MELBOURNE,  Tuesday January 30, 2018:  Following the encouraging statement by Bill Shorten at the National Press Club today, the Stop Adani movement is calling on the Opposition Leader to get off the fence and rule out support for Adani’s polluting mine, as they launch their by-election campaign in Batman tonight .

“Our campaign will send a message to every candidate and every political party they can’t ignore: if you want to stand up for the people of Batman you must stand against the Adani coal mine,” said Jake Wishart, Senior Climate Change Campaigner for 350.org.au

“It is time for Bill Shorten to get off the fence and get on the record. He must oppose the Adani coal mine if Labor wants to win the seat of Batman.”

“This is one of the most marginal electorates in the country – Labor’s David Feeney only just held the seat from the Greens candidate at the last election”

“And whether or not they run a candidate in Batman, the federal Coalition should take heed of their disastrous result in the recent Queensland election, where the LNP Opposition backed Adani to the hilt and were punished for it.”

The campaign is not waiting for the High Court to decide whether there will be a by-election in Batman.

“We are hitting the ground to talk with residents in the inner north of Melbourne and putting all political parties on notice – it’s time for them to Stop Adani,” said Wishart.

“We’re going to unleash the same community organising blitz we saw at the recent Queensland election, where we made over 130,000 phone calls to voters and knocked on thousands of doors. Our Stop Adani campaign will be everywhere. We’ll be doorknocking every suburb, blitzing the electorate with #StopAdani yard signs and hosting film screenings with community groups over coming weeks and months.“

“We’re looking for leadership to stop this mine once and for all. We call on Bill Shorten to rule out Labor’s support for Adani’s dirty coal mine.

The Stop Adani Batman by-election campaign will be officially launched on 30 January at 6pm at  the Wesley Anne Hotel in Northcote, in the seat of Batman. The community campaign will include door-knocking, mass phone-banking and a schedule of systematic community activities by locals who care passionately about this issue and our future.