AAP
Tens of thousands of protesters - and a few sceptics - have taken to the streets across Australia to urge the major political parties to take action on climate change.



This timeline charts the growth of the environmental protest movement from 1969 until 1998. The events selected have been chosen for their national significance or for the unusual methods of protest used by activists. Some of the protests included on the timeline succeeded in achieving their aims; others did not. Australians were taking to the streets in protest on a mass scale in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Students were calling for an end to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war and the abolition of conscription. Women were demanding equal pay, equal access to employment, access to child care and an end to sexism. The anti-apartheid movement was gaining support and Aboriginal activists were demanding land rights, equality of access to education, employment opportunities and an end to discrimination based on race.
The environmental movement began to gain momentum during this period, when public protest became a popular and accepted method of campaigning for social change. The evolution of the Green Bans in 1971 saw the beginnings of new forms of environmental activism in Australia.
Moratorium March Moratorium march, Sydney, 1970

Anti-nuclear rally


1995 Mururoa


Destruction of South East Forests
M2 Tollway
The construction of the M2 Tollway in the north-western suburbs of Sydney was opposed by local residents, environmentalists and advocates for public transport. Its construction destroyed more than 115,000 trees in rare urban bushland and polluted or concreted over 2 river systems and 7 creeks. 250 homes were compulsorily acquired and demolished, and a number of Aboriginal sacred sites at Devlins Creek were destroyed.