Practise what you preach, Tom Koutsantonis tells Extinction Rebellion climate protesters
The Energy Minister has ripped into Extinction Rebellion protesters, accusing them of hypocrisy and jeopardising their own message.
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Climate activists have been challenged to “practise what they preach” by Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis, after protesters interrupted his speech to an oil and gas conference.
Issuing pointed advice to Extinction Rebellion activists, Mr Koutsantonis said their actions on Thursday morning jeopardised attempts to “bring middle Australia with us on a decarbonisation route”.
“I was there to tell the oil and gas industry conference the need to decarbonise is coming at them at a million miles an hour – we need to start decarbonising now. But they’re (protesters) not interested,” he said.
”But what I was most disappointed with is their use of hydrocarbons to glue themselves to fixtures and fittings.
”They should practise what they preach. None of them walked there – they would have driven there.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas, in response to Opposition questions, revealed to parliament on Thursday the state government had pinpointed a location near Whyalla for the flagship $593m hydrogen power plant.
But he did not reveal the location, saying this was subject to “commercial engagement and consideration on behalf of the government”.
Liberal Energy and Net Zero spokesman Stephen Patterson accused the government of breaking another election promise by failing to reveal the hydrogen plant’s location within 90 days of winning government.
”Peter Malinauskas is full of hot air and his commitment to reveal the location of this experimental hydrogen power plant is nothing but an empty promise,” he said.
More arrests as climate protests roll on
A man and a woman have been arrested after joining a group of five Extinction Rebellion protesters who pushed back on barricades at the western entrance of the Adelaide Convention Centre.
The male protester was initially given a warning to cease loitering but was subsequently arrested after he returned and stood in front of officers stationed behind the barricade.
The protesters had returned for the final day of the oil and gas conference at the centre vowing to cause more disruption.
After two days of protests against the fossil fuel industry, the number of activists – gathered at the western entrance – has reduced.
Organisers say more arrests are anticipated.
Police have officers stationed at each of the barricaded entrances to the centre to protect attendees at the conference.
Vegans, retired grandparents and everyday workers are among the Extinction Rebellion protesters demanding government and industries put an to end fossil fuel extraction – but they admit they’re not “perfect”.
More than 50 protesters marred the first two days of an oil and gas conference at the centre with their loud and disruptive demonstrations prompting police to make four arrests for loitering and disorderly behaviour.
On Tuesday, police reinforced the entrance to the convention centre with barricades and more patrols after two arrests on Monday.
It didn’t stop one man who attempted to jump the barricade and was arrested for disorderly behaviour.
Another woman attempted to use an exhibition pass to sneak her way into the conference. She was also taken away by police.
Some activists dressed in black costumes performed a theatrical demonstration that ended in the pavement being doused with fake oil.
Chris Johnson was among the activists protesting against the conference and the wider fossil fuel industry.
An engineer by trade, Mr Johnson said he wasn’t perfect.
“I don’t drive, I’m vegan, I’m all those things – but no one has to be perfect to engage in a protest like this. If I was here not wearing shoes or clothes, you would paint me as some outcast freak, so it’s a lose-lose situation,” he said.
“Fossil fuels are so tied up in everyday life, so we have no choice but to be linked to them.”
Mr Koutsantonis didn’t hesitate to point those links out on Monday.
“I was just enjoying the fact that protesters were using petrochemicals to glue themselves to the pavement,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
Mr Johnson said it was a “cheap jab”.
“It’s a real shame that people from the government that declared a climate emergency are prepared to take pot shots like that at an activist.”
Retired social worker Anna Slynn said if they had listened to the science sooner there would be no need for protests.
“We have run out of time, we need to wind down the fossil fuel industry by the end of the decade and the economy might have to suffer for us to do that,” she said.
When asked by The Advertiser if she was willing to suffer herself to help the environment, Ms Slynn said she was “doing the best she can”.
”I do what I can within my limited income. I’d love to be able to afford an electric car, but I can’t at the moment,” she said.
A key pillar of the protest is the regular run-ins with police.
On Monday two protesters, both grandmothers, were arrested for loitering and dozens more attempted to block the centre’s entrance, but police were there in force to stop them.
Another pair glued their hands to the footpath in front of the centre’s western entrance. Both were removed by police and given a cease loitering warning.
Mr Johnson said they were nonviolent, but they vowed to continue to be disruptive.
“We’re not out here to cause anybody any harm, we’re not a threat to anybody except for the fossil fuel industry,” he said.
“These people are here, risking arrest and taking fines. We don’t want to be here, but we have to be because the government is killing us.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the group should take into account the state’s efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.
Mr Malinauskas said the protesters should consider South Australia’s energy production in context, pointing out 54 per cent of electricity nationally was from coal, but zero per cent in SA.
“The fact that South Australia is the national leader when it comes to decarbonisation is something we can be proud of in the context of us pulling our weight addressing climate change, but just as excitingly it means massive economic opportunity,” he said, pointing to his government’s hydrogen agenda.
“We now have 68 per cent of all energy that is produced in SA comes from renewable energy, well in excess of the national average.”
Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Peta Page demanded the state government end all oil and gas industry partnerships.
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