What: Protesters block peak hour traffic
Where: Spit Bridge on Spit Road, The Spit
When: Happening now – 8 am 22/02/2022
Click here to see a video statement filmed live at the roadblock.
Samantha Noonan, a legally blind grandparent currently sitting on the road says:
We have a duty to act because our leaders refuse to do the job of Fireproofing Australia. We are carrying out this act of civil resistance in order to force the federal government to address our three reasonable demands to protect their citizens and Fireproof Australia by:
- Securing a sovereign air tanker fleet to fight fires
- Installing effective air filters in schools, aged care and disability facilities
- Rehoming bush fire survivors and ensuring that no one is left behind – more than two years in tents and caravans is too long.
Why we need to Fireproof Australia:
“It’s like the bushfires have suddenly gone nuclear and we’ve only got conventional weapons.”
Greg Mullins, Former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner (AO, AFSM), September 2021
“80% of the population was affected by poor air quality during the 2019-2020 bushfires.”
Bushfire Royal Commission, October 2020
“If you’re under 30 years old and you’re exposed to this level of pollution, your cognitive function declines by the same amount as ageing by 15 years.”
Dr La Nauze, University of Queensland, November 2021
“What we do over the next three to four years, I believe, is going to determine the future of humanity.”
Professor Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK government, February 2020
Fireproof Australia is made up of ordinary people that have suffered from the fires, who are beyond appalled by the government’s lack of care for its citizens. Fireproof Australia members feel the government has betrayed all of us by not enacting the recommendations of the Bushfire Royal commission including securing an Aussie-owned and operated large aerial tanker fleet to fight fires. They’ve abandoned the bushfire survivors, hard-working volunteer fireys across the country and everyone who choked on smoke during Black Summer.
Fireproof Australia is going to block Sydney’s major roads consistently and non-violently, week after week until the government meets our reasonable demands. We call upon fellow concerned Aussies to join us.
ENDS
__________________________
Press contact: 0435750814
Email: fireproofaustraliamedia@gmail.com
Interviews and TV appearances are available.
High-quality photos and video footage are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/reeo0alcfwqs5hd/AABDfDwwA5aV77_Abl5Qpqjka?dl=0
Website: https://fireproof.news/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireproofAustralia
Twitter: @fireproofaus
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7mUYmW8Gp2ZBh1mgXYM0yw
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] About Fireproof Australia.
Fireproof Australia is a politically unaffiliated group of ordinary citizens calling on our federal government to respond urgently to the climate crisis by securing a sovereign air tanker fleet.
[2] Our Demands:
1. Build a Large Air Tanker fleet
The Federal Government must secure a self-sufficient, Australian-based and owned aerial firefighting fleet to defend us against longer fire seasons and the threat of mega fires.
2. Smoke-proof our schools, aged care and disability services
The State and Federal Government acts on their duty of care to protect us from toxic bushfire smoke. Starting with the young and vulnerable by ensuring that all schools, aged care and disability facilities have effective air conditioning and air filtration.
3. Rehome the bushfire survivors
The Federal Government must immediately rehouse those who, after 12 months, remain homeless or in temporary accommodation due to extreme weather events – and must do so within 18 months of the original weather event.
[3] Forget 2050, experts say it’s 2030 or bust for net zero emissions https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/forget-2050-experts-say-its-2030-or-bust-for-net-zero-emissions
[4] Air pollution clouds brain performance and workforce productivity, November 2021
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2021/11/air-pollution-clouds-brain-performance-and-workforce-productivity
[5] ‘The world is burning’: how Australia’s longest-serving fire chief became a climate champion
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/27/the-world-is-burning-how-australias-longest-serving-fire-chief-became-a-climate-champion
[6] Bushfire royal commission hears that Black Summer smoke killed nearly 450 people
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-26/bushfire-royal-commission-hearings-smoke-killed-445-people/12286094
Fireproof Australia ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been to move out of the way for ambulances and fire trucks with ‘blue lights’ on.