KATTA:

I grew up in a family that was an environmentally conscious, living in the Central Highlands near Healesville. Beautiful mountainous forests, which are. Yeah, some of the most carbon dense forests in the world. As a year sixer, I didn't really know that. I just thought it was a beautiful place to live. And in year six, experienced the Black Saturday bushfires.

Audio excerpt – News Reporter:

“Well, there's simply no way of underestimating the fire threat Victoria is facing. Over the next 24 hours or so.”

Audio excerpt – News Reporter:

“During Saturday, a gale force north wind will combine with extreme heat, and that's not a good combination in terms of fire potential.”

DANIEL:

February 7th 2009 was soon to be known as Black Saturday, the day the menacing threat turned into a catastrophic event.
The bushfires that tore through Victoria that day destroyed life, property and changed forever all those who survived the fiercest firestorm since modern records began.
Katta O’Donnell wasn’t even yet a teenager but she remembers it all too well.

KATTA:

I remember the sky just being dark and deep red, really with this smoke. And me and my brother were actually running around trying to catch these huge pieces of bark that were falling from the sky, that were so just smouldering. That is strange in those moments, what you actually end up doing.

That event was pretty huge, but it was the coming weeks and days afterwards where we found out that our friends had lost family members and houses and, you know, school didn't return for weeks. And, you know, a lot of my friends are still grieving, will forever grieve for their family that they lost. You know, that was supposed to be a once in a lifetime event, but it was only not that long, a few years later, that experienced another once in a lifetime event.

Audio excerpt – News Reporter:

“It’s been labelled the worst fire season ever recorded, an apocalypse, a nightmare. And like looking into the gates of hell. From the New South Wales Victoria border all the way to the Central Coast. Nine blazes reached emergency warning level today.”

KATTA:

And I didn't… hm.. we’ve stopped counting them now. Well, that just happening all the time. But yeah, it's scary to think that that level of trauma and that level of impact on a community is just going to be so common.

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DANIEL:

Katta stopped counting these once in a lifetime events. But they’ve stayed with her.

She has dedicated herself to raising collective consciousness on the escalating threat of climate change.

First by suing the federal government, and now, by trying to bring attention to the issue by putting her body on the line.

From Schwartz Media, I’m Daniel James, this is 7am.

Today – climate activist Katta O’Donnell on why she thinks direct action is her only option.

It’s Friday July 26.

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DANIEL:

Katta, What was your first move in trying to have an impact on climate change itself?

KATTA:

I guess I started because I lived in the forest. I realised a pretty direct threat to the forest was logging that was going on in my area in the Central Highlands, at some very big issue there. I joined a few forest protection groups, like Forest Conservation Victoria and Kinglake Friends of the Forest. And, you know, at the same time doing activism, I was also just going about my life. I was at school, and I finished school and I was able to get into like a law degree.

And one day we had this guest lecturer in a climate law class, David Bond came in and he was giving a lecture on the financial risks of the climate crisis. And I yeah, I was really inspired by him and thought that it was really incredible to see someone, you know, working in the legal world that was really strategically trying to focus on how he could respond to the climate. I actually ended up volunteering for him for a few months. And yet in that time, we sort of developed the court case against the government.

DANIEL:

Tell us about the court case. What was at the heart of it?

KATTA:

The heart of it is it was a public interest case. So the class action, and really, all it was, was really trying to get the government to tell the truth about the risks of the climate crisis and say that it's going to be a risk to the economy.

The heart of it was actually government bonds. It's a very crucial thing to the way that this country, the government operates. But it's quite unknown to a lot of people.

Audio excerpt – News Reporter:

“A world first case is underway in the Federal Court, accusing the Australian government of failing to disclose how climate change will impact the value of government bonds. The claim was filed yesterday and alleges that Australia's economy and the nation's reputation in international financial markets will be significantly affected by the adequacy of the government's response to climate change.”

