XRSA February Newsletter

Greetings Rebels,

Welcome to the first XRSA Newsletter for 2022. We hope this email finds you safe and well.

2021 was a big year for XRSA. We held 65+ actions and co-hosted South Australia’s first Climate Action festival with other like-minded organisations. Amazing! You can checkout some photo highlights here.

We’re back and ready to make 2022 even bigger. Rebels kicked off the year with actions at the Santos Festival of Cycling (more below) and will be supporting both Ronny and Mai as they return to court in the coming days.

While we know that both major parties are captured by the fossil fuel industry, the upcoming state and federal elections provide opportunities to keep the climate and ecological crisis front and center. Planning is already underway for a series of actions in the lead up to the state election in March. Join us later this month for our All-In Meeting to get involved! Make it a priority to be there.

Next Steps for New Rebels

Watch the Heading for Extinction Presentation (upcoming event, recording)
Get trained in non-violent civil disobedience
Hit the streets! Join us as we support rebels in court (details below)
Join us for our All-In Meeting later this month
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
If possible, support us through a once off or recurring donation.

Pilliga Project

Rebels from XR Sydney have put together a documentary on the destructive Santos Narrabri Gas Project. Beyond the extreme emissions, the project involves clearing parts of the Pilliga Forrest for 850 gas wells that put at risk both ground water and food security.

The documentary premiered last month and is available to watch online. The creators are keen to get the word out so please share it with your friends (maybe watch it together?). If you’re keen to organise a screening in your local community then please get in touch.

Santos Festival of Cycling

In the lead up to the Santos Festival of Cycling (usually Tour Down Under) rebels announced their intention to perform road blocks and safely stop the race. As fossil fuel companies continue to ‘sportswash’ major events, our intention was to increase the cost of accepting fossil fuel sponsorship while also keeping public pressure on Santos.

While our initial observations of multiple sites suggested we could safely perform certain types of blocks, later observations during race conditions highlighted concerns that could not be safely resolved. Rebels waited until after the final race to reveal their decision keeping the pressure on both Santos and Events SA.

Instead rebels, working with our allies at Fossil Free SA, maintained a consistent presence throughout the festival. We received strong support both the public, cyclists and participants. It was clear on the ground that our announcement had reverberated throughout the event. Our actions were met with an excessive police presence, threats of excessive fines from Events SA staff for simply holding banners, long ad-breaks during the live broadcast as cyclists rode past our actions and updates to the Major Events Act following the announcement.

In 2023 Events SA will decide whether they continue with the naming rights sponsorship.