Speaker 1: I grew up in a family that was the environmentally conscious,
Speaker 1: living in the Central Highlands near Hillsville, beautiful Mountainnash Forests,
Speaker 1: which air yeah, some of the most carbon dense forests
Speaker 1: in the world. As a year sixer, I didn't really
Speaker 1: know that. I just thought it was a beautiful place
Speaker 1: to live, and in year six experience the Black Saturday bushfires.
Speaker 2: Well, there's simply no way of underestimating the fires threat
Speaker 2: Victoria is facing over the next twenty four hours.
Speaker 3: Or so during Saturday, a gale force north wind will
Speaker 3: combined with extreme heat, and that's not a good combination
Speaker 3: in terms of fire potential. February seventh, two thousand and
Speaker 3: nine was soon to be known as Black Saturday, the
Speaker 3: day the menacing threat turned into a catastrophic event. The
Speaker 3: bushfires that toll through Victoria that day destroyed life, property,
Speaker 3: and changed forever all those who survived the fiercest firestorm
Speaker 3: since my records began. Ketter o'donnald wasn't even get a teenager,
Speaker 3: but she remembers it all too well.
Speaker 1: I remember the sky just being dark and deep red
Speaker 1: really with this smoke, and me and my brother are
Speaker 1: actually running around trying to catch these huge pieces of
Speaker 1: bark that were falling from the sky. They were so
Speaker 1: just smoldering, But it's strange in those moments.
Speaker 4: What you actually end up doing.
Speaker 1: That event would be huge, but it was the coming
Speaker 1: weeks and days afterwards where we found out that our
Speaker 1: friends had lost family members and houses and school didn't
Speaker 1: return for weeks, and you know a lot of my
Speaker 1: friends are still grieving, will forever grieve their family that
Speaker 1: they lost.
Speaker 4: You know, that was supposed to be once.
Speaker 1: In a lifetime event, but it was only not that
Speaker 1: long A few years later that experienced another once in
Speaker 1: a lifetime event.
Speaker 5: It's been labeled the worst five season ever recorded, and
Speaker 5: Apocalypse a nightmare and like looking into the gates of
Speaker 5: Hell from the New South Wales's Victoria border all the
Speaker 5: way to the central coast and nine Blazers reached emergency
Speaker 5: warning level. Today, here's what we're not And.
Speaker 1: I don't even know, feel like we stop counting them now.
Speaker 1: They're just happening all the time. But yeah, it's scary
Speaker 1: to think that that level of trauma and that level
Speaker 1: of impact on a community is just going to be
Speaker 1: so common.
Speaker 3: Catta stopped counting these ones in a lifetime events, but
Speaker 3: they stayed with her. She has dedicated herself to raising
Speaker 3: collective consciousness on the escalating threat of climate change, first
Speaker 3: by suing the federal government and now by trying to
Speaker 3: bring attention to the issue by putting her body on
Speaker 3: the line. From Schwarts Media, I'm Daniel James. This is
Speaker 3: seven AM today climate activist catter O'Donnell and why she
Speaker 3: thinks direct action is our only option. It's Friday, July
Speaker 3: twenty sixth, Katitt. What was your first move in trying
Speaker 3: to have an impact on climate change itself?
Speaker 4: I guess I started because I lived in the forest.
Speaker 1: I realized a pretty direct threat to the forest was
Speaker 1: logging that was going on in my area in the
Speaker 1: Central Highlands.
Speaker 4: It's very big issue there.
Speaker 1: I joined a few forest protection groups like Forest Conservation
Speaker 1: Victoria and King like Friends of the Forest, and you know,
Speaker 1: at the same time as doing activism, I was also
Speaker 1: just going about my life. I because at school, and
Speaker 1: then I finished school and I was able to get
Speaker 1: into like a law degree. And one day we had
Speaker 1: a guest lecture in a climate law class. David Bardon
Speaker 1: came in and he was giving a lecture on the
Speaker 1: financial risks of the climate crisis, and I it was
Speaker 1: pretty inspired by him and thought that it was really
Speaker 1: incredible to see someone, you know, working in the league
Speaker 1: world that was really strategically trying to focus on how
Speaker 1: we could respond to the climate. Actually ended up volunteering
Speaker 1: for him for a few months and in that time
Speaker 1: we sort of developed the court case against the government.
