In short:
NSW Police have arrested 138 people for allegedly defying directions not to enter the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour.
The Port Authority has temporarily paused shipping movements due to safety concerns.
What’s next:
A police operation on the harbour is continuing.
Something not being talked about is the fact that it’s actually been extremely difficult to get arrested, so a whole lot more people would have been out there at the time.
I’ve spoken to friends still in Newy and many are just towed back in and released, only to paddle out and have it repeated.
I was one of the three arrested yesterday, we actually had a fair few more come out with us. Some were arrested then released without charge, one kayak was towed back in something like 8 times and not arrested at all. It was absurd.
I think we were arrested because we made it the furthest out and actively fought against the jet ski cops. We had them spinning in circles so they couldn’t bring us back into the so called “safety zone.”
These little reports are awesome. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for your kind words! 💚💚💚
I’m afraid I’m unable to offer much as of now as my bail conditions required me to leave Newcastle until my court date.
For the most part it should all be over now, but who knows, many people are frustrated that the actual blockade was only a few hours long so we may yet see some more arrests.
All I know at this stage is police have been confiscating paddles and things to stop people coming out onto the water, which is probably an overreach of their powers as it’s perfectly legal to be on the water.
Do you get that on your record? If you get a job did it show you have criminal record?
Either way thank you and everyone involved for your sacrifice.
I’m not 100% sure what my record will show, that will have to wait until after my court date.
The one thing I do know is that my job/future jobs should be fine as I have never used violence and that’s the kind of thing that comes up on background checks. I’ll probably be renewing my working with children’s check soon, and I’m not expecting any issues.
I hope it works out ok for you and others. I really admire that. Not only are you fighting for us for free but you’re actually paying a massive price.
You guys are the veterans this country should have statues about. Instead we have statues of people who would shoot you.
Thank you but I’m not someone to be worshiped or anything, I’m just a ratbag punk who cares.
I’ll be perfectly fine, I’m not facing much. My fine maxes out at $330, the biggest sacrifice I made was 5 hours shivering while soaking wet in a cramped cell. The others, well I guess we’ll see when our court dates roll around. Odds are many will get reduced sentences or even off scott free, but there are a few I’m a bit more worried about.
If anyone ends up in prison, I’d highly encourage sending letters. It’s such a small thing that makes a huge difference during their time inside.
If you know the people in jail, maybe you could make a post about it? Though I don’t know if that’s invasion of privacy. But you posting about it here already kind of makes you like a celebrity to me. Stuff I read about but I would not think I would actually talk to someone who was in the news. I don’t know anyone who was involved in that. I don’t even think I know people who ended up in prison.
Thank you and good luck!
💚💚💚
The article has been updated to reflect the new count of 170 protestors arrested!!!
We’re getting near to doubling last year’s 109 (I think?)
Edit to add some new info I’ve received:
- 5000 people in attendance
- 2840 news articles
- 170 arrests is the largest civil disobedience action in Australian history
- Flotilla was on the water for 50+ hours
I won’t be providing details but we had a number of children arrested. We’d all like to highlight the fact that this is a fight for our survival, and that everyday Aussies are turning up en masse to build a better tomorrow. If anyone is considering getting involved with local activism and wants guidance, please reach out at any time, I’m always happy to help. No need to be arrested or anything, there is so much you can do within the law and so much support to be provided to those who break the law, including numerous roles you might not think about.
- 170 arrests is the largest civil disobedience action in Australian history
By what measure? Just by the number of arrest?
Yeah, number of arrests. Civil disobedience means disobeying laws and orders. Not necessarily the largest protest in Australia as that would be by number of participants. There’s probably been larger protests for Palestine, the weekly Melbourne one regularly attracts around ~3000 from what I’ve heard
Do you have a list of like biggest acts of civil disobedience by number of participants by any chance?
I’m afraid I don’t, I’ve just been passing on information I’ve received from the organisers. I had a quick look online but couldn’t see any lists. I’d do more research for you, but I’m currently trying to get home 😅
Most lists I saw on Wikipedia are about protests for specific causes like COVID lockdowns or the Vietnam war.
If I’m able to get a source from the organisers for this claim I’ll pass it along to you (unless I forget which is very possible).
Edit: you could probably go through this and work it out but that wouldn’t be much fun tbh
The largest by numbers was this year’s Invasion Day rally in Melbourne, the organisers of which invited Palestinian protestors in an act of solidarity. There were so many Palestinian flags flying. One numbskull near me went to fly an Israeli flag and nearly got his arse beat, but the cops had him out of there so fast.
Oh awesome, thankyou Norah!!!
That was actually my first ever protest, and it was overwhelmingly huge.
Oh hey, maybe I saw you there Sasha! :3
It was a little overwhelming, thankfully I had my trusty ear muffs with me. Not a bad one for your first! I brought a friend who had never been to a protest before either.
Good chance you did actually, I was a pay the rent collector and watched the entire thing go past and the ran ahead a few times to try and double up our intake 😆
I hate that we’ll have to do it again in January, but I hope I can do even more this time.
Counting arrests is an interesting measure. One one hand, it’s a loose indicator of how disobedient it was and the perceived threat of it. Not all protests are effective even if they’re unlawful.
On the other hand, a well-planned action will often tactically minimise arrests, because they make further actions more difficult (cops often target key figures intentionally. Some friends say they saw photos of public-facing organisers on the walls of the police station they were processed at the Botany ZIM protests. Many aren’t allowed to go anywhere near the port terminals anymore.).
But for a mass protest, most people won’t be getting arrested (and often we want people not willing to risk arrest to be welcome and secure in participating), there is an element of safety in numbers sometimes. So there’s more to civil disobedience than arrest count, but the arrest count is a real indicator of the bourgeoisie and their level of concern. So-called ‘eco-terrorism’ hits wallets directly, so you’ll see the guards much more aggressive there than during poloce-sanctioned anti-war marches.
Climate change, looking more likely to collapse civilisation, so what do we do? side line green politcans, arrest climate change protestors and keep destroying the world.
Well of course it’s going to sound negative when you put it like that, but you have to take the positives from it; like, now share prices won’t dip. In the end that’s what really matters.
Copying a comment I made in another thread:
This will probably be my final update for the Newcastle action, thanks so much for your words of support, I’ve passed them on to those still at the camp and they’re very grateful. Keep an eye on the news for further protests in Canberra over the coming days, share news articles you see with friends and family as this is how we get our message to the government. Our voices will be heard! ✊
Property seized by police has been returned, this included items belonging to Rising Tide as well as personal property of some activists.
The protest has gone global in some sense. A group in Rotterdam Holland blocked a coal train in solidarity with everyone at Rising Tide’s People’s Blockade. I love those people so much, solidarity is our strength and we are full of it now.
Legends. The article kind of annoys me though:
NSW shadow minister for police Paul Toole has labelled the protesters “numbskulls”.
While Paul Toole is an expert at being a numbskull, he’s no expert at identifying them. No idea why the ABC thought about taking his opinion on the matter.
Good on Rising Tide, another protest at Parliment House
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-27/rising-tide-protest-arrests-parliament-house/104654756
