IT was a match made in heaven – in the eyes of one Border environmental group.
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Baroness von Filthy Polluting Fossil Fuel was to wed Mr Desperate for Donations Politician.
The ceremony went swimmingly, aside from the microphone cutting out and the bride turning up late.
The protest outside Farrer MP Sussan Ley’s office was organised by Wodonga Albury Toward Climate Health group, which is not associated with any political party.
Wedding MC Lauriston Muirhead said the demonstration’s aim was to underline his claim the federal government provided $7.7 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry this financial year.
Mr Muirhead told The Border Mail an over-the-top protest was intentional.
“Often the arts, theatre and a bit of fun have a much more powerful impact than a boring equation on a blackboard,” he said.
“We’re using a theatrical occasion to get across this very serious message that Australia needs to change for a renewable future.”
But Mr Muirhead argued political donations were standing in the way of Australia shifting away from industries such as coal.
“They’re very much intertwined,” he said.
“We protest against the donations because what that tends to do is possibly encourage politicians to give these big subsidies back to the industry.”
Bride Bridget Doyle said she was involved in the protest to underline the relationship between politicians and fossil fuel companies.
“We think it’s pretty obscene that in return for party donations a really filthy energy source gets lots and lots of subsidies,” she said.
When asked about families’ income reliant on fossil fuel companies, groom James Sloane said those workers could be re-employed in the renewable sector.
“Renewable energy is the future – not fossil fuels,” he said.
“California, for example, is now producing most of their energy from renewables and employing a lot more people.”
Mr Muirhead said his group had met with Farrer MP Sussan Ley in her office several times over the past decade.
“Politicians tend to toe the party line,” he said. “If the party is receiving significant donations I think it makes it awkward for the status quo to change.”
Ms Ley was contacted but did not provide comment.