Rising Tide Actions

Protesters in kayaks today disrupted one of the largest dredging operations in the world, and the expansion of the world's biggest coal port in Newcastle.

Thirteen water-borne protesters paddled into the way of dredging machines in the South Arm of the Hunter River, calling on both State and Federal Governments to place the interests of the environment and the broader community ahead of coal corporations.

Dredging operations at the site ground to a halt for over an hour due to the protest. Water Police eventually moved all protesters out of the area without charge.

Photo by Conor Ashleigh: click picture to go to gallery
Videos of the protest are available here and here.

Eight people were arrested during a dramatic protest at Parliament House in Canberra this morning.

Two women disrupted Treasurer Wayne Swan's post-budget address in the Great Hall, protesting at the government's shamefully inadequate response to climate change in both this budget and its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

At the same time, seven women locked themselves together in a circle in the main foyer of Parliament, chanting slogans calling for swift and meaningful greenhouse pollution cuts, not handouts to polluting industries.

 May 8 2009
Climate activists have painted black fingerprints on the doors of Federal Climate Change Secretary Greg Combet's office today. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, and other coal companies are meeting Combet to lobby for free carbon permits.