Protest is an integral part of our shared democracy

Dominique Jacobs and Helen Kvelde are mothers, wildlife carers and Knitting Nannas who live on the mid North Coast of NSW.

They’ve seen their communities and nature close to home devastated by recent climate disasters including bushfires and floods. As members of the Knitting Nannas collective, they use peaceful protest to urge politicians of all persuasions to protect nature and climate.

When the NSW Government rushed through tough new anti-protest laws in 2022, they knew they had to act.

Represented by EDO, Dominique and Helen lodged a successful constitutional challenge to the laws, which saw the harshest elements of the legislation struck out.

Watch Helen and Dominique’s incredible story

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Climate impacts are happening now, yet our governments are still lagging behind

In the last four years alone, Dominique and Helen have endured the devastation, trauma and loss from drought, fires and floods in their communities.

The message from governments and scientists of the world could not be clearer, without immediate action and phasing out of fossil fuels, we will not be able to secure a liveable future.

“We’ve tried everything from sending letters and signing petitions to meeting politicians and still, the Government continues to dismiss climate science and approve new coal and gas projects.”

Knitting Nanna Helen Kvelde

We have a big message delivered in a soft way

For these two women protest became an essential form of political expression to sound the alarm about the impacts of climate change.

“Our communities have felt terrified, angry and stressed. Protest can transform those overwhelming feelings into change and action,” Dominique said.

“We have a big message delivered in a soft way. That’s what the knitting is too, it’s peaceful and calm”.

Now, thanks to Helen and Dominique’s successful legal challenge, the right to protest peacefully in NSW has been protected.

Without collective, peaceful and public expression and assembly, all Australians would be without many of the rights and protections we take for granted today.

Through protest we’ve won the right to vote, to marry, and to be safe at work. We’ve seen the protection of World Heritage sites and the acknowledgment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ land rights achieved, in part, through protest.

To achieve a safe climate, we need a free and fair democracy. History has shown that protest contributes towards achieving better outcomes for nature and our climate. Our freedoms to protest must be protected.

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Defending our rights and building a better future

From knitting in the NSW Supreme Court, to nursing injured wildlife back to health, Helen and Dominique are two extraordinary women dedicated to defending their communities and nature.

They raise their voices so their grandchildren can have a better future, a future where nature is protected, and our climate is safe and livable.

“The knitting nannas pledge to protect land, air and water for children, whenever we are out there fighting, that’s who we are fighting for” says Dominique.

A woman holds a kangaroo joey on her lap and feeds it milk from a bottle.

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About EDO

Driven by dedicated supporters like you, Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia-Pacific, dedicated to protecting our climate, communities and shared environment by running groundbreaking legal cases, leading law reform and providing access to justice.