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Just short of thirty people, including two members of the very much younger generation, lined up outside the Preston office of Federal Minister for Resources and Energy and for Tourism Martin Ferguson with the message "Switch off the CPRS, Switch on Renewables, or Switch off Martin Ferguson". This brief footage includes part of what was said by activists addressing the protest: Jenny McCracken and Chris Breen, both from Darebin  Climate Action Now (Darebin CAN), which organised this leg of the action. Several people then went on to a similar event at the office of Kelvin Thompson, the Member for Wills, and at 12 noon there was another protest at the office of Lindsay Tanner, Member for Melbourne and Minister for Finance and Deregulation in the Rudd Government. For more on this day of action visit the campaign website (http://stepitupaustralia.wordpress.com/").

There are photos from the Ferguson and Tanner actions on Melbourne Protests Weblog (http://melbourneprotests.wordpress.com).

Here is the media release relating to the day's actions:

Community Climate Action Groups across Australia are today holding protests at the offices of over 30 Federal MPs to protest the failure of the Federal Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).

The protestors are calling on the Government not to pursue a scheme that rewards big polluters, fails to commit to adequate emission reduction targets, and locks us into catastrophic climate change.

“We are deeply concerned that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme takes a ‘business as usual’ approach to the urgent threat of climate change, and does not commit to the emissions reduction targets that the science tells us are necessary to avoid dangerous climate change,” said Moira Williams from Climate Action Newtown.

“Big polluting industries like coal and aluminum must be made to cut emissions rapidly and immediately. The CPRS will give away billions in concessions without even achieving the necessary pollution cuts. In fact, emissions are likely to continue rising under this scheme,” continued Ms. Williams.

The protests are twice the size of similar actions that took place last year following the announcement of the 5-15% emissions reduction target and the release of the White Paper for the CPRS.  Protest organisers attribute the increase to the continued failure of the Government to meet the clear need for more decisive action.

“It is an absolute disgrace that when faced with the threat of catastrophic climate change, our leaders are pandering to the powerful fossil fuel and mining lobbies, and continuing to ignore urgent scientific advice and widespread community alarm about the most important issue of our time,” said Pablo Brait from Yarra Climate Action Now.

“We are calling for a moratorium on coal mining and coal-fired power stations, and an end to perverse subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. We want just sector-by-sector transition plans for affected workers and communities. The Government can stimulate the economy and create quality green jobs, by making direct investment in renewable energy to move towards 100% renewables by 2020.”