Lake Illawarra grandfather shares his crusade to combat fossil fuels

Grandfather Tom Hunt paddled a kayak from Port Kembla to Newcastle in 2023 to take part in a coal blockade.

Now he hopes to inspire others to take their own stand against climate change.

Tom’s journey to climate activism began when he and his wife moved to Lake Illawarra in 2002.

The retired systems engineer had previously worked for BHP and at the University of Wollongong.

“I thought a bit of extra carbon in the atmosphere would help plants grow, if anything,” he said.

“It wasn’t something I thought about.”

That was until he read a news article that claimed if Greenland melted global sea levels would rise by seven metres.

It would be enough to bring Lake Illawarra a little too close to his home for comfort.

“I didn’t think it could be true, but we’d invested money in living near the water so I thought I’d do the sums myself,” he said.

“Well I worked it out and the reports were right.

“That was when I realised the significance of climate change and became active in doing what I could to change things.”

Tom and his wife electrified their home and car, invested in rooftop solar and a battery and reduced their red meat consumption.

Nationally, emissions continued to rise, and as Tom continued his research he was horrified by the consequences this would have for the planet.

Coal is one of the biggest culprits – and Australia produces about 500 million tonnes of it each year.

“We ship most of it overseas, but it all ends up in the sky,” Tom said.

“We just can’t afford to keep doing that. We’re supposed to be aiming for net zero by 2050, but we keep increasing our emissions each year.

“We need to do more and our government needs to do more.”

Tom’s research led him to Rising Tide, a grassroots climate activism group.

While some people get more conservative as they get older, Tom got more radical. He began attending protests, then organising them.

In 2023 he wanted to make a statement, so he spoke to friend and fellow kayak enthusiast Dr Simon Leslie about a unique way to join a blockade of the world’s largest coal port – Newcastle.

Tom and Simon sailed from another NSW coal port, Port Kembla, to Newcastle to join the blockade.

“It took us three weeks and we had an interesting time of it,” Tom said.

“It was nothing like the challenge our children will face if we don’t do something about climate change.

“We know it’s just some bollock blockading the harbour for a few days; we know it won’t stop the flow of coal even though we’d love it to.

“It’s a symbol. It’s a way to show how many people care, and we hope our government will start to listen more intently to those voices.”

The blockade in 2023 attracted 3000 protestors.

In light of the Australian Government’s recent approval of three more coal mine expansions, organisers hope this year will attract 10,000 people to Newcastle in November.

To encourage people from Wollongong to take part on Tuesday 8 October there will be a free showing of Rising Tide’s movie The First Wave about the 2023 blockade, along with footage of Tom and Simon’s journey.

Tom and Simon will both attend to share their experience and answer questions.

“We encourage people to learn more so they can make educated decisions and support what we’re doing,” Tom said.

“We have to do more or we will leave a horrific world for our children to bear.

“The whole future of our society hangs in the balance.”

The free Rising Tide showing will be held at the Wollongong Library Theatrette, 41 Burelli St, Wollongong, from 6:30 pm on Tuesday 8 October.