The rally was held on the Port Macquarie Town Green and Uni Students for Climate Justice organiser Elliot Downes was ecstatic with the response.

The event was supported by a string of climate groups including Hastings Parents for the Environment and the Knitting Nanas.

Mr Downes urged those attending to make the event the beginning of a movement.

"We have to force those in power to listen to us," he told the crowd.

"Already a public backlash has seen the prime minister cut short his Hawaiian holiday, and go on to announce billions in funding.

"But the action today needs to be the start of a movement that can begin to create a sense of crisis for those in power.

"We need more demonstrations, more strikes and more people coming out on the streets," he said.

"This new normal is only going to get worse.

"Everyone here needs to make a pledge that this is not just one action but one of many you will make in the future."

Mr Downes praised the efforts of fire fighters who "are on the frontline battling these fires".

The rally was told there were three demands: adequate funding for fire fighting services and volunteer fire fighters should be paid, the government provide genuine relief and aid for those in need from the bushfires and the rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

He said the "disaster of climate change was now a reality.

"We refuse to watch while our country burns around us," he said. "The political class doesn't care if we burn.

"We are protesting to give voice to the thousands of people who don't have a voice."

One of the speakers was 17-year-old Ivy Moore.

Her community and home were threatened by bushfires in November, she said.

"The fires impacted me more than I might have ever known. I had to move from my house to my grandmas and back again three times.

"I was sleeping on the floor; all this as I started my final year of school.

"I sat in class not listening to the lesson but wondering what was happening at home; if I would have a home to back to."

She said it doesn't make sense that my country is on fire, that our neighbouring islands are drowning and that all over the world people are being threatened by natural disasters like we've never seen before.

"But our politicians still fail to act appropriately on the climate crisis.

"The earth is screaming at us to take action."

Also making news:

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.