Repeated protests by “green extremists” are preventing Lisa Chester’s staff from working safely, the federal member for Bendigo has said.
Ms Chesters closed her office on Wednesday, October 1 ahead of a planned protest by Central Victoria Climate Action, the Castlemaine-based chapter of Rising Tide.
The group hung a line of white laundry covered with green slime outside the Williams St address to criticise the Labor government’s “greenwashing” of their climate policy.
It was the second action the group has staged outside Ms Chesters’ office in the last fortnight, and one of seven protests the federal member for Bendigo says has been held by various groups over the last month.
“Protest is an important part of democracy but so is vulnerable community members having access to the information and services my electorate office provides,” Ms Chesters said in a statement the night before the planned action.
“In my view, the balance has been tipped and it’s the Bendigo community that is suffering.”
Earlier this year, the release of the inaugural National Climate Risk Assessment raised the alarm on a future of bushfires, heatwaves and rising sea levels if Australia did not address the climate crisis.
The Labor government’s response in the days following, which set a new target of 62-70 per cent reduction on emissions from 2005 levels, has been met with criticism from climate change activists.
Demonstrator Anna Hedigan said the plan was “ineffective”.
“I don’t judge people by what they say. I judge them by what they do, and the government is expanding coal and gas instead of actually shutting it down,” Ms Hedigan said.
“It’s not that the concepts are bad, it’s that the targets that they’re proposing are totally inadequate.”
But Ms Chesters said the plan was “practical” and sent the right signal to investors.
“The Liberals and Nationals can’t even decide whether climate change is real or not, and want to walk away from doing anything about it,” Ms Chesters said.
“On the other hand, green extremists push a fantasy that we can end climate change tomorrow – and that doing so somehow starts with shutting the Bendigo Electorate Office.”
Labor accused of ‘ostrich approach’
Ms Hedigan said the decision to close the office was indicative of the “ostrich approach” she said the Labor government uses against criticism of its climate policy.
“They want to be able to put out press releases and to announce policies, but they’ve got no interest in engaging with their constituency,” Ms Hedigan said.
“That’s really inadequate. They work for the people of Australia, they don’t work for the fossil fuel lobby.”
She denied the group were “green extremists”, saying they were ordinary Australians concerned about the effects of climate change.
“We didn’t ask them to close the office,” she said.
“It’s super disappointing for us to not be able to actually speak to our local member, and it’s also disappointing for other people with their needs.”
Ms Chesters’ office can still be reached via phone and email.
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