I felt the intensity of this event as the air was filled with smoke making it difficult to breathe. My family and I had to wear masks purely because of the effect of the bushfires.
Gisborne South, VIC
Hi my name is Shaun, and I am a university student currently living in regional Victoria. I am 21 years old and for most of my life I lived in Melbourne, Victoria. Recently my family and I moved out to Gisborne South which is considered regional Victoria however is still somewhat close to Melbourne city. Personally, I have not felt any serious impact as a result of natural events causing harm, however I have definitely seen the repercussions of not acting to reduce climate change. It is something that I am deeply concerned by especially considering Australia’s current stance on it and their lack of action to prevent it from causing irreversible damage.
In 2020 – like many other Australians – I felt the first-hand severity of climate change. The bushfires happening around Australia were causing harm across the country, with Melbourne CBD covered in smoke. I felt the intensity of this event as the air was filled with smoke making it difficult to breathe. My family and I had to wear masks purely because of the effect of the bushfires. Because of this, I limited how often I left the house because I wanted to prevent breathing in such polluted air as much as I could. My dad has asthma and it was upsetting seeing him breathe with so much difficulty. I vividly remember scrolling through my phone and seeing so much media of people’s homes being burnt down and our natural habitat being destroyed. Most upsetting for
me was seeing all the innocent animals harmed by the bushfires. That period was definitely hard and I remember feeling so down every day that the fires continued.
The bushfires were the first time I really felt the disastrous consequences of climate change and it really made me think hard about what is coming next. My view is that there has not been much action taken to combat climate change and as a result catastrophic events like this will continue to occur. At times I feel overwhelmed about the future I will be living in and the future of generations to come. On top of all the problems university students like myself face every day, anxiousness about climate change and the certainty of our futures should not be one. Although I do think everyone has a part to play, I hold large corporations and the government most responsible and sincerely hope that they take necessary action to help secure our future.
Hundreds of people from across the country are sharing their stories to send a clear message to the Australian government - it's time for real action on climate change.
Every story appears as a point on this map. Click around to read how climate change is affecting our communities, and add your own story to the map.
I studied Construction Management with the intention of helping implement greener construction practices, meaning my studies had a huge focus on sustainability and what risks global warming poses to our crucial infrastructure. While I was at uni I worked in the “Large Loss” team for John’s Lyng Group, an insurance builder. It was 2020, at the time we were still rebuilding claims from bushfires, floods, and cyclones from 2, 3, 4 years prior when the black summer and floods hit the east coast. Our company had grown from 20 people to 50+ in the year prior to me starting because we were growing more and more snowed under with claims. We already lack the capacity to handle the natural disasters we’re currently facing. The governments arrogance and complacency on global warming is equal to murder in my eyes.
Read my storyPeople all across Australia are being harmed by climate change. These are some of their stories.
We're reviewing your story now. As soon as it's up on the website we'll send you an email to let you know. We need as many people as possible to share their climate stories - so we can show the government that Australians need urgent climate action. Will you spread the word by sharing this campaign on social media?
Share on Instagram Share on Twitter Share on FacebookWill you stand with us and share your story of how climate change is affecting you, your family and your community?
It doesn't matter how big or small the impact you've felt - everyone's story is important.
Together we can show the government that taking real climate action is in everyone’s interest.
