Image source Gordon Johnson from pixarbay.com.
REVOLT
Closing Performance
Serendipitously timed on Earth Day, led by Dr Lara Stevens and co-starring Zachary Hart, along with an ensemble of young climate performers, a part-scripted, part-interactive performance based on Australia’s ‘revolutionary ruling’ (2021) that leaders have a common law duty of care to protect young people’s futures from harms caused by climate change and the former Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley’s successful Appeal (2022) of it.
In response to a class action lawsuit taken by eight young people aged between 13 and 17 (launched in (2020) Justice Mordecai Bromberg found that the Federal Environment Minister has a common law duty of care for young people and cannot approve actions that will increase greenhouse emissions that will make climate change worse (such as the approval of projects to dig up and burn more coal) because this will harm them in the future. This ‘world-first’ ruling led to media headlines all around the world (2021).
Following Australia’s former Environment Minister Sussan Ley’s Appeal of Bromberg’s decision, it was overturned by the full bench of the Federal Court on the grounds that, while the evidence of climate change and its dangers to humanity was not disputed, the environment minister did not have a duty of care to Australia’s children. An Appeal in the High Court is expected but when…
In the context of the Climate Emergency and drawing on historical references to so-called law, the REVOLT Performance will interrogate the notion of justice.
When: Saturday 22 April 2023/Earth Day, 5 – 7pm
Where: CLIMARTE Gallery, 120 Bridge Road, Richmond.
CLIMARTE is proud to be collaborating with the Towards an Australian Ecological Theatre ARC Discovery Project based in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne.
REVOLT Exhibition details are here.