AUSTRALIA

More than 100 arrested as climate protest shuts down world’s largest coal port


Over 3,000 protesters assemble at Newcastle to demonstrate against ‘government inaction’ ahead of COP28

Maroosha Muzaffar


People take to the water as they continue blockade the access to the coal port in protest for climate action at Horseshoe Beach on 26 November 2023 in Newcastle, Australia
(Getty Images)


More than 100 people were arrested as climate protesters refused to leave after a 30-hour blockade of one of the world’s largest coal ports in Australia.

Over 3,000 protesters assembled at the Port of Newcastle on Sunday to demonstrate against the government’s alleged inaction on climate change ahead of the COP28 summit.

The protesters had permission to hold the climate rally for 30 hours, but thousands of climate demonstrators refused to leave the port after the permitted time was up.

At about 4pm local time on Sunday, police swooped in and arrested 109 people, including 49 men and 60 women. Five of them were under 18 years of age, according to Australia’s Nine News. The minors were later released.

Of those arrested, 18 were taken to Newcastle, Waratah, and Toronto police stations and 86 people were taken to a nearby port facility.

Hundreds of activists took to the waters, either swimming or using kayaks, to stage a demonstration in the shipping lane of the Newcastle port in Australia in one of the country’s biggest climate protests.

Organisers Rising Tide Australia claimed that the protest halted the export of more than half a million tonnes of coal from the country.

The organisers also stated that after initially continuing to kayak in formation in the channel, the demonstrators eventually complied with law enforcement and boarded police boats.

Rising Tide called on prime minister Anthony Albanese to block new coal projects and tax coal exports at 75 per cent in an attempt to move away from fossil fuels.

“I am doing this for my grandchildren and future generations,” Alan Stuart, 97, said in a statement before his arrest. Mr Stuart, who is also a reverend at the Uniting Church, 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.”

His 20-year-old granddaughter and Rising Tide organiser Alexa Stuart said: “I just think of the young people growing up that I knew.

“What sort of world are they going to be in? It’s going to be a much less, what should I say, attractive, than I, than we know.

“People are going to be, they’re going to find it difficult to cope in many, many, many situations and I think the final result in all of this is death.”

The protest was labelled the “biggest act of civil disobedience in Australia’s history” by organisers who aim to send a serious message to the government over its inaction.

Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens, participated in kayaking along with Cate Faehrmann, a Greens MP from New South Wales.

“I’ve lived in Newcastle my whole life and at first I never thought much about the coal ships I was used to seeing every day on the horizon,” Alex Goodsir, a 17-year-old local from Newcastle told the Guardian. “As a member of this community, I need to be lending my voice to the movement to stop this.”

Mr Albanese last year said Labor would not support a moratorium on fossil fuel projects because it would have a “devastating impact on the Australian economy”.

“If Australia today said we are not going to export any more coal, what you’d see is a lot of jobs lost, you would see a significant loss to our economy, significantly less taxation, revenue for education, health and other services, and that coal wouldn’t lead to a reduction in global emissions, what you would see is a replacement with coal from other countries that’s likely to produce higher emissions … because of the quality of the product,” he had said.

In April, several people associated with Rising Tide were arrested after they climbed aboard a train for the Port of Newcastle, where they proceeded to remove coal from its freight cars.

“This is not the end, this is just a stepping stone. Next year we plan on blockading the coal port for at least twice as long,” Zack Schofield, who helped organise the event said.