A place for IDEAS and CONCEPTS for ACTIONS
A place for critical thinking through the lens of Extinction Rebellionās 3 demands and Pās & Vās with consideration for message/context/timing and THE CIVIL RESISTANCE MODEL with a view to refining them and making them better.
Action ideas here are up for grabs!
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What the F are we going to do about the NCCC?
I see that @bethal mentioned that some Sydney rebels are very upset about thisā¦ Me too! Iām sure we all are.
Here is a list of the geezers FYI https://www.pmc.gov.au/nccc/who-we-are
I think this might be another case of XR needing to get on the front foot and adapting some of our capacity to strategically drawing attention to this āShitFU##eryā as Juice Media put it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CMUtKWubxg
Iām wondering how we could do this without compromising our general strategy of pressure on the government. I was thinking targeted NVDA ā¦ somewhere. There is probably too many gas businesses, too proudly involved in NCCC to be vulnerable ā¦ How could we let the government know that this is unacceptable?
Iāve seen a few online petitions about it - letās step up the gameā¦ ?
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Hi Andrew, I just want to put this out there. This is an issue that links directly with the increased risk of bushfires within Australia. Which affected huge sways of Australia last summer. I think we can emphasis the governments Gas lead recovery with an increased risk to bushfires by protesting outside fire stations. Maybe sit ins? What if we were to be joined by numerous environmental groups/locals that would sit in with us? It isnāt disruptive, but it is a tool that Roger Hallem uses.
Lynette
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This might mean we can organise lots of small groups and then pull all of these āsittersā together for a mass blockage in the city.
I think it is very interesting this semi-abstract/absolutely direct idea to sit-in at fire stations.
I am interested in this in terms of getting attention but obviously we donāt want to obstruct fire brigades and the media would love to make us look like idiots if we didā¦ Maybe what we do is invite Fireys to do sit-inās at the Gas company offices or Gas-power stations???
But maybe you can elaborate on this more
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Hell no.
Sitting in at fire stations is a tremendously stupid idea.
- Firies have publically supported us. Disrupting fire stations loses us an ally.
- Firies are universally loved. Disrupting fire stations loses us the public.
- Firies are needed for protecting people from the consequences of climate collapse.
How does disrupting them in any way support climate justice?
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By all means ManicMax, let me know how you feel in no uncertain terms.
I wasnāt at all suggesting to disrupt the fire
stations. But to use there presence as a reminder of what happened over the summer and what will continue to happen if government policies donāt change.
I was thinking of sitting to the side of fire stations.
XR UK are blockading Parliament with a four degrees theme on September 1.
Itās also the first day of spring.
Maybe Australian rebels can do something on that date. Local UK actions are starting on August 28.
Any additional info @saharaj?
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Pretty cool stunt from Cologneā¦
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this one is incredibly powerful and leaves no room for misinterpretation. I think we should do it definitely in australia
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Planting Our Freedom
Objective: To stimulate local groups into connecting with their local environment and political representation.
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Deliver letter to / seek meeting with local politicians / representatives - declaring rebellion.
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Plant ā a tree / fruit tree in local area:
- As an act of regeneration (ie of cityscape, landscape, self)
- Planting our intention for a better world in a physical space where we can care for it and watch it grow.
- An act of reaching into the future; putting in place what we want for the future.
- Encourage Guerrilla Gardening as a way to claim public space and recreate community commons: ie resources that are mutually cared for and shared by the community.
We are Extinction Rebellion. We have three demands:
Tell the truth
Act Now
Citizenās Assemblies
(The Letter)
(Include something about the planting of the tree?)
Dearā¦
*We are writing to you as your local Extinction Rebellion group, to tell you how our members and supporters are coming together to address the climate and ecological emergency. *
*We are part of a global movement of people taking action because we cannot tolerate the escalating destruction of the natural environment that sustains human life and the existence of all creatures. *
*We fear that the opportunity for people all around the world, and future generations, to live and flourish on a habitable planet is in grave danger. *
We understand that humanity has a narrow, and fast disappearing, window of opportunity to avert catastrophe by rapidly moving to net zero emissions and immediately addressing the causes of ecological destruction.
*We know also that the economic and technological capacities to halt fossil fuel production, reconfigure industry and increase carbon drawdown already exist. We recognise the source of inaction to be social and political, and we recognise that many of the elements in the current social and political sphere that have caused the crisis are continuing to frustrate efforts to address it. *
*We are working hard to raise community awareness of the scale of the problem and the urgent need for action. We use strategic non-violent direct action to create social and political change. *
*We will continue to step up our rebellion until we see a democratic process that is accessible and accountable and until adequate solutions are implemented. *
*We are rebelling because: *
This is Humanityās darkest hour; the global climate and ecological crisis, unprecedented in human history, is set to cause suffering on a massive scale and endanger our very future unless immediate, urgent action is taken.
