Young Newcastle Person of the year challenges Government’s anti-protest moves in Supreme Court
The People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port has been under sustained attack by the NSW Government. 2020 Newcastle Young Citizen, Alexa Stuart, is today taking the NSW Minns Labor Government to the Supreme Court in a bid to find their 97 hour exclusion order for the Hunter River mouth and beaches unlawful.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice and public interest lawyer Sue Higginson said “ This is a very important case, at this time. This case is about the rule of law and questioning whether the Government has unlawfully stepped above it. The Court will be asked to determine if this is a lawful use of power and for a proper purpose,”
“The question is, has the notice excluded the public from the water beyond the power that the Marine Safety Act provides. The powers under the law to exclude vessels and people are to facilitate special events such as swim events, regattas and events involving vessels, they are not unfettered powers for the Government to do as they want, when they want, to control people and infringe upon the ordinary rights of people wanting to play in the waters of NSW,”
“We know the NSW Labor Government does not want the people to protest against their current climate change and coal policies that are allowing the continued export of coal through the port of Newcastle,”
“The Government continues to say that its exercise of power against the people is all about safety, but we know if it was about safety - they would be working with the people, to ensure safety, not criminalising ordinary behaviour such as swimming, exercising, paddling, playing and cooling down in the public waters of the state.”
“Keeping people safe means working with people, not trying to squash, hurt and criminalise them. When a Government is at war with the people, it doesn’t go well for anyone, we do see excesses of power and it offends our democracy,” Ms Higginson said