Canoe protest stops Brisbane CBD traffic

Traffic on one of the busiest bridges in Brisbane has been brought to a standstill by four protesters in a canoe that was placed across two lanes as part of a protest. The group behind the action has also issued a warning that more is to come.

TRAFFIC on one of the busiest bridges in Brisbane was brought to a standstill during peak hour by protesters in a canoe that was placed across two lanes.

Four activists who are part of the global Extinction Rebellion, which twice caused chaos on the city’s streets with protests last week, locked themselves inside a canoe which had earlier been placed on Victoria Bridge.

Police at the scene confirmed the protestors involved will be charged with public nuisance.

Police moved the canoe to South Bank in a matter of minutes after arriving at the scene, but the protesters remained locked inside with elbow locks for more than an hour after.

Four activists locked themselves onto the canoe using metal pipes, meaning they were be unable to be removed without being cut out. Picture: Andrea Macleod

A spokesman from Queensland Police said officers attended the scene at 7:37am and removed the canoe at 7.45am.

A total of 12 police officers attended, as well as two fire trucks and a crew of paramedics.

The protesters were finally removed from the canoe about 9.10am but were still connected to each other via the elbow locks as they were taken from the scene by police.

One of the protesters may have been injured after police “brutally ripped” his hand from Victoria Bridge when they moved the canoe off the bridge, Extinction Rebellion claims.

A total of 12 police officers attended the scene. Picture: Andrea Macleod

Extinction Rebellion spokesman Daniel Heggie said the protester told police his hand was glued to the bridge but they still ripped his hand from the bridge when they moved the canoe from the road.

“I am not sure how bad his hand is at this stage,” Mr Heggie said.

QFRS officers are on scene currently cutting the protesters free of the canoe.

“The four Extinction Rebellion protestors will have to be removed by a specialist police cut team before the bridge can be cleared,” Extinction Rebellion had said in a statement prior to the police’s attempts to extricate the quartet.

A canoe stops traffic on the Victoria Bridge in the Brisbane CBD.

Inspector Karl Hahne said police were aware of potential planned protests

“This is something some of the protest groups have been alluding to, that they were going to try some civil disruption,” Inspector Hahne said.

“Obviously our first concern was the safety and well-being of everyone involved including the protestors.

“It only took about 5-10 minutes to remove them from the bridge, but they had a number of devices they used to secure themselves to the canoe.”

The four activists in the canoe after it was removed from the bridge. Picture: Andrea Macleod

Mr Heggie confirmed the group’s message was “business as usual is leading to death”.

He said community was supporting the protest with more and more local support.

“There’s definitely a lot of members of the public cheering us today and saying they support what we are doing,” Mr Heggie said.

“This is not just happening in Australia. This is a worldwide action.”

Part of today’s action was about also focussing on the destruction of coral reefs.

Mr Heggie said the death of the Great Barrier Reef would happen unless there was change.

He said the Rebellion was calling for governments to create highly qualified panels of climate change experts to provide direction for government policy on how to protect the earth.

The group was also responsible for a spate of protests where activists glued themselves to streets in the Brisbane CBD last week.

Four activists have locked themselves onto the canoe using metal pipes, meaning they will be unable to be removed without being cut out. Picture: Andrea Macleod

In the statement, the group also warned the upcoming “Rebellion Day Brisbane” planned for August 6 will “see major disruptions and large numbers of arrests.”

Mr Heggie confirmed 20-year-old Eric Serge Herbert, who glued himself to a street in the CBD last week, was also one of the four involved in today’s protest.

Mr Herbert was fined $550 for his involvement in the incident on June 18 after unnecessarily spending the night in police custody because he refused to sign bail documents.

When he faced court on June 19 he told the magistrate “nothing is going to stop me from doing this again.”

A list highlighting the group’s demands includes: “Climate Action, Tell the Truth about the climate crisis, Preserve Biodiversity, Dismantle colonial systems of oppression.

The organisers of one of the traffic-stopping protests, on Friday night, in which six people were arrested, had vowed to do it again after people glued their hands to the street.

Police walk the canoe to the South Bank side of the bridge.