The Minns government clamp down on Rising Tide's event demonstrates coal exports are more important to the Premier than peaceful protest or climate action.
The newly imposed maritime exclusion zone, which I believe is legally questionable, is an extraordinary overreach that will infringe on everyone's right to use our public beaches in Newcastle this weekend.
The zone extends one nautical mile into the waters of Stockton, Horseshoe, Nobbys and Newcastle beaches and the length of the Hunter River upstream to Tourle Street in Mayfield West, from 5pm Thursday, November 21, until 8am Monday, November 25. Anyone close to this maritime exclusion, presumably on the beach, will need to comply with police orders. It's uncertain whether Nippers, surfers and fishers will be forced to comply. They certainly don't deserve a heavy police presence surveying the coastline when Rising Tide has been clear it will limit its activities to Horseshoe Beach and its adjacent harbour waters and parkland.
The reason given for the imposed exclusion zone is to ensure the safety of vessel navigation, and that's exactly what people are coming from across the country to talk about. Coal exports are far too safe at a time when their planned transition should be defined. The state government has taken extreme measures to ensure that coal ships are not delayed, even for a few hours.
We're coming together at the world's biggest coal port precisely because we're concerned about safety. Our future is increasingly precarious. We shot past a safe 350 parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric CO2 in the 1980s, and have failed to slow the trajectory towards climate collapse. Even now at 419ppm, and a vanishing hope of keeping global temperatures at a 1.5 degrees increase on industrial levels, we have Labor state and federal governments that show no sign of reining in new coal and gas approvals. Australia is still the fourth largest coal exporter in the world.
If safety for maritime vessels is truly the priority for the state government, there's one way to achieve this with certainty: pause coal exports. Every other vessel is free to come and go as they please, as is always the case for these events.
I've been participating in the Newcastle port blockades for the past 12 years. These events have always been carefully planned with close communications with the police and the Port of Newcastle to ensure that safety is everyone's top priority. No one has ever been hurt and there's never been any violence. The focus is always a family friendly, festival atmosphere that celebrates the safe climate future that we know is possible if governments would fund and support coal regions to transition.
This year, the People's Blockade in the world's biggest coal port is more important than ever. Reports of the event being 'unlawful' or 'banned' because of the Supreme Court decision on the Form 1 agreement have been misleading and point to the need for a deeper conversation about the right to protest as a fundamental part of democracy. We do not need permission from the government or police in order for any protest to take place. The Form 1 is ideally achieved as an agreement between the protesters and the police about what will take place during the protest. In the case of the Rising Tide event, the police and organisers weren't able to agree on the timeframe and nature of the protest. The police rejected the application.
The Supreme Court judgement that reviewed this decision did not require or recommend any further restrictions, exclusion zones or a refusal from City of Newcastle for the application for a land-based event. Justice Fagan did make clear that the police would respond to any illegal activity as they would normally.
I'm proud that City of Newcastle has continued to work with Rising Tide to ensure that our right to protest is upheld. They've done so despite heavy pressure from the police and state government. Peaceful protest must be carefully guarded by all of us if we are to maintain a healthy democracy.
This weekend, we stand together to demand our elected representatives refrain from using their powers to protect vested interests, but rather step up to protect our fundamental democratic right to protest and to protect our future from climate catastrophe.
