A rolling series of protests has seen at least 26 people arrested – and more than 200 passenger trains cancelled – over a two-week period.
Planned by Blockade Australia, whose protest at a major port in Sydney in 2022 prompted the NSW government to introduce new anti-protest laws, the group says the daily climate protests are calling for change at the heart of the issue.
Most of those arrested have faced fines of between $750 and $1,500, and have not been subject to the harsh penalties under NSW’s anti-protest laws.
The laws, supported by Labor while in opposition but now under review by the government, can see protesters who block major facilities – such as railways, ports, transport facilities or infrastructure – face a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and $22,000 in fines.
Last December, the NSW supreme court found that parts of the anti-protest laws are unconstitutional because they infringe on the implied freedom of political communication.