Extinction Rebellion activists arrested at NSW parliament fossil fuel protest
Two Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested after a protest blocked traffic in front of NSW parliament this afternoon.
NSW
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Two people have been arrested at an Extinction Rebellion protest outside NSW parliament after they stopped southbound traffic on Macquarie St and put a makeshift bed on nearby scaffolding.
About a dozen Extinction Rebellion demonstrators gathered outside state parliament to protest against Coal Seam Gas mining about 4pm.
As part of the hour-long protest, two people — one dressed to represent the NSW Government and the other dressed to represent Santos — climbed into a makeshift bed directly outside parliament’s gates before acting out explicit love scenes.
Police arrived quickly on the scene to chase protesters off the road, before calling in Police Rescue, who detached the bed from the scaffolding and arrested the two lying inside it.
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Broadcasting the event live on social media, activists also draped Extinction Rebellion flags over the fence in front of the parliament building including “No gas”, “climate and ecological emergency” and “NSW govt get out of bed with fossil fuels”, before leading chants and playing loud music.
State Greens MPs Cate Faehrmann and Jenny Leong came out to congratulate protesters for their work.
“From inside parliament, thank you for doing what you’re doing,” Ms Faehrmann told the crowd.
“This is the kind of action we need in state parliament,” Ms Leong said, before saying she was “disgusted” by the heavy police presence at the protest.
The protest was the second of its kind in two days, after five Extinction protesters were charged yesterday when they stripped half-naked and glued themselves to the glass inside the foyer of the Independent Planning Commission.
Four women and a man were charged for a raft of offences including destruction of property, remaining on private premises with no excuse and obscene exposure in public.
