Two Tasmanian men have started what they intend to be an eight-day-long hunger strike to raise awareness about climate change.
Extinction Rebellion activists Scott Bell and Jeff McKinnon began their strike in Launceston on Sunday, both taking their “last bite” at Riverbend Park at 11:30am.
The pair plan to spend the next week travelling across Tasmania to engage with politicians and to deliver their message on the urgent need for climate action.
McKinnon, a former pastor, is familiar with completing a hunger strike, having gone on a week-long one in 2021.
“The biggest thing is loss of energy. When you lose energy, you lose your ability to think as clearly … and you also get impatient with people,” McKinnon said during his 2021 fast.
“There’s a lot of research that wars and conflict are much more likely when people are hungry.”
Both say the federal government needs to do more to address climate change and hope their actions will send a message to those in power.
A support crew will accompany Bell and McKinnon as they journey throughout the state, with their first stop being Hobart’s Parliament Lawns this morning.