*The science is clear. The Earth has entered the sixth mass extinction event in geological history due to environmental destruction from human industrial and economic activity. āClimate changeā is no longer a distant reality. It is here. *
*Animal, bird, fish, and insect populations are plummeting across the world. *
*Rising global temperatures are causing ice sheets to melt and rising sea levels are already beginning to inundate islands and low lying coastal areas. *
*Increased drought is already leading to desertification of arable land, and increased frequency and severity of storms is causing more severe and more frequent flooding events. *
*These effects threaten human habitation and health, food supply and water security; once they are under stress, social and political instability will follow, leading to war, famine and mass displacement of human populations. *
*This is not a farfetched dystopian fiction. It is the situation the world now faces; and Australia is vulnerable, as the Black Summer of 2019/20 has just brought home to us in the most shocking way. *
As the mean global temperature rise pushed 1C, we have just witnessed real climate devastation in the loss of lives, the destruction of enormous areas of land and forest, the loss of an estimated one billion animals and of significant habitat for many threatened species, and cities filled with unbreathable air. This had better be a wake up call for all of us.
*We are rebelling because this crisis can no longer be ignored. We jettison talk of distant targets and incremental solutions. There is no more time to waste. *
We are rebelling because though there is no excuse to be in the grip of rational or moral uncertainty here, our government is simply refusing to acknowledge the emergency and is failing in its duty to the rest of the world to work towards a global solution.
*In this our government has abrogated its duty to protect the citizens and to act in our best interests, and we take this to be a serious breech of the social contract between our elected representatives and us. *
*We are rebelling because we are listening to the scientists saying that if we do not take drastic and immediate action we face imminent catastrophe; and because under these circumstances rebellion is the only rational thing to do. *
*Our first demand: Tell the Truth *
*We want governments (local, state, federal) to declare a climate and ecological emergency and to communicate the urgency for action. *
*Public awareness of the threats posed by climate crisis and ecological breakdown in the community is not yet equal to the nature and severity of the threat. We hold governments and the media to account for failing in their duty to inform people of the threat, despite the abundance of opportunity and information. *
*Telling the truth about the nature and scale of the climate and ecological emergency also means telling the truth about its causes. *
*Australiaās economic prosperity is founded on colonial exploitation of natural resources at the expense of this continentās First Nations, who have been rebelling against extinction since the founding of colonial Australia. *
*We urge that you use your position and influence to communicate to the people you serve, the truth of our history, the full picture and implications of climate science and the need for urgent and drastic action in the face of a major national and global emergency. *
Our second demand: Act Now
*We do not merely aim for what we deem to be politically possible, but demand what is necessary. *
*A 2C temperature rise will bring widespread catastrophe. We do not know if we could even adapt to a rise of over 4C. *
*Based on the science our window of opportunity to cease greenhouse emissions and avert a global mean temperature rise of more than 1.5C is closing fast, if it has not already passed. *
It is too late for an incremental transition and we demand urgent action.
*In order to keep warming below 1.5C and to prevent dangerous climate tipping points form occurring, we must achieve net zero emissions, globally, by 2025. *
*We must stop burning fossil fuels. *
*There must be robust environmental protections against polluting activities by corporations to immediately halt biodiversity loss. *
*There must be large-scale efforts at regeneration and reforestation. *
*This is an emergency and as such emergency measures are needed. Acting now means that governments and institutions mobilise all their resources to fight the climate and ecological emergency. *
*We urge such mobilisation as have been previously achieved during times of great crisis, such as situations of war, in which governments and institutions have diverted significant resources into a single, common goal to save a population or to prevent disaster. *
*Yet we face the reality that our current political predicament, and Australiaās current political leadership, has created a perfect storm of denial and inaction in which those in positions to institute an appropriate emergency response refuse to countenance the problem. *
*It is clear that the current political order will not act without significant pressure. *
*We have therefore declared a rebellion against the institutions responsible for systematic and entrenched inaction. *
*We urge you to use your position and influence to address the climate and ecological emergency in a way that realistically reflects the urgent need for action; and we urge you to consult with traditional owners, First Nations Elders and the community, to seek solutions. *
*We will continue our rebellion until a democratic process that is accessible and accountable, and adequate solutions, are implemented. *
Our third demand is for a more inclusive democratic process: Citizenās Assemblies
*We demand an accountable form democracy in which citizens have greater and more meaningful opportunities for participation and decision-making. *
*This should take the form of citizenās assemblies. A representative cross section of the community would be selected at random by a process of sortition and would be given, as a jury is given, the necessary information to weigh options and decide on solutions. *
*Jury processes enjoy a high level of community trust and accountability, and in the expanded form of a citizenās assembly the process of informed deliberation creates a opportunities for a meaningful process of deliberative democracy. *
