Shipping operations at the Port of Newcastle were disrupted over the weekend during the Rising Tide People’s Blockade, with more than 100 people arrested for entering the port’s shipping channel.
Among those involved was former Wollongong councillor Cath Blakey, who joined swimmers and kayakers on Sunday 30 November as they entered the channel to stop coal ships from moving in or out of the port. Ms Blakey was charged under 18b of the Marine Safety Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $1100.
Rising Tide organiser Zack Schofield said the action was aimed at halting the movement of coal ships for the day.
“Today’s protest is a victory for people power. Our intention was to stop coal ships from entering or leaving the Port of Newcastle and we’ve succeeded in doing this today. By continuing to approve new coal and gas mines, the Albanese government is failing to protect us from the worst impacts of climate change and when the government fails us, the people must rise.”
Ms Blakey said she joined the blockade after witnessing the impacts of climate-related events over recent years.
“I kayaked into the coal port shipping channel because like many Australian’s I’ve seen the climate impacts first hand. It has been 6 years since Wollongong declared a climate emergency. 6 years since my mother-in-laws house was burnt when Gondawannan rainforest burnt in the unprecedented bushfires of 2019.”
She said she had travelled to Newcastle with around 50 Wollongong residents and took part in volunteer roles throughout what she described as a coordinated public event.
“I didn’t take the decision to kayak into the shipping channel lightly but the recent National Climate Risk Assessment shows that keeping coal in the ground matters when it comes to Australian livelihoods and our eco-systems.”
Rising Tide is calling on the federal government to:
- place a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects
- tax fossil fuel profits at 78% to fund clean energy jobs and climate-related costs
- phase out coal exports
The group referenced Norway’s tax model, where oil and gas profits have been taxed at 78% since 1996. The release states that this has raised over a trillion dollars for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, contrasting it with the income tax paid by several large fossil fuel companies operating in Australia.