Sydney, Australia, Nov 26 (EFE).- "Dozens of protesters, including a 97-year-old man, were arrested on Sunday during a #ClimateChange protest off Australia’s east coast that disrupted operations at the country’s biggest coal export port.
"#ClimateActivist group #RisingTide had organized the protest to block the traffic of coal cargo ships in the port of Newcastle since Saturday.
"The group said on its Twitter account that at least 59 people have been arrested so far.
"Since Saturday, groups of 50 to 60 protesters have been taking turns in rostered two-hour shifts getting on canoes and inflatable boats and preventing ships from leaving the port.
"Among the protesters who went out to sea was Alan Stuart, a 97-year-old religious pastor.
"Stuart said he was doing it for his grandchildren and future generations after being pulled out of his boat by the police.
"'I am doing this for my grandchildren and future generations because I don’t want to leave them a world full of increasingly severe and frequent #ClimateDisasters,' he said. 'I am so sorry that they will have to suffer the consequences of our inaction. So, I think it is my duty to do what I can and to stand up for what I know is right.'
"Rising Tide claims that the protest prevented more than half a million tonnes of coal from leaving the Newcastle port by the time the demonstration ended.
"Protesters demand that the Australian government stop all new projects that involve the use of fossil energy and confront the #ClimateCrisis more decisively.
"The climate crisis is one of the big issues of political debate in Australia, a country exposed to the effects of #droughts and #ExtremeTemperatures.
"Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of thermal coal and the largest exporter of cooking coal."
"In one of the largest mass arrests of recent years, police in #NewSouthWales (NSW) detained some 109 protesters on Sunday evening. They had participated in a 30-hour maritime demonstration of 34 kayaks, surfboards and pontoons at the port of Newcastle, aimed at blocking coal shipments and the broader promotion of fossil fuels. The protest had been given police permission until 4 p.m., at which point the arrests suddenly started.
"The arrests point to a deepening crackdown on the #RightToProtest. Significantly, this is being spearheaded by Labor governments, now in office federally and at the state and territory levels across mainland #Australia. The detentions indicate official fears over growing social opposition, related not only to climate change, but to Israel’s genocidal assault on #Gaza, a broader eruption of #militarism and the soaring cost-of-living.
"The action, organised by the #RisingTide organisation, saw dozens and at times more than a hundred people take to the water in small vessels to prevent #coal loads from exiting the port. The activists said they succeeded in delaying multiple shipments, but noted that this is only a fraction of the coal that passes through the port each year.
"In comments at the protest and since, representatives of Rising Tide pointed to the increasingly catastrophic consequences of climate change. In Australia, this included one of the worst #bushfire seasons in 2019-20, and massive #floods in northern NSW and parts of #Queensland last year that displaced thousands.
"Along with their abandonment of the flood victims and others impacted by climate change, the Labor governments are doing nothing to address the underlying crisis.
"The federal Labor administration cynically appealed to discontent over the issue in the May 2022 election. Its policy is a 43 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. Scientists have warned that both are woefully inadequate, compared with the scale of the crisis. But even these targets are entirely meaningless, with Labor approving dozens of new coal and #gas projects across the country.
"The protest was not a snap action or an unauthorised event. It had received prior approval from police. Demonstrators were addressed by prominent political figures, including federal Greens leader Adam Bandt and one of his predecessors, #Bob Brown. The Greens, their references to the environmental crisis notwithstanding, seek to collaborate with Labor, as it greenlights #FossilFuel projects and defends the whole profit system that is responsible for climate change.
"Given the establishment character of the speakers and the police authorisation, the subsequent crackdown was particularly striking.
"Police have claimed that approval was only until 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and that participants then refused to leave the port’s waters. By 5:30 p.m., the port was cleared, and its operations were resumed.
"The speed of the police crackdown indicates extensive prior planning. Footage on social media shows at least one police vessel approaching the activists and moving to detain them.
"The police arrests were indiscriminate. Among the 109 arrested was #AlanStuart, a 97-year-old clergyman. Five children were detained.
"In a statement on X/Twitter, Legal Observers NSW said five of its representatives were arrested. 'Observers were present to document the actions of police and connect any protesters arrested with legal representation,' it stated.
"Despite being marked out with coloured vests and having repeatedly spoken to police during the event, the observers were nevertheless hauled in. They noted that this was an attack on 'the right to document and monitor protest as media and independent observers,' which 'is an internationally protected right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.'
"Three of the legal observers were charged, joining more than 100 others. Even the children who participated have reportedly been referred to relevant authorities under the Young Offenders Act.
"The blanket charge applied to the adult protesters of unreasonable interference by use of a vessel under section 13 of the state’s Marine Safety Act carries a maximum penalty of a $5,500 fine. While most protesters were released on bail after being booked, two organisers, including one with impaired vision, were detained overnight in a police watchhouse. They received hundreds of dollars in fines, with a judge declining to impose the maximum fine because of their lack of a criminal history. The remaining protesters face court next year.
"The arrests and charges were clearly intended to send a message that further disruptions will not be tolerated. If that were not the case, the protesters could simply have been moved on without the mass detention or subsequent charges."
Peaceful coal port protesters prosecuted like bikie gang on bail
"Sixteen Rising Tide protesters who were arrested in a peaceful (and approved) blockade of Newcastle Coal Port on Sunday were held in custody until they agreed to oppressive and unclear bail conditions." Wendy Bacon reports
"If our government fails in that duty to protect my generation against the greed of the coal and gas barons, we have a duty to stand up – because unionists, suffragettes, and civil rights campaigners fought and died for our right to do so."
"#RisingTide organiser and spokesperson Alexa Stuart said the youngest protester on the water was 15 while the oldest was her grandfather, 97-year-old Reverend Alan Stuart.
“Until the Albanese government says no to new coal projects and agrees to tax #coal export profits at 75 per cent to fund the transition, we will continue to disrupt the #FossilFuel industry – because the #ClimateCrisis is impacting us all.”"
#Solidarity and #gratitude to the hundreds of people who used kayaks and their bodies to blockade the world's busiest #coal port for 32 hours this weekend, and to the thousands who supported them, and to the millions who cheered them on, and to the billions for whose sake they were acting. This was a taste of an unstoppable force of collective #courage, #care and #commitment
Protesters blockaded the world’s largest coal port for 30 hours over the failure of government to act on climate change, preventing more than half a million tonnes of coal from leaving the port of Newcastle.
“Pancakes were being made, tea drunk, #dolphins swam nearby and people watched the sunset and sunrise. Those involved say it was a magical experience.”
Rising Tide local organiser Alexa Stuart
Protesters spent the night on the water, rostered in two-hour shifts.
So… NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee denounced the protesters as “extremists”.
He's got it wrong. I'd say the extremists are those who insist they be allowed to continue to sell coal, oil and gas so it can be burnt, polluting the atmosphere, destroying earth's life support systems in the process.
"Climate activist group #RisingTide, which claimed responsibility for the action, said around 1,500 people were at the protest, 300 of them in the shipping channel near the Port of #Newcastle, as part of a 30-hour blockade."