THE site of the proposed Adani coal mine and railway is about 2000 kilometres from the Mount Alexander Shire.
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But a group of the shire residents believe its effects would be felt far and wide.
Eleven members of the Central Victorian Climate Action group will travel to Queensland next month to partake in a blockade in protest against Adani’s plans.
They include two grandmothers, three parents, five high school students – two of which are completing their VCE – and a primary school student.
Castlemaine Secondary College VCE student Charlie Bell Wilcock was concerned the coal mine would be ruinous for both the Great Barrier Reef and his generation.
“It seems like it is up to young people - ordinary, everyday people - to put ourselves in the way to stop a billionaire building the largest coal mine in the southern hemisphere,” he said.
“We have written letters, taken part in inquiries, gone to meetings, spoken out and voted, but our MPs aren’t listening.”
Members of the central Victorian blockade contingent are aware they could be arrested and face repercussions, including high fines, for civil disobedience.
Chewton grandmother Liz Heath said some of the people who had been protesting had been fined large sums of money.
“But we aren’t deterred, we are looking forward to doing our part to stop this mine,” she said.
The Central Victorian Climate Action group said the impact of climate change was obvious and being noted across the world.
“Why are our politicians supporting Adani’s mine when the vast majority of Australians don’t want it, and scientists are urging us to keep coal in the ground to avoid more dangerous climate change?” Charlie said.