Fight the Future: Environmental Activist & UTS Human Rights Award Winner, Holly Creenaune...

Published from the original

Story by: Wenee Yap
December 17, 2007.


Eight-thirty pm, Saturday 24th November, 2007. Some wept, some wailed; others cracked open wine bottles with the special-ordered label: Howard's End. Whether you love or hate politics, this time marked the end of an era. Unionists binned WorkChoices on the nightly news. High-ranking Liberals toppled - or were pushed over - like dominoes. Signing Kyoto was just around the corner; Australia was going to come in from the cold on climate change.

For environmental activist and fourth year UTS Journalism/Law student Holly Creenaune (pictured above) who laboured through Howard's plans for nuclear power and his controversial refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol, it seemed her efforts were at last affirmed by the prodigal entry of a popular Australian government committed to addressing climate change. And hard labour it was. In her time at UTS, Holly has been the first ever National Convener of the Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN), co-ordinated the 2005 and 2006 Students of Sustainability Conferences, been a founding member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), co-authored the first report in the world on nuclear research and education - 'Opportunities to Waste: Australian Universities and the Nuclear Industry' and participated in the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, which supports indigenous land owners in their efforts against uranium mining on their traditional land. All while completing a sought-after UTS Journalism/Law double-degree.

"Campaigning and education on human rights and environmental justice is challenging, frustrating, joyful, and deeply rewarding," said Creenaune. "It was fantastic to have my work on climate change, Aboriginal rights and environmental justice recognised by the University. Human rights campaigning, education and research must be front and centre of the efforts of universities, and it was great to have this recognition by UTS."

She admitted that for most people, climate change doesn't immediately spring to mind when they think of human rights. "However," she observed, "climate change affects our most basic of rights - to water, sustenance, livelihood, culture and life. Already, our neighbours in Tuvalu and the Carteret Islands in the Pacific are being forced to flee their homes because of rising sea levels, facing food and water shortages, and experiencing the destruction of their homes, communities and culture."

Driven, intelligent and fiercely committed to her chosen cause, Holly is a formidable force in environmental activism, and her efforts were recently recognised in the prestigious Elizabeth Hastings Memorial Award for Student Community Contribution, presented by High Court Justice Kirby at the 2007 UTS Human Rights Awards. "Young people are facing a future of dangerous climate change - of sea-level rise, of extreme weather patterns, of food scarcity and poverty, and the displacement of hundreds of million climate refugees," said Creenaune. "Climate change is the biggest social, human rights and environmental issue of our generation."

"I am inspired by our strong history of success and our capacity to make real shifts and stop dangerous climate change. Thirty years ago, scores of students supported Aboriginal peoples in organising the Freedom Rides for justice, sovereignty and reconciliation. By 2002, thousands of students travelled to the Kakadu National Park to support Mirrar Traditional owners in blockading and successfully shutting down the huge Jabiluka uranium mine. In the last 2 years, hundreds of students in the Australian Student Environment Network have been shifting universities to renewable energy. I work everyday with Traditional Owners, community members and young people right across Australia for a more just and sustainable world - it is creative, inspiring, and worth every second."

Her experiences as an activist have allowed her to find a wiser, well-tempered route to working with indigenous land owners on many Australian issues, from climate change to sovereignty. Of particular influence were the sentiments of Lila Watson, an Aboriginal activist from Brisbane. Said Watson to Creenaune: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."