Click on the pic to see a larger version of this photo (I couldn't fit the entire crowd in one photo so this is my attempt to join two photos together).
Every now and then, I emerge from my blogging dungeon (think Lion King "blinking step into the sun"). What tempted me out the front door today was Brisbane finally having a Rally for Climate Action. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have had their fun - it was time for Brisvegas to strut our stuff and show our nation's leaders that we demand climate action. I was not the only one - an estimated 4000+ people crammed into King George Square in the heart of the city.
Click on the pic to see a larger version of this photo (I couldn't fit the entire crowd in one photo so this is my attempt to join two photos together).
Another attendee was fellow Queenslander, Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swann. He was closely followed by a few ominous bodyguards with ear pieces but I got close enough to snap a few shots of him addressing the media (amazing how quickly the placards assembled behind him once the cameras started rolling).
Another reason I was keen to attend the rally is I have a fascination with rally placards. There was an infamous climate denier rally a few weeks back in Canberra, with some particularly ugly messages on placards. The mood at this rally, however, was extremely positive.
There was the patriotically poetic (for non-Aussies, the original line from the iconic poem is "I love a sunburnt country"):
There were the gratuitiously cute (the event was billed as a family friendly rally):
There was creative artwork on display:
A couple of bright placards stood out from the rest:
This one was just plain bewildering:
A few carried similar themes (if I did a placard, it would probably be a geeky one that talked about 95% correlation or my pet topic of human fingerprints):
It's not a public rally unless a guy in a big, furry suit attempts to communicate by metaphor (but I did miss the AYCC Climate Elephant):
And this is probably my favourite placard of the day:
It was a great experience, sharing the day with thousands of fellow Brisbanites passionate about climate, the future of our country and the world we're handing over to our children.
Now back to the blogging dungeon...
Posted by John Cook on Saturday, 9 April, 2011
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