January 20, 2025

school strike for climate

NSWNMA endorses School Strike 4 Climate 

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Nurses and midwives know the importance of climate action as a means of preventing the looming health crisis to be brought on by climate change. As such, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association has endorsed the upcoming School Strike for Climate, alongside the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. 

Despite clear scientific evidence of human-induced climate change, the Morrison Government has failed to deliver decisive climate action. As a result, nurses and midwives will be joining school students and other community members at actions across the country on the 25th of March.  

Participants of the School Strike for Climate are demanding:

1. Net Zero by 2030 which means no new coal, oil or gas projects.
2. 100% renewable energy generation and exports by 2030
3. Fund a Just Transition and Job Creation for all Fossil Fuel Workers and their communities 

As the Federal election draws closer, it has become more important than ever to demand real action on climate change.  

To find your local event, visit the School Strike 4 Climate website. NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association members attending the Sydney rally are asked to meet at Sydney Town Hall on 6 May at12:00.

 

“As a mother, I am terrified”

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Deanna Hayes, a private hospital nurse and a mother of three including   Ambrose,  a school striker, spoke about the health implications of climate change when she  addressed a recent Students for Climate Action rally.

“When my son joined the school strike for climate movement just one year ago, I never imagined I would be standing here like this, an accidental activist.

I have been aware of climate change for a very long time but have never been so frustrated as I am now, when the evidence of global warming and climate change is beyond dispute. We are already suffering the beginnings of the consequences of the climate crisis.

I guess some of these beliefs rubbed off onto Ambrose, but I never imagined the time and effort a 14-year-old along with his fellow organising team, could (contribute) to follow the lead of another amazing teenager in Greta (Thunberg), and mobilise people into action for this movement.

Meetings, speeches, liaison with police and council, and disappearing from home for hours, even days on end: I guess that’s the life of school striker.

So I stand here today to ask, “Scomo, where the bloody hell are you?”

Hawaii, I believe? Are you having a nice holiday while Australia burns?

As a nurse I understand about health. I understand that  bushfire smoke is toxic to us all.

I now understand about air quality measurements and read that last week in Sydney the PM 2.5 was the highest ever on record, and not only in Sydney but in country towns from Newcastle to Orange.

I understand that the nasal symptoms, sore throats and sinus problems people are suffering are real.

“As a mother I am terrified”

As a mother, I am worried. Actually, I am terrified.

I am terrified that my generation has not done enough to address the issues of climate change. I am terrified that my children will not be able to enjoy the natural world as I have.

I am dreadfully sad for the loss of animal life that has been incinerated in these dreadful firestorms.

I am dreadfully sad for the beautiful bushland we have enjoyed on our many camping trips as a family. Some of these rainforest areas are not fire adaptive so may never fully recover.

I am furious at the silence and inaction of our government. Scott Morrison can barely admit the link between climate change and our ongoing drought and fires.

I am furious at Scott Morrison’s insensitive comments, which are all he seems capable of making about the bushfires.

I’m sure those volunteers would love to be at home cheering at the cricket and not out day after day bravely defending 
their communities.

Our prime minister seems ready to pass the buck on the management of fighting these catastrophic fires to the state governments, instead of calling it a national emergency. Where is the urgency required to enlist help?

These fires have already burned more land than any other in the last 25 years. And it’s only the beginning of summer.

The burning of these fires has already released as much carbon into our atmosphere as half of our annual emissions. Isn’t that a national emergency?

The little people like us see this. Why don’t those in power?”

‘As the temperatures rise, so will we’

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The connection between climate change and health fires up student nurses and midwives.

Two Sydney-based nursing students, Natalie Murray and Sarah Cheer, organised a contingent from the University of Notre Dame to 
attend School Strike 4 Climate and 
won the backing of the university in the process.

“We have been going class to class and passing motions in support of the strike,” Sarah told The Lamp.

“We started off trying to campaign mainly in the Nursing and Midwifery School. Right from the get go we had support from the school and the dean, and we were told all of the students would be able to go [to the Climate Strike] and not be penalised.”

Sarah said they also circulated a petition on campus, collecting hundreds of signatures supporting the strike action.

“That gave us a bit of confidence… and when we showed that there is student support for this movement [the university agreed] that all students will be able to attend the rally without penalty.”

“We really wanted to organise nursing and medicine students because climate change is such a threat to health, and if we don’t take action it will affect us in both our professional and personal lives.”

Natalie became involved in the climate movement after the federal election in May.

“I realised that each person had to step up and actually start to make some real change. I’ve always cared about sustainability but like many other people I was very passive in the way that I was acting on that, so I would not use plastic straws and I bought myself a keep cup.”

Climate change already impacting on health

Sarah invited her to a climate and health workshop earlier this year. It was an “eye opener”, says Natalie. “I always knew generally about how climate change will affect us, but I never put two and two together about how it will affect health. It really blew my mind that we are already seeing the impacts of this.”

“I think what really astonished me the most… at the workshop was hearing Dr Kim Loo, a general practitioner who spoke about how air pollution is already effecting health.”

