Rising Tide, rising backlog. Coal protests too big for Zero Tolerance, police & courts

A total of 156 people were arrested during the Rising Tide protests that closed the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle. Wendy Bacon was one of them.

Rising Tide demands that Federal and State governments stop approving new coal and gas projects and that existing coal exports be taxed at 78% to finance the transition of those whose current employment depends on the coal industry.

A total of 156 protesters were arrested during last weekend’s protests and will appear in court in January. These cases will be added to a backlog of 120 cases remaining from the 2024 blockade. The 2024 protesters have pleaded not guilty to charges under the notorious anti-protest Crimes Act section, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years for non-violent protest.

Four other protesters charged under the same laws had their cases dismissed in October due to a lack of reliable police evidence.

They came from afar

Thousands of protesters had traveled to Newcastle’s Foreshore Beach from as far away as Port Douglas and Adelaide. They entered the channel by swimming and canoeing past yellow exclusion zone buoys on Saturday and Sunday, despite a three-day marine exclusion zone imposed by NSW Transport Minister John Graham and the heavy use of police resources on water and land.

Sixteen more people were locked in coal loaders on Monday.

Some allies in the Greenpeace movement hung a “Phase Out Coal and Gas” banner on the side of a Chinese coal ship, while others wrote “Timeline Now” on the ship’s hull. They had friendly discussions about energy with the Chinese sailors until they were taken away by helicopter.

On the Greenpeace boat were two musicians from the well-known band Lime Cordiale, who had performed at the Rising Tide concert the previous evening.

Climate protests to continue despite 170 people charged in Newcastle ‘protest’

Law against protests

Many non-governmental organizations opposed this decision. NSW Anti-Protest laws for denying the democratic right to protest when it became law.

But while the arrests are significant, the real story is that the NSW government’s promise to halt the annual Rising Tide protests has failed miserably.

Last week, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley condemned the protest, saying anyone violating marine exclusion zones would be arrested. “Anyone who engages in illegal activity will face immediate, decisive action. Your actions carry consequences, including arrest and very serious risks to your life,” he said.

NSW Police stated that there would be ‘zero tolerance’ for protesters entering the restricted area. Zero-tolerance policing aims to create an environment where every violation of a particular law will lead to arrest and punishment.

But this did not happen in practice.

Instead, what happened was an arbitrary exercise of police discretion over whether to arrest and decide what charges to file. Hundreds of people poured into the water in an attempt to be arrested. However, only some of them were arrested.

Knitting Nannas

In his own words, Knitting Nannas

sit down, knit, plan, grab some yarn and a cup of coffee, and witness the battle against greedy, narrow-minded corporations.

They regularly protest fossil fuel projects and injustice. More than fifty people attended this year’s Rising Tide ‘Protest’. Three Knitting Nannas and another protester dressed as a clown entered the canal on a boat on Saturday.

They were detained by the police and released on the other side of the port without a phone or money. Luckily, a supportive resident rented them an Uber back to camp.

On Sunday, four Knitted Nannas (including the author) paddled canoes past the buoys towards the Exclusion Zone. Three were arrested under the anti-protest provision of the Crimes Act and the other for ‘Breaching a Maritime Exclusion Zone’, which carries a maximum fine of $5000.

Another protester arrested is Hannah Thomas. He recently suffered a serious eye injury during a pro-Palestinian protest, resulting in criminal charges against a police officer. recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. Thomas was arrested near here MWM‘s reporter was detained.

Thomas, like fifty others, was charged under the Maritime Safety Act. As police transported him across the harbour, there was a 50-50 split between those accused of minor and more serious charges.

Rising Ancients

On Sunday evening, Queenslander June Norman of the band Oldies Rising announced that she was a

the duty to protect the environment for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren,

He told a packed tent of hundreds of cheering supporters: “Last year, I went out six times, forced and abandoned. I failed. So this year I went in camouflage. I boarded a boat with four others, five of whom were over eighty years old.”

“Them [the police] They didn’t want to arrest us but our guardian couldn’t let us go so they had to arrest us. “He insisted we go with him and so it took an hour and a half to get us to the other side (Carrington) where they ‘removed our arrest’.”

Protesters ‘could be arrested’, Police polite

Art historian Ann Stephen and her partner, artist Tim Bass, attended Rising Tide for the first time. They decided to be ‘arrestable’ and set out by canoe with the rest of the fleet. Stephen observed others being arrested and continuing to row within the exclusion zone.

“A police/security officer on a jet ski comes close to us and warns us to leave the channel again, but states that he does not have the authority to arrest since he is a maritime authority personnel, and offers to pull us to shore by acting conciliatory rather than threatening. “The offer was rejected!” he wrote an article describing his experience.

Eventually the port was closed and no police were interested in arresting them, so they reluctantly returned to the beach along with several others. “We are greeted by a crowd of people waving on the beach, soaked and exhausted. We’ve stopped the ships! Yes, we seem to have frightened them for today; we’ll be back next year to be arrested!” he wrote.

MWM then spoke to a couple from Adelaide. One was arrested last year and is still awaiting trial. This year it was her husband’s turn. He’s disappointed he wasn’t arrested, but like Stephen and Bass, they’ll be back to be arrested next year.

Calls for independent review

It was stated that 18 of those arrested were children. The Human Rights Law Center is calling for an independent review of police practices. Senior lawyer David Mejia-Canales said: “We are particularly concerned by reports of the arrest and processing of 18 young people, including one aged 15, under the Young Offenders Act. “Children have the right to participate in public life and to speak out about the decisions that will shape the world they inherit.

“Arresting children for exercising their democratic right to protest in a democracy is a serious overreach by NSW Police.”

Those who took direct action were supported by an impressive level of collaborative organisation. 1,500 meals were provided, dishes were washed, and portals were cleaned twice a day for four days. The detainees’ procedures were carried out by volunteers and their statements were given to the new legal service. Climate Advocates.

These people, from a wide range of professions, genders and ages, are all there because they support civil disobedience. Each arrested person’s return to camp was celebrated by a cheering crowd.

Prime Minister Chris Minns likes to talk about keeping the public safe while justifying strict protest laws. No members of the canoe fleet, swim team or members of the public were endangered by the lockdowns. When the Rising Tide fleet was launched, there were no coal ships in sight.

MWM‘ reporter can tell you from experience that kayaking on a busy Sydney Harbor is more nerve-wracking than Newcastle’s Rising Tide.

Thinking about real dangers – The Federal Government’s First National Climate Risk Assessment Deaths from the heatwave in Sydney could rise by more than 400 per cent, he warned.

Heatwaves currently cause more deaths in Australia than all other extreme events combined.

At the time the kayakers entered the Maritime exclusion zone, more than a thousand people were being swept away by climate-induced floods in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Thousands more lost their homes and livelihoods. With every small increase in global warming, more people will die.

climate scientists we set up now that every new fossil fuel project will contribute to increasing climate change. Australia has 94 projects in preparation.

The Big Climate Lie | West Report

Wendy Bacon is an investigative journalist who is Professor of Journalism at UTS. He has worked for Fairfax, Channel Nine and SBS and has written in The Guardian, New Matilda, City Hub and Overland. It has a long history of promoting independent and alternative journalism.

He is a long-term supporter of peaceful BDS and the Greens.