Australian Story: Mar 11

Monday’s Australian Story profiles climate change activist Anjali Sharma.

She’s Australia’s answer to Greta Thunberg.

At 14, Anjali Sharma was a school strike organiser. At 16, she sued the government. Now at 19, she’s leading a political campaign from her university dorm.

Together with independent Senator David Pocock, Anjali is seeking laws that compel politicians to consider their duty of care to future generations as the paramount criteria when assessing fossil fuel projects.

While the bill is under review from a Senate committee, Anjali and her team of likeminded young people are lobbying parliamentarians across the political divide.

“None of us have ever participated in parliamentary legislation drafting before, and none of us have ever had to run a grassroots campaign out of our uni dorms. And it’s a massive learning curve,” Anjali says.

Anjali’s motivation lies with her family roots in India, as she’s watched her uncles, aunts and cousins endure deadly heatwaves and ravaging floods.

Stepping into the fray of climate politics is bruising for even the most seasoned of lobbyists, but despite being trolled and racially vilified, Anjali remains determined to fight for radical change.

Monday, 11 March, 8pm on ABC.