On Tuesday, June 2 members of the Wills Vigil to End Fossil Fuels celebrated a year of action.

We also took time to honour one of our former members, John Englart, climate hero, who died unexpectedly in July last year. John was a founding member of the vigil, which was held for the first time outside the office of Peter Khalil, federal MP for Wills, on June 3rd 2025. Since then it has been held regularly every Tuesday from 11 am – 1 pm (apart from a break over the Christmas – New Year period).

Befitting John’s legacy, the one-year anniversary was a joyful occasion.

Photo of John Englart by Val Kay. Photos of basket of free fruit and herbs and the two members of Riff Raff Radical Marching Band by by Nina Killham

Members of the Riff Raff Radical Marching Band and the Climate Choir Melbourne provided music and song, while vigil members gave away free fruit and herbs from their gardens to passers-by.

We celebrated a year of climate action and solidarity, of talking with the public, explaining why we are there and why we need to phase out fossil fuels.
During the year, we have consistently called for the government to make a plan for a fair and orderly phase-out of fossil fuels – coal, gas, oil and oil products including petrol and diesel – and for Peter Khalil to support this call.

There have been some wins on the way, especially when Australia signed the Belém Declaration calling for a just and orderly transition from fossil fuels in 2025.

There have also been times of frustration, when neither Peter Khalil nor Chris Bowen, minister for climate change and energy, would clarify what Australia plans to do in practice.

Over the year, we had many friendly interactions with passers-by. In May we gave Peter Khalil 99 letters from constituents supporting our cause, but so far we have not had a response.

A phase-out of fossil fuels will not be easy, which is why we need a national plan, but it must be done, because fossil fuels are the biggest single cause of global warming. We need to move away from them if we want a safe future for our children and grandchildren, and all of us.

Members of the vigil will now be taking a break to focus on the upcoming state election, which will be a very important one for climate and environment action in Victoria.

Once that is over, we will plan our next phase of action on federal politics. We will not lose sight of the goal: an orderly and just phase-out of fossil fuels.