Let me start of by saying, my first week as an AYCC intern was by far the best week of work experience possible. The highlight of which was definitely the Quit Coal protest I was lucky enough to take part in.
Tuesday April the 3rd was the day when we, along with Quit Coal Australia, took to Mr Baillieu’s office. Dressed up as coal fighting zombies with baby powder in our hair and delicious syrupy blood dripping down our faces, we ‘zombied’ our way from the steps of Parliament House to Mr Baillieu’s office.
After a few zombie chants we were overwhelmed by the amount of carbon in the air that was emitted from Mr Baillieu’s office. As a result, we all ‘died’!
However, we were awakened from our momentary slumber by the devastating consequences of Mr Baillieu’s actions. We were simply not at peace, so we felt it was necessary for us to start a zombie conga line – as you do.
Meanwhile there were six members of Quit Coal who locked themselves together with bike locks and remained stationary in the foyer of the building.
Throughout the entire event there was fantastic media coverage from all the big networks, creating awareness and provoking discussions about vital issues that need to be addressed. Furthermore, there was an excessive police force present with the number of officers almost outnumbering the protesters.
After we finished ‘zombieing,’ around six committed protestors continued their lockdown for another eight hours, until they were finally offered a meeting with Mr Baillieu and immunity from all charges, which they accepted.
A big thank you to Quit Coal for organising the protest and for all those who took part in the lock down!
All in all it was a fantastic to kick start my week of work experience.
Written by AYCC volunteer – Gawesha Weeratunga, AYCC Victoria
