Car drives into protest by climate activist group in Sydney CBD

A car has driven into a march by a climate activist group in Sydney’s CBD on Monday morning. NSW Police said they were aware of the incident and had commenced inquiries.

The Harbour Tunnel was earlier blocked by a member of the group Blockade Australia, while other CBD streets were obstructed during a morning of protest.

The woman, 22, from Lismore, blocked the southbound entrance to the tunnel by chaining herself to the steering wheel of her parked white car just after 8am.

The tunnel reopened after police arrested her. Southbound traffic on the Warringah Freeway and Gore Hill Freeway has since cleared.

The woman, named Mali, live-streamed the event in which an unknown man repeatedly approached her car to yell obscenities at her.

So far, 10 people have been arrested after participating in the unauthorised protest. They are awaiting charges at Surry Hills and Day Street police stations.

Police made arrests after climate protesters stopped traffic around Sydney’s CBD on Monday. The Herald does not suggest that any of the people photographed were among those arrested, or that they have broken the law or engaged in wrongdoing.Credit: Nick Moir

“I’ve watched much devastation with two one-in-100-year floods. This is climate change. I cannot stay silent any more. I cannot be complacent any more. The colony of Australia, this destructive colony system landed here, hellbent on spreading exploitative practices all over the earth,” Mali told viewers.

“To those people who are really angry right now, I understand, and it’s not a good thing to be experiencing. You know what? Climate change isn’t a good thing to be experiencing.

“There’s a lot of people yelling, it’s quite overwhelming, but it’s been an overwhelming year. I was lucky in Lismore, but I’ve seen people that I love lose everything and places I love be destroyed.”

The Blockade Australia protest began at Hyde Park at 8am and quickly moved across the city’s CBD towards the harbour. Streets were obstructed with wheelie bins, plastic crates, and other items.

A Blockade Australia protest blocked the south-bound lanes of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel on Monday.

The protesters began to disperse in the CBD just before 9am. According to internal communications seen by The Sydney Morning Herald, the group intended to reconvene at lunchtime. NSW Police estimate about 50 to 60 people were involved in the protest.

“I encourage those who continue to participate in this unlawful protest activity to reconsider. Police will continue to be out in force over the coming days,” acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Dunstan said confirming he expected further arrests in the coming days.

“They appear hell-bent on continuing this activity,” Dunstan said.

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott told 2GB the way Blockade Australia chooses to protest is “selfish” and ineffective because its cause remains unclear despite repeated demonstrations.

“They need to re-evaluate how they’re going to get their message out, because it ain’t working with these demonstrations,” he said.

Blockade Australia said last week it wanted to “blockade the streets of Australia’s most important political and economic centre and cause disruption that cannot be ignored”.

The NSW Parliament introduced new laws and penalties in April to discourage protesters who disrupt traffic on bridges and tunnels.

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