Protesters gathered at Kirribilli House today to during this week's bushfire crisis.
The Prime Minister was not in attendance, as he is currently on a family holiday .
Morrison's absence didn't deter protesters from sharing a piece of their mind, however. The Feed collected a few messages for the Prime Minister to peruse on his return.
Claudia
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I would ask him, why don’t you want to change? Are you scared of changing? Is there any particular reason?
Where would you rather be today?
In a cool place. In a pool, but like, safe near a pool -- not in the bush. In the city somewhere.
Brodie
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
We’re employing you. You work for us. And if 70-percent-or-so people are concerned about climate change in Australia, anybody else under any other employment condition would respect that and do what their boss says.
I find the way he smirks to be just so offensive and disrespectful to his position.
Where would you rather be today?
Well, I have a job, so I wouldn’t have got up at 5am this morning to do my work early so I could be here. Yeah, I can think of pretty much anything other than this right now. We all have lives, man.
Amanda
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I’d say well what the fuck are you doing, for a start. What are you going to do? Get on with it?
Where would you rather be today?
Nowhere else. Because as far as I’m concerned, I’m creating awareness, and hopefully people in Australia and the world are looking at what we’re doing with our bushfires, and our deforestation, and our loss of species, and they’re just starting to get it in their heads. If they can get it in their heads they’ll start to do something.
I’m very hot, but imagine the poor koalas -- when they’re being burnt, how hot are they going to be?
Imogen
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
Please wake up, our country is on fire. People are struggling, and the fact that he’s so ignorant of climate change’s role in exacerbating the fires is just so hurtful to so many people. And invalidating as well, to all the people who’ve lost their homes and lost people, lost loved ones.
So yeah, I think definitely ‘wake up, do your job’.
Where would you rather be today?
At home, breathing proper air, because my house is a lot cooler than it is here. That would be a lot nicer than being out here on this smoky day, but unfortunately here we are.
Eddie, Jenny and Diane
Source: The Feed
“Wake up, Scott,” the group told The Feed.
“I always think of the old Moody Blues album To Our Children's Children's Children,” Eddie said.
“If you’re not thinking that way, you’re not thinking. It has to be for our children’s children’s children.”
Jenny agreed. “It’s time. It’s over time to listen to the science,” she said.
“We’ve got the answers, but because he’s in denial and the government’s in denial, we’re not getting the things done that will reverse this. We have got the answers, and it’s just criminal actually that we’re sitting here ignoring climate change, when it’s got to this level where it’s going to affect every single person.
“And how dare he just take off and show no leadership whatsoever, when people are risking their lives fighting fires in Australia for him, and his country, supposedly?” Diane added. “And also people trying to grow crops with no water? How dare he show no leadership at all?
Where would you rather be today?
Eddie stands with a sign reading "Have fun in Hawaii Scott, we'll put the fires out." Source: The Feed
“We’ve got a million things we’d rather do than sit here, asking a bloke that we pay well, to do his job,” Eddie said.
“When we do get a leader -- which we don’t have now -- the head of steam that is available to energise the movement to fix the country is massive. There’s a massive amount of energy waiting there to be unleashed. We’ve just got to have someone who understands that.”
“Maybe Scott should just stay in Hawaii. We’ll just get the scientists, and people like Greg Mullins -- he’s a leader -- to pull things together. Because we can do it. I think Scott should stay on holiday.”
Laura
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I’d like to tell him to grow up. He needs to take action on climate change right now. This isn’t a problem of the future, it’s a problem of now, and he needs to work out what he’s doing. We need a plan that needs to come into action as soon as possible.
Where would you rather be today?
Well it’s the first day of my school holidays, so I’d love to be at the beach with my friends, having fun.
Kimberley
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I would like to say if you consider yourself a Christian, which he famously does, I don’t see that as compatible with how he’s treating our environment and our country’s wildlife and environment.
Where would you rather be today?
I would rather be resting at home, and spending time with my family.
