Two female climate protesters shut down the world’s biggest coal port by abseiling off crucial machinery
- Two climate protesters have shut down major coal port in Newcastle, NSW
Two climate protesters have shut down the world's biggest coal port by abseiling off a key piece of machinery.
The two female protesters on Tuesday night entered the Port of Newcastle and attached themselves to a key piece of machinery that loads and unloads coal, shutting down the port.
Blockade Australia said the activists, named only as Zianna and Hannah, climbed to the top of machinery and suspended themselves out of reach.
'As dawn broke on the coal port the sound of machinery was interrupted as the two protesters used an intricate set up of ropes to manoeuvre themselves over the edge,' the activist group said in a statement.
Two female protesters have shut down the Port of Newcastle by abseiling off a key piece of machinery
The two demonstrators also livestreamed the daring protest on the Blockade Australia Facebook page while suspended above the ground.
Environment Minister Matt Kean said the stunts were 'completely out of line'.
He said NSW police need to 'throw the book' at anti-coal activists who have been staging controversial protests around the Port of Newcastle.
'Pull your heads in - get out of the way and stop hurting other people going about their lives, running their businesses,' Mr Kean told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
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'There are hundreds of of ways to make your views known and advocate for change but risking the lives of rail workers is definitely not one of them.'
Protests have disrupted the port and surrounding rail infrastructure in the past two weeks, prompting police to establish a strike force to crack down on the high-profile stunts.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the activists risked charges with potential jail sentences of up to 25 years after some locked themselves onto trains and tracks around the port to stop coal trains.
NSW police have launched a strike force targeting anti-coal protesters who have been blocking railways near the world's largest coal port, threatening them with potential jail sentences up to 25 years
The NSW Crimes Act says a person is liable to be charged if they interfere with a railway or locomotive with the intention of endangering a person's safety.
Acts with the intention of causing a derailment can result in sentences up to 14 years.
Protestor Zianna said she wanted 'to challenge the ruling order of domination and exploitation that is buckling our life support systems'.
'We must create true decision making power over our lives through scaling up offensive direct action and resist injustice where power operates on the ground.
'It is now our duty to defend the biosphere that gives us life and to every person that Australia has forgotten and ignored.'
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