*We understand that a majority of Australians want to prioritise climate action, and we advocate rigorous and binding citizenās assemblies as the most effective way to maximise community engagement and hold government and institutions to account. *
*We believe this is necessary because the current governmental and institutional failure to act shows how much our democracy has been weakened and co-opted by neoliberal interests and the fossil fuel industry. When politics has become corrupted by the powerful few at the expense of the many, it is our duty as citizens to resist and restore meaningful democracy. *
*We urge you to use your position and influence to study examples of such democratic processes; to advocate for them and institute them at all levels. (of government?) *
The Rebellion
*We are not content to die because our political leaders lack the wisdom and courage to act for the people to ensure a just and safe climate future. *
*We are in rebellion against governments, corporations and institutions whose activities are causing the climate and ecological crisis, enabling it or frustrating efforts to stop it. *
*Non-violence is Extinction Rebellionās most important fundamental principle of strategic engagement. *
*We are all kinds of āordinary Australiansā helping other āordinary Australiansā to maintain the courage to act. We are helping each other to use nonviolent direct action, campaigns of noncompliance, and nonviolent acts of civil disobedience to create pressure that governments and institutions resisting change will no longer be able to withstand. *
*We will continue to step up our rebellion until our demands are met and we have secured that future. *
So join usā¦
*We invite every person to rise with us and take a principled, peaceful stand in this, most crucial, time. *
*We expect the rebellion to grow as more and more people find the current situation untenable. As people withdraw their cooperation from corporations, governments, and institutions driving the climate emergency we expect to exert significant pressure on governments and institutions to act. *
*We rebel in a proud tradition of the many successful campaigns of nonviolent resistance to injustice and environmental destruction, because it is our duty, because we believe it is the only thing, now, that can possibly work. *
Please join us.
Such an action would be completely inappropriate given Australiaās history of racial violence.
Not everything is about raceā¦ Itās about ICE melting and us dying.
What do you think the history of Germany is??? Violence is the history of the world and there is going to be a lot more of itā¦ Extinction Rebellion
Andrew,
The Decolonising Solidarity circle in XRSA has actively discouraged rebels here in South Australia from the ānoose + iceā action, because it will be likely to trigger negative reactions from people of colour around the world, through the histories of racist violence and lynchings including in Australia.
Yes, the ice is evocative, but the global population is not at risk of hanging from climate change, so why this particular image? If my ancestors had been hung simply for their racial ancestry, then I would be deeply troubled by such as action. And it isnāt as if the noose is essential. Why not consider other possibilities? Support a thick sheet of ice between two platforms, suspended over a wading pool, and youād still have an effective - and more directly metaphorical - action for rising sea levels, than with the noose.
We are aiming for a regenerative culture in all that we do, as well as practicing non-violence. Committing acts of symbolic violence while trying to change hearts and minds on the climate breakdown seems actively counterproductive to me.
We always appreciate discussion of good action ideas, of course, so keep them coming,
Yarrow
XRSA
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Yes, I think we should be blockading our parliament too. I guess weāll get to that with more numbers?
Andrew, youāre right that not everything is about race, but saying that is certainly a manifestation of white privilege. I donāt know your racial ancestry - and you do not need to feel like you have to share this - but I do know that a major part of white privilege is to be able to pretend that race and racism are not really an issue. As McIntosh observes in the Invisible Knapsack, you can make a depressing long list of the things that are about race, when you scratch the surface. My ancestry is white British, and so I get to benefit from this list regardless of how short a time I may have actually lived in Australia, or how little I have earned any of these things.
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Yes i admit I didnāt even think about the noose and lynchings. Youāre totally correct that there are countless ways to use melting ice as a metaphor/not metaphor for the situation we are in - thatās a very good point. I will read the knapsack that you shared, thank you.
Iād like to find groups of people in each state who would like to post these large banners on walls or other surfaces at the beginning of rebellion week. It is hard to appreciate the size of them but if you can imagine a 6 metre x 3 metre billboard then you can imagine the size of this thing. For that reason it comes in seven 1m x 3m rolls of paper and would need to be pasted onto a vertical surface like wall paper (slightly overlapping). The result is a giant poster. These are cheap to make and will probably require a minimum of five people to post them effectively. These are only costing us about $5 each in materials and they take about an hour or two to make each one so we can basically make as many as we need. It would be great to see many of these going up around Australia at the beginning of Rebellion Week.
The image attached is actually a composition from the separate āin progressā photographs made during production because there just isnāt enough room to take a picture of the whole poster. The second image is what it looked like while it was being designed, and is what it should look like when it is up on a wall.
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