Janine Kitson represented the local cause and raised awareness of the proposed powerline among those that gathered for the rally.

Though Ms Kitson has never lived in the area, she has friends that do live in Tenterfield and regularly visits. She said she wanted to represent Tenterfield’s interests at the rally in the effort to protect the beauty of the area.

“I’m fighting urban development in Sydney and I like to go up to Tenterfield to escape it all. Then I heard that this is happening and I wanted to fight against it,” she said.

“There are friends all over the world for Tenterfield and I’m just one friend in Sydney.”

Ms Kitson carried a placard saying ‘no’ to coal fired power grids in Tenterfield and joined Sydney protesters who were taking part in nation-wide rallies to demand the Federal Government take emergency action against climate change.

“Many Sydney protesters, leading environmentalists and media expressed horror at the proposed high voltage transmission line through Tenterfield,” she said.

“Many asked why was Transgrid investing in old, carbon polluting technology when climate scientists are issuing warnings that unless carbon emissions are drastically reduced it will lead to climate collapse?”

Organisers said 12,000 people participated in the rally in eight different cities across the nation, demanding the country use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020.