Ten charged after Blockade Australia disruption in central Sydney
Chaos reigned in Sydney’s CBD on Monday morning, with one activist blocking the Sydney Harbour tunnel as others took to the streets. Ten people have now been charged - half of whom hail from interstate.
NSW
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Ten people have been arrested and charged after Blockade Australia protesters caused 45 minutes of chaos on city streets.
A car ploughed through the protest and collided with a number of activists as they attempted to stop traffic in Sydney CBD on Monday morning.
Aerial video shows the vehicle driving into police and protesters blocking traffic. It continued to drive down the street while protesters tried to latch onto the car and slow it down.
Detectives are aware of the vision and are conducting inquiries. It is not known if anyone was injured during the incident.
A band of at least 100 protesters marched through the CBD from 8am, hurling signs, fencing, traffic cones and any other roadside equipment they could find onto streets, in a bid to slow following police and traffic.
Police are scouring CCTV and have appealed to the public to help them identify protesters who caused traffic chaos in Sydney CBD on Monday.
Detective Superintendent Paul Dunstan said ten people arrested in Blockade Australia’s wild run through the city’s centre would be charged under new laws ushered in earlier this year, including fines up to $22,000 and two years in jail.
Five of the ten charged are from Victoria, while another hails from Queensland. Their ages range from 21 years old to 49 years old.
“Those people will be charged with the recently introduced legislation (from) the government relating to the obstruction of major roadways,” he said.
He also confirmed the number of police in the CBD would be increased over the next few days in response to this morning’s chaotic rally.
While a spokesperson for the group didn’t respond to queries from The Daily Telegraph, they has indicated on their social media channels their promised week of action will continue despite the arrests.
Dunstan confirmed police were investigating the footage of a car appearing to drive through part of the blockade, bumping protesters.
He said there was no injuries reported yet from the march, but added those rallying had caused “incredible danger” by blocking roads and throwing roadside objects onto the street.
“We will be out in force and we will have additional police as a result of this morning’s activity,” he said.
“And what I will say the behaviour of this group was nothing short of criminal activity.
“The throwing of bicycles, the throwing of garbage bins, the throwing of other items in the path of police, in the path of media and the path of innocent members of the public just walking by will not be tolerated and cannot be (tolerated) by the people of New South Wales.”
He confirmed Fire and Rescue cut a woman free who had locked herself to her steering using a bike lock around her neck, after blocking the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel with her vehicle.
“The woman that stopped that car in the entrance to the Harbour Tunnel placed herself at risk, placed members of the public at risk and her rescuers at risk,” he said.
She has since been charged and refused bail to appear in Central Local Court tomorrow (Tuesday).
Lanes on the Sydney Harbour Tunnel were closed as a precaution, but a thick police presence including vehicles and officers on foot prevented protesters from blocking the thoroughfare.
They instead turned down Bridge Street, part of a zigzagging, haphazard march through roads starting at Hyde Park.
In a chaotic, running battle police worked to shepherd protesters off peak-hour Sydney streets, before the group told members in an encrypted messaging app to disperse at 8.45am.
It was first day of a promised week of action by the extreme protest group.
Those taking part were told in an encrypted messaging app on Sunday night it wouldn’t be a traditional rally, with the group scurrying shortly after the message was given to disperse.
At least one TV cameraman fell heavily after toppling backwards over a milk crate hurled into his path.
A locked white car blockaded southbound lanes into the Harbour Tunnel for a short time.
A woman inside the vehicle was attached to the wheel with a bike lock around her neck and live-streamed the action before being removed by police.
“I cannot be silent anymore. I’ve seen a world of devastation happen. I’ve felt … complete and total heartbreak this year as a direct result of climate change,” she said.
“I don’t want to have to be here, it’s for all of us. It’s quite overwhelming.”
One motorist exited his car and unleashed a verbal tirade at the woman calling her a “f**king selfish c***” to which the woman replied “I stand with you”.
Police flanked the protest, clearing debris as quickly as protesters could dump it on the road, while running alongside those marching in a bid to block streets ahead of the march.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that the activists “bloody idiots” will face the “full force of the law”.
The game plan for the first day of the promised week-long “mass disruption” was sent out on Sunday evening over a messaging app and included legal advice as well as instructions on how to cause traffic chaos.
Group members were also encouraged to “run or disperse” through the city on Monday morning.
“This won’t be like a regular rally with speeches and a lot of time standing around – we will be meeting at 8am sharp and then moving quickly from there,” the memo states.
“Depending on police tactics you may be required to run or disperse depending on your abilities. Be prepared to walk on roads and stop cars from passing.”
It comes after the group we spotted brazenly using the hipster-filled Marrickville Markets as a training ground the day before kicking off their long-promised “mass disruption”.
The extreme environmentalist group Blockade Australia, which has previously crippled freight and transport networks in a series of rolling actions blocking roads and rails at Port Botany and the Hunter, have promised for months to hold a week-long protest from June 27.
The Daily Telegraph on Sunday witnessed a group of more than 15 Blockade Australia members undertaking training at the Addison Street Community Centre, alongside the hipster-stronghold Marrickville Markets, in apparent preparation for their actions this week.
It included one bizarre rehearsal where two members mimicked as if they were driving a car, while another dozen ran in front of them to ‘stop’ them.
The group, according to their social media channels, also held seminars on Sunday in preparation for their planned protests this week, with the workshops including discussions on “politics and culture”, “street medic (sic) and welfare”, as well as a “communal lunch”.
Group spokesman Greg Rolles – who said the organisation was in the process of rebranding to ‘Resist Climate Destruction’ – told The Telegraph that getting 10,000 protesters into the CBD was a “good dream”, after bold predictions by the group last week.
He refused to comment on how many were expected this week.
“Hopefully lots of people who want a safe future for them and their kids,” he said.
The vow to carry out their long-publicised action comes despite police raids on camps at Colo and Ebenezer, near Windsor, over the last fortnight as police looked to disrupt preparations for the protests.
During the raid at Colo police seized concrete-filled barrels and devices used to lock protesters on to buildings or vehicles, which police allege would have been used in the upcoming week.
NSW Police last week began a high visibility operation including units posted on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and beefed-up numbers of cops on patrol in the CBD.
They also urged pedestrians in the CBD to report anything suspicious throughout the week.
Deputy Premier and Minister Police Paul Toole said police were aware of the workshops being held at Marrickville.
He added police were prepared to make mass arrests if groups chose to illegally protest in the CBD over the week.
“Police are aware of a number of workshops being run by Blockade Australia to galvanise support for their unlawful action and offer assistance, including legal advice,” he said.
“The only piece of legal advice these people need to know is that what they are planning to do is illegal and it simply won’t be tolerated.”
I cannot be any clearer- these protests are illegal and anyone who participates in any dangerous and disruptive action this week or at any time will be arrested.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed earlier this month the group had amassed a war chest of more than $75,000 to help fund the legal battles of members arrested during their actions.
It comes after the NSW Government, fed-up with rolling protests at Port Botany and in the Hunter last year, increased penalties including fines of up to $22,000 and jail terms of up to two years, for illegal protesting on public roads and rail lines.
The Daily Telegraph first reported in January the group was promising to take “the kind of political action that can’t be ignored” in June.
“Sydney is the centre of Australian political and economic power … Gridlocking the port of Newcastle dealt a massive blow to Australia’s ability to keep up its extractive operations. Blockading Sydney can do that tenfold,” a post on the group’s Facebook earlier this year read.
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