Mirella and Sarah
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
“Where would I start, my goodness?” Mirella said.
“I’d tell him that we can all see through the ruse of this government counting Kyoto credits for the Paris Climate Agreement. It’s just not true. We can all see through the ruse of this continual repeating that we’re only one-point-something percent of emissions, and not counting the coal we sell. We live in a global, closed environment, so we’re affecting the globe.”
“I’d tell him that this is an emergency, and he needs to do something and stop worrying about the short term and whether he’s going to get re-elected. I’d say Scott, you’re not going to get re-elected, because there’s a whole new generation of young people who are going to be voting at the next election, and if you don’t do something they’re going to kick you out.”
“I’d say stop burying your head in the sand,” Sarah added. “Stop ignoring the science, stop ignoring intelligent people -- weather people, fire people, country people. All of them have never seen such drought.”
Mirella and Sarah brought their dogs to the protest, complete with protest signs. Source: The Feed
“These firemen are going nonstop. I mean, my son’s going to start volunteering from the city, because city people need to volunteer too and get some idea of that constant pressure of going out and fighting fires. I’d have a lot to say to him just on one issue, let alone all the other undercurrents of it.”
“It’s shocking that he’s doing nothing.”
Where would you rather be today?
“We want to get on with living life, and caring for the people we love, and not having to fight all the time and take to the streets. But if that’s what it takes, that’s what it’s gonna be.”
Callum
Callum opted to bring a sign with a message for Peter Dutton. Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
It’s kind of his responsibility -- it’s up to him to do something, but he’s not.
Where would you rather be today?
Just anywhere. Somewhere cooler.
Petrina
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I would like to say please look at all these people. Please look at all the people whose houses have burnt. Please listen to Greg Mullins and the Climate Council.
It’s hard for me to be here because it was hard for me to walk. I have trouble with my knees. But I just thought I had to come.
Where would you rather be today?
Sitting at home reading the paper, having a cup of tea, talking to my children and grandchildren.
Lucy
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
As a nurse in an emergency department, we’ve seen an increase in presentations related to the smoke -- people with respiratory conditions, and all sorts of chronic health conditions. They come in to an already overburdened healthcare system, and this makes life more stressful for us, and for the patients.
It’d be nice if he could actually come and speak to the people who are directly affected, instead of hiding away in his Prime Ministerial residence, or hopping on a plane and going overseas when the country is suffering. Come and actually see what it’s like for people on the ground .
Where would you rather be today?
I’d rather be swimming at the beach on a hot day like this, but it’s smoky anyway, so the beach wouldn’t be that fun.
Marilyn
Source: The Feed
What would you say to Scott Morrison if he was here?
I don’t feel there’s any point in saying anything to him. He won’t listen. He’s like Teflon. He’s not someone who listens to other people -- he’s pig-headed, he’s very paternalistic, he’s totally lacking in empathy.
I would be wasting my breath. I’d rather talk to ordinary Australians who I can wake up. Most Australians in the middle are asleep, they trust the government to run everything -- well, those times are over. We can’t lie down and trust them anymore. They’re not doing the right thing, they haven’t for quite some time, and that’s why we’re in the mess that we’re in.
We’re asleep at the wheel, Australia. I’m not usually a person who gets out, and when I first started going to protests it was a very anxiety-promoting thing for me. But people like me need to get out there and show that the “Quiet Australians” are concerned.
I’m a baby boomer, and we have had the best of the world as it is, and pretty soon it will all be over. We had no Depression, we had no World War like my parents did, we had free university, we could travel the world. We did everything, and it’s going to implode in three to five years.
Without mobilising the quiet Australians, things like this protest can’t be very effective. We have to mobilise, like in the Vietnam era. They closed city shops, because there were hundreds of thousands of people marching. We need a tidal wave like that, and it can only come from waking up these people in the middle - the swinging voters, the so-called Quiet Australians.
Where would you rather be today?
Nowhere else, really. I’d rather be here, doing something effective, than sitting at home.
