Court Rules in favour of Police over Newcastle Climate Protest
Today the NSW Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the NSW Police Commissioner against grassroots climate action group Rising Tide in the Police attempt to prohibit “The People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port”. Following two full days of hearings, Justice Fagan has ruled both prohibition orders sought by the NSW Police will be granted. It is understood that the NSW Police refused to negotiate throughout the proceedings even after Rising Tide significantly reduced their protest event applications from eight to four days, and from 50 hours on the Port’s waters to 30, in line with last year's successful event which received international attention.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Climate Change and Justice Sue Higginson says, “This is a chilling day for our democracy. It is the second time in the past few weeks that Police have sought to use the Court to prohibit a public protest event with the full support of the Premier of this State, and it should serve as a wake up call to the people of NSW. Our rights of political communication in their many forms are being steadily eroded by the very people put in place to protect them,”
“While this outcome is extremely disappointing, it must be made absolutely clear, this case was never about whether or not this event could go ahead. The people do not need permission from the police to protest on public land and water in this State. This court case was always about the police insisting they should hold on to their full suite of criminal and policing powers during this event. In other words, for the last week they have dragged a family-friendly event through the courts at the public’s cost, so that they may be emboldened to arrest anyone who is protesting against the Government’s support for the continuation of coal exports through the Newcastle coal port in the face of the climate crisis,”
“As I understand it, The People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port will go ahead. It is also the case that Rising Tide does have appeal rights if they are of the opinion that the Judge made an error of law in the case and of course they can lodge a new Form 1 should they choose. The Police case rested heavily on safety and Rising Tide responded by modifying their application but the Police would not budge. The case took a perverse turn when the argument to refuse the application for the on-land event, which is full of community and performance family-friendly activities, focussed on the need for police to be able to arrest people on land to prevent them from accessing the water,”
“Today, as the state of democracy is in peril across the world, NSW has slipped further into authoritarianism, spurred on by Premier Chris Minns’ intolerance of the freedom of political communication and the right to assemble and protest,”
“Under the laws of NSW it is not the job of the Premier or the Police to say where, when and how people can protest. It is the job of the Police and the Premier to serve the people and work with organisers to facilitate a safe and effective event. Today, the Premier and the Police have thrown this obligation back in our faces. What we have seen are the tactics of authoritarian politics attempting to silence the people,”
“It is telling that the NSW Government would rather seek to silence the community and protect their profits from exporting the climate crisis straight through the Port of Newcastle rather than support our grassroots communities, embrace the right to protest, take firm action to end coal exports and transition our economy.
“The climate crisis is here and people need to exercise their hope that their governments will hear them. It is only a matter of time before we see another catastrophe in this State like the Black Summer fires of 2019 2020 or the devastation of the floods in the North in 2022. As the experts in the CSIRO and the BOM told us loud and clear in their recent and terrifying State of the Climate 2024 report, we must stop our addiction to fossil fuels,” Ms Higginson said.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Democracy Kobi Shetty says, “Today’s outcome is a shocking attack on the right to protest. It’s appalling that the police and the NSW Labor Government have sought so hard to deny people the fundamental right to protest,”
“The Rising Tide event was held last year with no significant safety concerns or incidents. It is a peaceful, family friendly protest – and it has been an important way for people concerned about climate change to express their frustration and hold our government to account,”
“Protest is a key part of our democratic process, and as people become more concerned about our government’s inaction on climate change, it’s vital that people are able to speak out and demand more from decision makers. The Greens will continue to stand in solidarity with climate protestors like the Rising Tide organisers and the Knitting Nannas. We cannot allow these attacks on our democracy to continue,” Ms Shetty said.