141 Arrested After Blockade Of World’s Largest Coal Port
Image: Rising Tide/Instagram
141 people were arrested after successfully blocking three coal ships from entering the largest coal port in the world, at an annual on-water blockade organised by environmental group Rising Tide.
Thousands of people gathered at the Port of Newcastle for the activist group’s second “protestival”, taking place from Thursday to Tuesday.
with the Port Authority of NSW cancelling all shipping movements for three hours after hundreds took to the water in kayaks and other vessels.
In a statement on Sunday evening, NSW police said they had made 141 arrests, with 121 adults charged with various offences under the Crimes Act and the Marine Safety Act, and 18 juvenile with under the Young Offenders Act.
Three Greenpeace activists also attached themselves to the anchor chair and the side of a ship, the latter unfurling a five-metre-long banner reading “phase out coal and gas”. As of Sunday evening, inquiries into the incident were still ongoing, but no arrests had been made.
The Port Authority of NSW said four ships had been disrupted on Sunday, with movements in consultation with NSW police.
“Four ship movements were prevented from being completed as per the schedule today, which included two non-coal cargo vessels,” a spokesperson told The Guardian.
“One of these was rescheduled and has already been safely moved out of port this afternoon. Maintaining the safe operation of the port and ensuring the safety of maritime workers and the general public remains the highest priority.”
“You cannot arrest your way out of a climate crisis”, says organiser
The protest was also attended by Greens leaders, Larissa Waters and Mehreen Faruqi, with the former paddling out in a kayak in what she said was a “powerful” moment.
“People from all over the country gathered in the largest coal port in the world not just to blockade the port but to blockade a future that none of us consented to and none of us want: A future of rising seas, scorched earth, and communities pushed to the brink, delivered to us by coal and gas corporations and complicit Labor and Liberal governments at their beck and call,” Senator Faruqi told City Hub.
“Ordinary people are stepping up where governments continue to fail and when people rise together for climate justice, no coal port, no government, and no fossil fuel giant can stand in our way.
“It’s disgraceful that NSW police arrested almost 150 peaceful climate defenders while they let neo-Nazis and white supremacy spew their hate outside NSW parliament. They need to seriously examine their priorities.”
Last year, 170 protestors, including 14 children, were arrested after taking part in the successful blockade, following NSW’s radical expansion of protest laws, purposely targeting climate activists by introducing new legislation preventing protesters from blocking roads, bridges and ports to include railway lines.
Legal experts are urging police to drop 129 charges against protesters, after a Newcastle court found four people involved in the 2024 event not guilty of serious disruption or obstruction of a major facility.
“These laws were designed to silence political dissent and protest, but Chris Minns needs to learn that you cannot arrest your way out of a climate crisis,” said group organiser Zack Schofield at the time.
“Premier Minns can expect to see increasing numbers of people continue to protest until our government starts seriously funding the transition away from coal and acting with the urgency commensurate to this crisis.”
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