KATTA:

And I guess it's just pretty clear that in that time, the economy would have suffered a lot from the climate. And we were just saying that the government needed to be honest and tell the truth and say that the economy was going to be impacted and it might impact the value of people's government bonds, and that they had to write a disclosure about that.

DANIEL:

Were you surprised with the amount of publicity the case generated during the height of Covid in particular?

KATTA:

I definitely didn't expect it to have so much interest. But yeah, the day we filed, it was just as crazy. For a few days, there was just constant media.

Audio excerpt – News Reporter:

“An Australian law student has taken the government to court over climate change. 23 year old Katie O'Donnell says the government…”

KATTA:

I was in like the New York Times and radio and yeah, it was really full on. And then yet for the next few months, I just got a lot of attention, and it made me realise that people are really concerned about this, you know, we're all realising how much our lives are going to be impacted.

DANIEL:

So in terms of the court case, you went to mediation and you won.

How did that feel? What was mediation like when you're staring down government lawyers and negotiating with them for an outcome? How did that feel and how did it feel to win after that?

KATTA:

Yeah, in ways it felt great. It was, to be honest, it had been three and a half years since we started the court case, so it was a huge relief for it to be over and for the outcome to be successful.

But it was really conflicting because I had put so much effort into it and in the end, it felt like the outcome was just some words on a bit of paper, not even a physical bit of paper, just on the Department of Treasury's website.

And it felt like the government could just say those words and then just leave them sitting on the website and not have to do anything about them. And it just contributed to that feeling of helplessness that, you know, you could go to this level of effort, you could sue the government to tell the truth, and then the truth is out there but we still see no action or change in behaviour.

DANIEL:

After the break – Katta puts it all on the line.

KATTA:

It's not like you go in wanting to break the law, it's just that you go in wanting to take action. And unfortunately, it's a bit of a side effect that it's breaking the law.

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DANIEL:

Katta, you sued the government and won, a huge victory by any measure. But it left you feeling disillusioned. Can you walk me through the day you really decided to step it up?

KATTA:

I realised that the government wasn't being active in trying to find solutions. They're just continuing with their behaviour. So yeah, I looked for groups of people that were trying to be active, like Blockade Australia, which I took this action with.

Yeah, it was a very big day. Started off very early. I think I woke up at 2:30. It's one of those sleeps. I wasn't really very asleep anyway. And then arrive in the dark, set it all up, do all the safety measures and. Yeah. And then as the sun was rising. Yeah, I just found myself in a pretty surreal position. We livestream it as a bit of safety for ourselves, but also so people can see what's going on.

Audio excerpt – Katta O'Donnell:

“Good morning. My name's Katta, and this morning I am on Travis, which is hanging across this rail line that is blocking coal trains going to the Newcastle coal port… Wow. It's very significant to be up here.”

KATTA:

We'd called the trains and told them that there was an obstruction on the track,

Audio excerpt – Katta O'Donnell:

“And there's two train lines going in through there. And, yeah, the trains come about every ten minutes, and they're almost a kilometre long. Full of coal that's just being dug up all around this area. And, yeah, going to the Port of Newcastle, which is the largest coal port in the world.”

KATTA:

and then the police arrived, maybe 20 minutes later.

Audio excerpt – Police officer:

“Your action is obstructing business.”

KATTA:

Yeah. They just came and told me that I was committing an offence if I didn't leave. And was I going to get down? And then suddenly, like the police trying to sort out how to get you down. So there were a few different ways they tried to get me down. They tried to bring in a cherry picker.

Audio excerpt – Katta O'Donnell:

“Okay. I'm just moving along my line so that they can't reach me.”

KATTA:

But I guess part of what I was trying to do was stay out of their way. So I actually just when they brought the cherry pick, I just moved along the line a little bit.
And then they brought in a different sort of crane on the train tracks, and they ended up really tensioning my line so that they could lower me down.

Audio excerpt – Katta O'Donnell:

“They bring a lot more attention on… so it's a little bit cautious about what we… I'm going to move a bit closer.”

