Solo walker stops by

Members of the Benalla Sustainable Futures Group (BSFG) are looking forward to welcoming Shannon on Saturday, April27, with a special event at the John Cooper Hall, Benalla Uniting church on Carrier St.

Benalla Sustainable Futures Group president Peter Maddock said he was pleased the group could assist Shannon on his journey.

‘‘We are having a stall at the lakeside market on the day of his arrival. We’ll be there from 9am,’’ Mr Maddock said.

‘‘We will be collecting signatures for his petition whilst there.

‘‘And we’re organising a welcome to Benalla for Shannon, which will be at the John Cooper Hall from 4pm on Saturday.

‘‘The Benalla food co-op will also be open that morning, and they will also have a copy of the petition if anyone wants to sign it.’’

The petition in question is being carried by Shannon on his walk from Coburg to Canberra.

‘‘The purpose of the petition is to let our leaders know what communities think of climate inaction,’’ Shannon said.

‘‘I’ve been calling the walk community powered as I am relying on the communities I pass through to help.

‘‘It will just be me walking (so) it’s important that I have help along the way.’’

The type of help that communities are offering, for example, is a place to stay, and home-cooked meals.

And Mr Maddock confirmed Benalla Sustainable Futures Group members had agreed to give Shannon a bed for the night before he set off on the next leg of his journey, which will see him head for Chiltern via Wangaratta.

Shannon said he came up with the idea to take a petition to Canberra after growing increasingly frustrated with government inaction with regards to climate change.

‘‘I was doing some reading about climate change as a new year’s resolution. I think a lot of people can relate to the idea of knowing climate change is happening, but also thinking there is not much they can do about it,’’ he said.

‘‘So I decided I would do something. I started reading a lot and it became apparent, the more I read, that I knew I could do something.

‘‘I come from a family that is very forthright in speaking up if something is wrong. So the idea of a walk seemed really immediate, and a way I could address something that I know is wrong.’’

While more than 97 per cent of climate scientists agree that man-made climate change is occurring, that figure drops significantly when it comes to elected representatives.

And Shannon hopes presenting a petition that is signed by communities across Victoria might at least have some effect on Australia’s policy makers.

‘‘It’s the biggest crisis of our time,’’ Shannon said.

‘‘A UN intergovernmental panel on climate change recently said we only have 12 years left to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

‘‘In Australia we’ve already seen an increase in fires and floods, for example, but it extends to food scarcity and increased refugee movement.

‘‘We need to act urgently, but unfortunately our government doesn’t seem to take it seriously, so it’s high time we do.’’