Members of communities from across the country gathered at Newcastle Port over the weekend to join the People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port. They took to the water on kayaks and rafts and blockaded the shipping channel for 32 hours. The protest was a pre-organised police authorised peaceful action convened by Rising Tide, a climate action group known for nonviolent civil resistance that has focussed on the export of coal out of Newcastle. Annually, exports out of Newcastle alone contribute almost as many carbon emissions to the atmosphere as the entirety of our national domestic emissions.
Greens MP and spokesperson for climate change Sue Higginson who was at the protest over the weekend said “It was an incredible lively community event where people came together in a strong but peaceful show of force to let the Federal and NSW Labor Governments know they are not taking strong enough action on climate change and that we must see the end of coal. I assisted the community by liaising with police who mostly acted reasonably and with restraint.
In the final hours of the protest, members of the community remained in the water beyond the permitted period of the authorisation, NSW Police moved in and arrested some 100 people, including young people from the School Strike for Climate movement and a 97 year old religious minister. Members of the community were charged with offences under the Marine Safety laws and five young people who were arrested were released without change.
The protest action comes amid ongoing negotiations on climate laws in the NSW Parliament, with the Greens pushing for the Minns Government’s proposed legislated emissions reductions targets to be binding, having already secured some significant improvements to the Government’s bill. While the Greens have secured a commitment from Labor to ensure the net zero target is binding, the interim targets are still subject to negotiations.
Ms Higginson said: “On one hand we have a Government that is saying they want to take action on climate by legislating emissions reductions targets, but is yet to commit to those targets by making them binding on Government. On the other hand, we have a people’s movement that is growing by the minute and is committed to genuine, and real climate action, that includes the end of the extraction, burning and export of coal.
“There seems to be a serious disconnect going on between community expectations and government response – ornamental legislation that doesn’t force the government now and governments in the future to take ambitious and real action to reduce our emissions is pointless and letting down the thousands of people who have been taking to the streets and the ports demanding that the government responds to the climate crisis with the necessary urgency.
“The NSW Government’s climate legislation is set to be debated tomorrow, there is still time for them to listen to the community and support the call to make all of the emissions reduction targets binding. What we have seen over the weekend is thousands of people who are willing to put themselves on the very frontlines, actioning their hope calling for climate action, it is imperative now that the Government responds.
“The Greens position is clear, we were at the People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port and we are at the table in NSW Parliament we are calling on the Government to go further and faster on climate action. We recognise the Government has come some way but we need to see a genuine commitment to the targets.” Ms Higginson said.
