Cassie and Ellie will discuss climate justice and the case for non-violent direct action such as the recent action to halt coal trains near Newcastle.

Friends of the Earth Brisbane was formed in late 1997 following a campaign to stop the opening of a new sand mine on North Stradbroke Island.

The group working on the campaign felt a desire to work on a wider range of environmental and social issues and to help build a radical social change movement in Queensland and in Brisbane in particular. Over the years, many groups have formed to work on environmental and social justice issues and then disbanded a matter of months or a couple of years later. This has meant that little momentum has developed to build a social change movement and a culture of resistance.

Experience and skills are rarely passed on to young activists and there is little "value adding" to good work that has been done in the past. This results in much "reinventing of wheels" and wasted resources. While single issue groups will always have a valid place, there is also a place for a grassroots organisation which is well resourced and continues to build capacity in working for social change towards an ecologically sustainable and just society.

Cassie McMahon has almost a decade of activist experience behind her having worked on diverse projects to raise awareness about and prevent environmental degradation. She helped organise the Walk against Warming in Brisbane. Recently she cycled from Rockhampton to Canberra raising awareness about the detrimental effects of the nuclear industry. This year she was a QLD organiser for the Camp for Climate action held in Newcastle in July, which gave her an outlet for her passion for empowering people.