“Air pollution is affecting pregnant women, children, and people who already have respiratory illnesses and people with chronic illnesses. With pregnant women there is a direct correlation with air pollution and low birth weight babies,” Natalie says.

“I have a particular interest in midwifery and pediatrics. I hope to go on and study midwifery, and for me to know that patients that I am going to look after in the future are going to be seeing the effects of air pollution, and I am going to be the one to have to explain to my patients … I didn’t want to be the one to 
do that without knowing I had 
taken action.”

Natalie also has a very personal reason to be concerned about climate change. “In high school I went to 
the doctors and found out I had a mild form of asthma. As a future health professional I didn’t even know that it was linked to my own illness. There is no family history of asthma in my family, and that asthma has just gotten worse to the extent that I have to carry around a puffer every day, and this is just becoming more common.”

“Many other people, and probably future patients of mine, will probably have far worse effects from climate change than I will. As a student nurse I feel like I can’t sit back and let it happen without doing as much as I can.

Sarah also only recently became active in the climate change movement. “I’ve been quite engaged in politics and social movements since I left high school … but over the last year or so there has been a bit of a groundswell over climate change. When I understood more about the health effects I thought I might be able to get more involved.”

“As future health professionals, you are told to advocate for your patients. I think for me the fact that [climate change] will affect people with chronic illness was quite unsettling,” says Sarah.

Sarah and Natalie have organised more forums at the University where doctors and climate activists have spoken to students about how climate change is impacting health.

Sarah says: “Most students are supportive too. They have heard about the climate strike because of the last two strikes. People generally know about climate change and they know it is an issue we have to get on top of.”

Over 70,000 students and workers turned out in Sydney’s Domain in support of the School Strike 4 Climate.

“It was a great turnout! Everyone we spoke to along the way was filled with excitement and passion. Everyone was overwhelmed with the sheer number of people marching and impressed by the enthusiasm of the student strikers.

The impressions throughout the day were of overwhelming support. When we passed the Sydney Eye Hospital, we had nurses come out onto the balconies cheering us on and waving down to us as we waved our nursing students banner.” Natalie Murray told The Lamp.

Our kids’ strike for climate deserves our support

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When school kids are brave enough to “tell it like it is” and their claims on climate change are overwhelmingly backed by science, maybe its time for their elders to listen and to offer their support.

In the feverish and dysfunctional debate over climate change that has taken place in Australia over the last decade it is easy to lose sight of what should be the decisive factor: the overwhelming scientific evidence that shows climate change poses an existential threat to humanity.

That evidence has steadily accumulated as more and more resources have been put into research and the tone of the scientific message has turned to alarm as the sheer magnitude of the emergency becomes clearer and clearer.

Without urgent and substantive change, calamity awaits.

The power and influence of highly-placed climate sceptics in the Morrison government and the media, particularly the Murdoch press, means this message has been effectively obfuscated in Australia.

But while these apologists for inaction on climate change can grandstand with their lumps of coal in parliament, or abuse their power on the airwaves to demonise children fighting for their future, the inconvenient truth remains: the planet continues to warm dangerously and that change is accelerating. 

This is important for nurses and midwives because climate change ultimately manifests itself in deteriorating health. It is a core issue for health practitioners.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has put this clearly: “We cannot delay on climate change. We cannot sleepwalk through this health emergency any longer.”

Before the last federal election there were clear signs that the sands were shifting and that a clear majority of Australians were supportive of significant action on climate change.

The election result dampened this optimism with the status quo maintained at the government  level.

But this is no reason to give up the fight. Elections are not the only pressure point for change.

Remarkably, leadership on this issue has come from an unlikely source – our kids.

On 20 September, school children around the world will again strike to save our planet from environmental catastrophe. They have asked older generations to join them.

The Australian union movement, including the NSWNMA, has committed its support.

In striking for substantive action on climate change our kids are also striking for health and I would urge all nurses and midwives to support  them by attending in person or taking some action during your breaks at work via social media in supporting their inspirational stand.

Concerns about staffing aren’t being addressed

Over the last month, throughout the state, our members have been telling us of severe shortages of nurses and midwives in our public hospitals.

At Campbelltown, Concord and Maitland the frustration of nurses and midwives led to well-attended rallies where our members alerted their local communities to the risk of errors or incidents from inadequate staffing.

While winter is always a time when the capacity of our public hospitals is tested with a pronounced spike in demand it would be disingenuous to attribute the problems solely to this.

Our members have spent months raising their concerns about staffing levels in reasonable workloads committees. These concerns have not been adequately addressed.

They are feeling fatigued, are experiencing burnout and feel unsupported by management. They are losing confidence in the current processes for addressing staffing shortages and genuinely fear for patients’ safety.

These problems have been obvious for a long time. The state government recognised this when it made an election promise to bring more nurses and midwives into the public health system. It feels like a promise to give with one hand and take with another.

The government and local managements should heed what nurses and midwives are now telling them: these resources are needed now.

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