Extinction Rebellion (XR) SA was trackside at Belair Road, Mitcham, on January 21 to support cyclists in the Tour Down Under (TDU) Stage 6 final race while calling for fossil fuel company Santos to be dumped as a sponsor.
XR, including Drum Rebellion, joined with local residents to cheer the teams as they rode by.
The City of Mitcham has decided to ban coal, gas and oil companies’ advertising on council land. It rejected a TDU application for caravan advertising Santos on a council site.
XR spokesperson Gemma Weedall congratulated Mitcham and other councils for declaring a climate emergency and “walking the talk with their Santos advertising ban”.
She said the government “missed a stand-out opportunity” to find a better sponsor for the TDU, arguing that Santos is a “green-washing climate wrecker”.
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“Santos exports most of its product and its profits, paying very little tax and providing only a small proportion of employment in Australia, while receiving government support and subsidies.
“By expanding its gas and oil production, including the massive carbon-producing Barossa project, it is directly fuelling the climate crisis.”
XR has vowed to protest wherever the government “enables a polluting oil and gas company to buy social consent for their destructive industry — greenwashing.
“We’ve dumped Big Tobacco from sporting events and now it’s time to dump fossil fuels, the current big threat to our health and safety,” Weedall said.