Organisers estimated as many as 1500 protesters from across the country launched a flotilla of rafts and kayaks into the mouth of the Newcastle Harbour on Saturday in a planned 30-hour blockade of the world's largest coal port.
Protesters said they had stopped as many as eight ships carrying up to half a million tonnes of coal in the action orchestrated by the climate change activism group Rising Tide.
Activists set up camp near Horseshoe Beach on Friday, November 24, and have declared their intention to blockade the port for two days, from Saturday, "to demand the halt of new fossil fuel projects, and the introduction of a 75 per cent federal tax on fossil fuel export profits to pay for community and industrial transition, and climate loss and damage overseas".
A young Tasmanian teaching assistant had come to Newcastle for the demonstration Saturday morning. He identified himself only as "Crab" and was on his way home to Tasmania after travelling overseas. As the flotilla launched at 10am to the sound of a drum beat, and hundreds made for the water, he said that the scale of the protest symbolised a shift in how climate action was perceived.
"I remember looking back a few years ago, and there was a bit of a disjunct in the climate movement over whether direct action was an acceptable tactic or not," he said.
"But there are a thousand people here - I don't think this sort of thing would have happened on this scale a few years ago.
"I think it's good that so many people are willing to actually put themselves on the line to make a difference like this."
Like many protesters who spoke with the Newcastle Herald on Saturday, Crab was mindful of the extent of the weekend's action. Speakers referred to the "existential crisis" of climate change. In an impassioned speech, former school striker Natasha Abhayawickrama said that she had given a quarter of her life to call for climate action, and veteran climate campaigner Bob Brown spoke about the need to avoid despair in the face of the wicked problem.
"I think that people throw around existential crisis and other words like this, but I don't think it's really articulated what that actually means," Crab said.
"But a lot of the projections from scientists are looking not only at disastrous weather events, but at food shortages, water shortages ... if there is a season where crops fail en masse, or people don't have access to water, the implications are pretty staggering.
"I don't think enough people actually think about what it looks like when millions of people can't get enough food to feed themselves and their families. What does that do to society?
"I think a lot of this turns into white noise after a while, and people switch off to what it actually means.
"I don't necessarily think that the Australian system will stop exporting coal anytime soon, or it's going to fight that every step of the way. What do I want to see? I like to see a complete jump away from this extractive model of energy, but also of consumption, towards a model ... where people aren't being torn between either destroying the environment or not being able to feed their families every day, which is what a lot of the coal workers in that port have to deal with."
All ship movements, regardless of their cargo, were stopped for the weekend, a spokesperson for the Port of Newcastle said, citing safety concerns for the number of people in the shipping channel. Rising Tide organiser Zack Schofield said protesters registered on a two-hour shift rotation but were welcome to stay on the water longer as the demonstration planned a continuous blockade for 30 hours.
There was a considerable police presence on the water as the kayaks were launched, and officers had set up a mobile command centre at Foreshore Park, but Mr Schofield said that the action was proceeding as planned.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said that there had been no arrests during the morning's demonstrations, which officers had been notified about seven days prior in line with legal public demonstration process.
"A Form 1 has been submitted to police providing seven days' notice as required by the Summary Offences Act, and the planned assembly is authorised," a spokesperson for NSW Police said in a statement.
"The Form 1 submission follows several months of consultation between the NSW Police Force, the Port of Newcastle, assembly organisers and other stakeholders, in order to manage the impact on the port and local community."
