ACTIVISTS HUNGRY FOR CHANGE
PROTESTERS have embarked on a seven-day hunger strike outside Tasmania’s Parliament House to demand more action on climate change.
Five Extinction Rebellion activists took their last bite of food at noon on Friday before hunkering down on the lawns outside parliament for their week-long fast.
One of them was PhD student Micah Landon-Lane, who has been researching the effects of marine pollution and plastic debris on the environment.
Mr Landon-Lane said he was not looking forward to the hunger pangs, but felt that drastic action was needed to get the politicians to take notice.
“We’re hunger striking because we’re really sick of our government’s inaction on climate change, and even climate change denial,” Mr Landon-Lane said.
“We’re all going to be hungry, none of us are doing this lightly. All of us would rather be doing anything else, but we’re seeing that nobody in government is taking this seriously.”
Molecular biologist Sharee McCammon is one of the leaders of the hunger strike, and she too will be foregoing food for seven days.
“I’ve barely skipped breakfast before, but what else can we do?
“I’ve got children, I’ve got friends with children, how can we not do something? We’re waiting for the cavalry to come over the hill to come and save us, but nobody’s coming: it’s up to us to step up.”
The protest will end next Thursday at 6pm with the hunger strikers breaking their fast with a public “Picnic for the Planet’’ on Parliament Lawns.