KATTA:

When I got to the ground, the police told me I was under arrest.

I've never had any interactions really that much with the place before. I'd never been, never been arrested for anything. It's a very strange situation to be in. You suddenly, in the hands of the police, searched, asked if I had any weapons, which, of course, I didn't put in the back of the police car. It is not really in control of what happens anymore. And then yet drove into police station, put in a little cell and it's awful. It's awful. Being confronted with the violence of this system, and how people are treated by the police in ways I think I was treated pretty well. And that sort of made me feel gross because, you know, white blonde hair. But I could see that it could very easily turn.

DANIEL:

So can you tell us a little bit more about your case? Has it applied at and where is it up to now?

KATTA:

I was charged with two offences of trespass and obstructing a locomotive. So rail and I pled guilty to both of those offences because that's what I was doing. And yeah, so the magistrate gave me two convictions and a $1,000 fine for the obstruction and a $300 fine for the trespass. And from what I know, it's pretty unusual to get convictions on a first time offence, especially at events like this. So I'm going to appeal the convictions because that's what stays on your record. And I know that an issue a lot of the time with taking action like this is that you are then stuck with legal consequences for a long time.

And some other people have even been given prison sentences in the days after me, for doing a similar thing. And that's. Yeah, really scary to know that, you know, just depends where you are in the timeline of events, that things can change so quickly. It's awful to say that that happened to people who, you know, are just trying to do the same thing.

DANIEL:

As you know better than most, direct action can be incredibly divisive. Even those supportive of climate action, often rail against the inconvenience it can involve. Does public derision coupled with an often hostile media environment, undermine the action you want governments and society as a whole to take to address climate change?

KATTA:

Yeah, it's really tricky. Ideologically, I just wish it wasn't such a divisive issue, because we really all should be united on wanting to respond to the climate crisis. But it's really hard at the moment because it is people that often work in the industry but we are saying it is causing so much damage. That's fair enough that people get angry. And I just think the response to that shouldn't be that we stop doing our work. I think it should be that we're supporting workers and the industry to transition away from what's currently happening.

DANIEL:

Would you be prepared to do it again?

KATTA:

I really don't want to. It was a big day. And the legal consequences just add up and the consequences get worse. But, if I thought that it was going to be productive and make progress for the climate, then I would do it.

DANIEL:

Katta O'Donnell. Thank you for your time.

KATTA:

Thank you. It's great to speak.

[Theme Music Starts]

DANIEL:

Also in the news

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney has announced her retirement from politics at the next election.

In an emotional press conference yesterday, Burney said it was time for her to pass the baton, and while the Voice referendum didn’t turn out as hoped, she thinks history will treat it kindly.

Burney became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, and in 2022 became the first Aboriginal woman to serve as Minister for Indigenous Australians.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor also announced he will be resigning at the next election, as Prime Minister Albanese eyes a cabinet reshuffle.

AND

Rupert Murdoch has secretly been trying to hand control of his media empire to his eldest son Lachlan.

Legal documents seen by the New York Times show that Rupert has mounted a legal case to change the terms of the family trust, which currently splits his children’s inheritance of the companies evenly between the siblings.

Lachlan Murdoch became Chair of News Corporation and Fox Corporation last November after Rupert announced his retirement. He’s seen as more ideologically right-wing than his siblings James and Elisabeth, and recently oversaw a restructure of the company’s Australian newspaper holdings which lead to mass redundancies.

7am is a daily show from Schwartz Media and The Saturday Paper. If you like what you hear, we would love you to share it with a friend.

7am is hosted by Ruby Jones and me, Daniel James.

It’s produced by Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, Cheyne Anderson, Zoltan Fecso, and Zaya Altangerel.

Our senior producer is Chris Dengate. Our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.

Sarah McVeigh is our head of audio. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Mixing by Travis Evans, Atticus Bastow, and Zoltan Fecso.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

I’m Daniel James, this is 7am. See you next week.

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