A plan by climate activists to shut down the Port of Newcastle for 50 hours has been challenged by New South Wales police who have argued in a court challenge against the protest going ahead.
Organised by a group called Rising Tide, the protest would involve thousands of activists paddling into the Port of Newcastle on kayaks and rafts to stop coal exports from leaving Newcastle for 50 hours.
The group are calling the protest the “People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port”. A week-long “protestival” expected to attract 5,500 demonstrators is scheduled to take place alongside the blockade, and includes music performances.
Police are challenging the organiser’s form 1 application to block the harbour for 50 hours. If the application is accepted, it would protect protesters from being prosecuted for blocking the waterway during that timeframe.
On Friday, the court heard from witnesses appearing for the police in the first day of hearings that about 30 ships would be blocked from exiting and entering the harbour over the 50 hours, creating a significant backlog.
Rising Tide’s lawyer Neal Funnell urged Justice Desmond Fagan to consider the economic impacts of climate change and the impact the fossil fuel industry “plays in that”. Fagan disagreed it was relevant to this case.
“I’m not concerned with taking into account the economic effect of the activity of burning coal in power plants in whatever country this coal is freighted to from the port of Newcastle – that’s not before me,” Fagan said.