the system is the core of the problem.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
"Brad Homewood has two jobs. His paid gig requires the 50-year-old to drive a
mini-mix concrete truck around suburban Melbourne. His volunteer work has
resulted in him being arrested 13 times for taking part in protests meant to
disrupt an economic system driving a climate and ecological emergency.
Last week Homewood glued himself to a nine-metre metal pole erected in the
middle of a road at the entrance of the Port of Melbourne’s Appleton Dock.
Traffic was stopped for two hours before emergency service workers could
separate him from the pole and remove him from the site.
He was not acting alone. Homewood was one of 21 activists connected to the
group Blockade Australia arrested across five mornings last week for shutting
down major ports in Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle. Some protesters
livestreamed their actions on Facebook.
Several activists from the group told Guardian Australia the actions were
part of a coordinated escalation to force attention on an issue that hardly
anyone takes seriously enough.
“We know that 19 key ecosystems … are showing early signs of collapse,”
Homewood says. “How that is not mainstream news is beyond people in the climate
movement because if those ecosystems collapse we know what follows, and that’s
societal collapse.
“If you listen to what some of the world’s best climate scientists are telling
us, that’s the trajectory we’re already deep into.
“We’re deliberately targeting the ports around the nation because we know 98%
of the trade of Australia goes out through the ports. This is the economic
lifeblood of this system, and Blockade Australia very much focuses on the
system, because the system is the core of the problem.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