Speaker 3: Tell us about the court case, well, was at the
Speaker 3: heart of it.
Speaker 1: The heart of it was a public interest case, It
Speaker 1: was a class action and really all it was was
Speaker 1: really trying to get the government to tell the truth
Speaker 1: about the risks of the climate crisis and say that
Speaker 1: it's going to be a risk to the economy.
Speaker 4: The heart of it was actually government bonds.
Speaker 1: It's a very crucial thing to the way that this country,
Speaker 1: the government operates, but it's quite unknown to a lot
Speaker 1: of people.
Speaker 2: Our world first case is underway in the Federal Court
Speaker 2: accusing the Australian government of failing to disclose how climate
Speaker 2: change will impact the value of government bonds. The claim
Speaker 2: was filed yesterday and alleges that Australia's economy and the
Speaker 2: nation's reputation in international financial markets will be significantly affected
Speaker 2: by the adequacy of the government's response to climate change.
Speaker 1: I guess it's just pretty clear that in that time
Speaker 1: the economy would have suffered a lot from the climate
Speaker 1: and we were just saying that the government needed to
Speaker 1: be honest and tell the truth and say that the
Speaker 1: economy was going to be interpacted and it might impact
Speaker 1: the value of people's government bonds, and that they had
Speaker 1: to write a disclosure about that.
Speaker 3: If we surprised with the amount of publicity the case
Speaker 3: generated during the heart of COVID in particular.
Speaker 1: I definitely didn't expect it to have so much interest,
Speaker 1: But yeah, the day we fired it was just as crazy.
Speaker 1: For a few days, there was just constant media. An
Speaker 1: Australian law student has taken the government to court over
Speaker 1: a climate change Twenty three year old Kata Or Donald
Speaker 1: says the government is deceiving. I was in the New
Speaker 1: York Times and radio and it was pretty full. And
Speaker 1: then yeah, for the next few months it just got
Speaker 1: a little attention and it made me sort of realize
Speaker 1: that people are really concerned about this. You know, we're
Speaker 1: all realizing how much our lives are going to be impacted.
Speaker 3: So in terms of the court case, you went to
Speaker 3: mediation and you won. How did that feel? What was
Speaker 3: mediation like when you're staring down government lawyers and negotiating
Speaker 3: with them for an outcome? How did that feel? And
Speaker 3: how did it feel to win after that?
Speaker 4: Yeah, in ways, it felt great. It was there.
Speaker 1: He had been three and a half years since we
Speaker 1: started the court case, so it was a huge relief
Speaker 1: for it to be over and for the outcome to
Speaker 1: be successful. But it was really conflicting because I had
Speaker 1: put so much effort into it, and in the end,
Speaker 1: it felt like the outcome was just some words on
Speaker 1: a bit of paper, not even a physical bit of favor,
Speaker 1: just on the Department of Treasuries website, And it felt
Speaker 1: like the government could just say those words and then
Speaker 1: just leave them sitting on the website and not have
Speaker 1: to do anything about them. And it just contributed to
Speaker 1: that feeling of helplessness that you know, you could go
Speaker 1: to this level of effort, you could sue the government
Speaker 1: to tell the truth, and then the truth is out there,
Speaker 1: but we still see no action or change in behavior.
Speaker 3: After the break kind of puts it all on the line.
Speaker 1: It's not like you're going wanting to break the law
Speaker 1: it's just like you're going wanting to take action, and
Speaker 1: unfortunately it's a bit of a side effect that it's.
Speaker 4: Breaking the law.
Speaker 3: How do you sue? The government won a huge victory
Speaker 3: by any measure, but I left. You're feeling disillusioned. Can
Speaker 3: you walk me through the day you really decided to
Speaker 3: step it up.
