MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25th October 2007
Socialist Alliance federal election candidates Susan Austin and Matthew Holloway are urging students to walk out of school on Thursday, November 1, to join the protest being organised by Students Against the Pulp Mill.
Hundreds of students are expected to walk out of school and rally on Parliament Lawns at 12:30pm to show their opposition to the pulp mill.
Young people have strong opinions on this issue as they will inherit the environmental issues caused by the mill if it goes ahead”, said Ms Austin, candidate for Denison. “We support the right of young people to express their opinion in public, and if they need to walk out of school to get their point across, then we support that”, Ms Austin said.
Matthew Holloway, Socialist Alliance candidate for Franklin, said “Socialist Alliance supports lowering the voting age to 16 because we believe if people are old enough to pay taxes, they are old enough to have a say. Walking out of school and protesting against the pulp mill is a legitimate way for young people to get their voices heard”, he said.
“We recognise that the type of pulp mill and the location being proposed, will lead to massive amounts of air, water and odour pollution, the continued deforestation of our beautiful state and the release of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide” Ms Austin said. “It will also lead to a loss of jobs in other industries, such as tourism, wineries and the fishing industries. With both major parties showing they are willing to over-ride due process to ensure the mill goes ahead, we support a variety of protest actions which express the democratic will of the majority, who are opposed to this mill”, Ms Austin said.
Susan Austin Ph: 0418 643 133
Matthew Holloway Ph: 0419 582 372
