Switch off Hazelwood, switch on renewables

Sunday 13 September

Approximately five hundred people took part in today's historic action at the Hazelwood coal power station, while 22 people managed to get themselves arrested while attempting to slap a 'Community Decommission Order' on Hazelwood.

The feeling throughout the day was fantastic and upbeat, despite a complete over reaction by the Brumby government in its deployment of police force. Over the weekend we had the police helicopter throughout Saturday night and Sunday, mounted police, police in speed boads and jetskis, police on dirt bikes as well as massive numbers of police on foot.

This initially dampened the festive community spirit - but as soon as the first person got across the fence, that all changed.

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Hundreds of people are currently gathered at the gates of Hazelwood power station preparing to place a `Community Decommission Order’ on the 45 year old polluting dinosaur. A steady drizzle and grey skies were not enough to deter the community activists frustrated by the government’s consistent failure to take real action on climate change.

After a welcome to country from the traditional owners of the land that the dirtiest coal fired power station in the industrialised world sits on, children, Ministers of Energy Resources & Silly Walks, radical cheerleaders, owls, zebras, and power plant ‘Decommissioners’ marched up the road to the gates of the plant.

The crowd heard from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, Dave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation, author David Spratt, Melbourne based paedeatrician MerrynRedenbach who all delivered the same message: our planet is facing a very real climate emergency and we must act now to avoid it. A great start would be to switch off coal and switch on renewables.

[This article is republished from: www.switchoffhazelwood.org/node/29.]

MORE PHOTOS: www.flicker/photos/hazelwood09

SWITCH OFF HAZELWOOD SITE: www.switchoffhazelwood.org

SEE ALSO: www.indymedia.org.au/melbourne