Speaker 1: I realized that the government wasn't being active in trying
Speaker 1: to find solutions, they were just continuing with their behavior.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I looked for groups of people that were
Speaker 1: trying to be active, like lock A Australia, which I
Speaker 1: took this action with. It was a very big day.
Speaker 1: Started off very early. I think I've recover at two thirty.
Speaker 1: It's one of those sleeps. I wasn't really very asleep anyway,
Speaker 1: and then arrived in the dark, set it all up
Speaker 1: to the all the safety measures and yeah, and then
Speaker 1: as the sun was rising, Yeah, I just found myself
Speaker 1: in a produced, surreal position with live stream it as
Speaker 1: a bit of safety for ourselves but also so people
Speaker 1: can see what's going on. Good morning. My name's Katta,
Speaker 1: and this morning I am on a traverse which is
Speaker 1: hanging across this rail line that is blocking coal trains.
Speaker 1: Going to the Newcastle Coldport. Wow, it's.
Speaker 4: Because's very significant to be up here. It's very beautiful morning.
Speaker 1: We'd called the trains and told them that there was
Speaker 1: an abstraction on the track and.
Speaker 4: There's two train lines going in through there, and yeah, the.
Speaker 1: Trains come about every ten minutes and they're almost a
Speaker 1: column a long full of coal. It's just being dug
Speaker 1: up all around this area. And yet going to the
Speaker 1: port of Newcastle, which is the largest coal port in
Speaker 1: the world today. And then the police arrived maybe twenty
Speaker 1: minutes later, you're arcus. Yeah, they just came and told
Speaker 1: me that I was committing offense if I didn't leave,
Speaker 1: and was I going to get down? And then suddenly
Speaker 1: like the police trying to sort out how to get
Speaker 1: you down. So there was a few different ways they
Speaker 1: tried to get me down. They tried to bring in
Speaker 1: a terry picker. Okay, I'm just moving along my line
Speaker 1: so that the picker can't ut me. But I guess
Speaker 1: part of what I was trying to do was stay
Speaker 1: out of their way. So I actually just when they
Speaker 1: brought the terrific, I just moved along the line a
Speaker 1: little bit. And then they in a different sort of
Speaker 1: crane on the train tracks, and they ended up retentioning
Speaker 1: my line so that they could lower me down.
Speaker 4: They're putting a lot more attention on the road.
Speaker 1: I love a bit cautious about and when I'm moving.
Speaker 4: Been quite sad.
Speaker 1: When I got to the ground the police told me
Speaker 1: I was under arrest. I've never had any intervections really
Speaker 1: that much with the police before. I'd never been, never
Speaker 1: been arrested for anything. It's a very strange situation to
Speaker 1: be and here suddenly in the hands of the police, searched,
Speaker 1: asked if I had any weapons, which of course I
Speaker 1: didn't put in the back of the police car. You're
Speaker 1: just not really in control of what happens anymore. And
Speaker 1: then yet driven to a police station, put in a
Speaker 1: little cell. That's awful there, It's awful being confronted with
Speaker 1: the violence of this system and how people are treated
Speaker 1: by the police in ways. I think I was treated
Speaker 1: pretty well, and that sort of made me feel gross
Speaker 1: because I am, you know, white blonde hair.
Speaker 4: But I could see that it could very easily turn.
Speaker 3: So can you tell us a little bit more about
Speaker 3: your case, how that apply it and where is it
Speaker 3: up to now?
Speaker 1: I was charged this to offenses of trespass and obstructing
Speaker 1: a locomotive so a rail and I played guilty to
Speaker 1: both of those offenses because that's what I was doing.
Speaker 1: And yeah, so the magistrate gave me two convictions and
Speaker 1: a one thousand dollar find for the abstraction and a
Speaker 1: three hundred dollars fine for the trespass. And from what
Speaker 1: I know, it's pretty unusual to get convictions on a
Speaker 1: first time offense, especially an offense like this. So I'm
Speaker 1: going to appeal the convictions because that's what stays on
Speaker 1: your record. And I know that an issue a lot
Speaker 1: of the time with taking action like this is that
Speaker 1: you're then stuck with legal.
