Another mass student-led march will be held across Australia today following news Adani would self-fund its controversial coal mine in Queensland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It comes after thousands of students copped criticism from politicians including Prime Minister Scott Morrison for\u00a0skipping school last week to attend climate change rallies instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it seems many Australians don\u2019t agree with Mr Morrison\u2019s comments that there should be \u201cmore learning in schools and less activism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New national ReachTel polling conducted after the Student Strike for Climate Action revealed widespread support for the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition released results from the survey of 2345 people, which found 62.7 per cent thought school students had a right to demand action from the Government on climate change. Among Labor voters, this rose to 86.4 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of 58.1 per cent also thought the Labor Party should show leadership on climate change and oppose Adani\u2019s coal mine, including 80.7 per cent of Labor voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, students have invited adults to join them at March for Our Future rallies in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns after\u00a0Adani announced it would self-fund its mine\u00a0and start work before Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis new poll shows Australians support the students\u2019 actions and that the Prime Minister\u2019s attacks on the kids are mean-spirited and out-of-step with public opinion,\u201d Australian Youth Climate Coalition national director Gemma Borgo-Caratti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe poll also puts Bill Shorten on notice that a clear majority of Australians, and the vast majority of Labor voters, want him to act to stop the Adani mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLabor voters want strong leadership on climate change, not a would-be prime minister who says the Adani coal mine would make no difference to carbon emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean Hinchliffe, 14, said students would continue to push governments to act on climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to stop until change is made,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said young people around Australia were working on big plans for the school holidays and for 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rallies on Saturday will be to protest against the Adani coal mine and Jean said they were opposed to the use of coal for electricity and were also against the development because of the potential impact on the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will drive Australia and the rest of the world away from a sustainable future and that\u2019s something we don\u2019t agree with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYoung people will not stand by and let Adani dig its mine, or let politicians get away with waving through a project which will destroy our future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cClimate change is breathing down our necks. We\u2019re fired up and ready to do whatever it takes to stop Adani.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This weekend\u2019s protests follow a nationwide student strike last week\u00a0followed by a \u201csit-in\u201d inside the lobby of Parliament House\u00a0this week. High school students staged the protest after their requests to speak with the Prime Minister about climate change were ignored \u2014 and it earnt them a three-month ban from the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the day, Mr Morrison said he would sit down with the school students, a week after he criticised them for skipping school to stage the national strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m always happy to listen. I respect everybody\u2019s views,\u201d he told reporters on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t always have to agree on everything, you know, but we do have to respect each other and we do have to take each other\u2019s views seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the PM\u2019s words, he\u2019s yet to meet with the 100-strong student group, whose protest was moved to the lawns outside Parliament House by security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crossbench MP Kerryn Phelps and Greens senator Jordon Steele-John both took time to meet with the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n