SYDNEY: Australian police said Sunday they had arrested dozens of people during climate protests that claim to have halted two cargo ships at one of the world’s biggest coal export ports.
A total 32 people were arrested and charged with “marine-related” offenses on Saturday and early Sunday at the Port of Newcastle, a major deepwater gateway north of Sydney, police said.
Several activists engaged in “unsafe practices” on the water during the protests, New South Wales state police said, warning that they had a “zero-tolerance” approach to threats to public safety or the safe passage of vessels.
Organizers Rising Tide said the weekend protests, in which flotillas of kayaks entered shipping channels, had forced two coal ships to turn around instead of entering the port.
Nearly 100 people in 50 kayaks entered the shipping channel again on Sunday, it said.
Greenpeace said activists climbed the side of coal ship Yangze 16 on Sunday and displayed a banner reading: “Phase out coal and gas.”
Police landed in a helicopter on the ship’s deck in the early afternoon and detained two activists after the seven-hour action, the environmental group said.
“As the world’s third-largest fossil fuel exporter, Australia plays an outsized role in the climate crisis,” said Joe Rafalowicz, climate activist at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
He urged the center-left government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to set a timeline to phase out goal and gas and stop approving new fossil fuel projects.
Greenpeace “stands with all peaceful climate defenders who are advocating for real climate action at the Blockade, and all around Australia,” Rafalowicz said.
A spokesperson for the Port of Newcastle said shipping schedules continued over the weekend with the final vessel leaving in the afternoon.
“Vessel operations will continue tomorrow as scheduled,” the spokesperson said.
Australia’s parliament approved new environmental laws Thursday requiring large carbon-emitting projects to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollution reduction goals.
But the Climate Council NGO expressed concern that the laws did not require the government to consider a project’s climate pollution when assessing whether to greenlight it.
Despite heavy investment in the renewable sector, Australia remains dependent on its fossil fuel economy for growth.
It is one of the world’s top coal exporters, holds the third-largest coal reserves and continues to channel billions of dollars in public subsidies to fossil fuels.
Australia arrests dozens in coal port protest
https://arab.news/pxbym
Australia arrests dozens in coal port protest
- A total 32 people were arrested and charged with ‘marine-related’ offenses at the Port of Newcastle
- Rising Tide said the weekend protests had forced two coal ships to turn around instead of entering the port
Pro-Palestine protest planned in Sydney against Israeli President Herzog’s visit
- Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach
SYDNEY: Pro-Palestine demonstrators plan to rally in Sydney on Monday to protest the visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as authorities declared his visit a major event and deployed thousands of police to manage the crowds.
Police have urged the protesters to gather at a central Sydney park for public safety reasons, but protest organizers said they plan to rally at the city’s historic Town Hall instead.
Police have been authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.
“We’re hoping we won’t have to use any powers, because we’ve been liaising very closely with the protest organizers,” New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.
“Overall, it is all of the community that we want to keep safe ... we’ll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe.”
About 3,000 police personnel will be deployed across Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
He is expected to meet survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the December 14 shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”
Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major cities across Australia, and the Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge in a Sydney court against restrictions placed on the expected protests.
“A national day of protest will be held today, calling for the arrest and investigation of Isaac Herzog, who has been found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have incited genocide in Gaza,” the Palestine Action Group said in a statement.
The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