Speaker 4: Consequences for a long time.
Speaker 1: And some other people have even been given prison sentence
Speaker 1: in the days after me for doing a similar thing.
Speaker 1: And that's really scary to know that it just depends
Speaker 1: where you are in the timeline of events, that things
Speaker 1: can change so quickly. It's awful to see that happen
Speaker 1: to people who you know are just trying to do
Speaker 1: the same.
Speaker 3: Thing as you know a better. The most direct action
Speaker 3: can be incredibly divisive. Even though supportive of climate change
Speaker 3: off and rail against the inconvenience it can involve. Does
Speaker 3: public dedition couple with an often hostile media environment undermine
Speaker 3: the action you want governments and society as a whole
Speaker 3: to take to address climate change.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really chicky idealistically, just wish it wasn't such
Speaker 1: a divisive issue, because we really all should be united
Speaker 1: on wanting to respond to the climate crisis. But it's
Speaker 1: really hard at the moment because it is people that
Speaker 1: often work in the industry that we're saying is causing
Speaker 1: so much damage. That's fair enough that people get angry,
Speaker 1: and I just think that our responsor that shouldn't be
Speaker 1: that we start doing our work. I think it should
Speaker 1: be that we're supporting workers and the industry to transition
Speaker 1: away from what's currently happening.
Speaker 3: Would you be prepared to do it again?
Speaker 4: I really don't want to.
Speaker 1: It was a big day and the legal consequences just
Speaker 1: add up and the consequences get worse. But yeah, if
Speaker 1: I thought that it was going to be productive and
Speaker 1: make progress for the climate, then I would do it.
Speaker 3: Cutter O'Donnell, thank you for your time.
Speaker 4: Thank you, it's great to speak.
Speaker 3: Also in the news, Minister for Indigenous Australians. Linda Bernie
Speaker 3: has announced her retirement from politics at the next election.
Speaker 3: An emotional press conference yesterday, Bernie said it was time
Speaker 3: for her to pass the baton and while the Voice
Speaker 3: referendum didn't turn out as hoped, she thinks history will
Speaker 3: treat it kindly. Bernie became the first Aboriginal woman to
Speaker 3: be elected to the House of Representatives in twenty sixteen,
Speaker 3: and in twenty twenty two became the first Aboriginal woman
Speaker 3: to serve as Minister for Indigenous Australians. Skills and Training.
Speaker 3: Minister Brendan O'Connor also announced he will be resigning at
Speaker 3: the next election as Prime Minister Albanesi e as a
Speaker 3: cabinet reshuffle and Rupert Murdoch has secretly been trying to
Speaker 3: hand control of his media empire to his eldest son, Lachlan.
Speaker 3: Legal documents seen by The New York Times show that
Speaker 3: Rupert has mounted a legal case to change the terms
Speaker 3: of the family trust, which currently splits his children's inheritance
Speaker 3: of the companies evenly between the siblings. Lochlan Murdoch became
Speaker 3: chair of News Corporation and Fox Corporation last November after
Speaker 3: Rupert announced his retirement. He scene is more ideologically right
Speaker 3: wing than his siblings, James and Elizabeth, and recently oversaw
Speaker 3: a restructure of the company's Australian newspaper holdings, which led
Speaker 3: to mass redundancies. Seven Am as a day show from
Speaker 3: Schwartz Media on the Saturday paper. If you like what
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Speaker 3: a friend. Seven Am is hosted by Ruby Jones and
Speaker 3: me Daniel James. Is produced by Kara Jensen McKinnon, Shane Anderson,
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Speaker 3: Our technical producer is Adigus Bastow. Sarah mcvee is a
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Speaker 3: Mixing by Travis Evans, Attigus Bastow and Zultan Fetcho. Our
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Speaker 3: you next week.