Beekeepers arrested during Extinction Rebellion protests
Police said they were aware of plans by climate change protesters to disrupt parts of the city’s rail network in coming days and have warned them not to.
NSW
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Police said they were aware of plans by climate change protesters to disrupt parts of the city’s rail network in coming days and have warned them not to.
Extinction Rebellion activists have denied any plan to stop a train, rather they will sing songs and hand out flyers at Central Station on Wednesday morning.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said six more protesters had been arrested this morning on top of the 38 taken into custody in dramatic scenes at Broadway yesterday.
He confirmed police were aware of plans by protesters to target the city’s rail lines in coming days.
“The rail network is an integral part of the integrity of the city so I would ask the protesters not disrupt people going about their day to day rail travel,” Mr Willing said.
“Yesterday, despite repeat warnings from police some members of the Extinction Rebellion movement chose to break the law and chose to cause as much disruption as they possibly could.
“We are well aware of plans of the group for coming days, indeed over the next coming weeks, and I ask organisers to ensure that people do not break the law.”
Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Elly Baxter said there was no plan to disrupt the rail network.
“There is absolutely no organised plan by Extinction Rebellion to disrupt the rail service,” Ms Baxter said.
“I am assuming where they’ve got the idea from is there is a small group of people who plan to go to Central Station tomorrow and sing songs and hand out flyers.
“It’s a long bow to draw between stopping traffic and stopping a train. I don’t even know how you would go about stopping a train.”
Protesters, dressed as beekeepers, were dragged off the road after a ‘Bee Emergency’ demonstration at Hyde Park this morning before marching to Town Hall for a second planned protest.
Three men were allegedly seen banging on a black car outside St James station about 10am before being arrested by riot squad officers.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian this morning urged people to get “creative” about protesting rather than inconveniencing the public.
“My message to protesters is there’s a peaceful way of doing things — disrupting the public gets people’s backs up,” she said.
”If you feel strongly about a cause there are really positive ways you can get your message across without hurting other people. It’s not the masses of public that should be inconvenienced.”
Ms Berejiklian also backed the police “100 per cent” concerning arrests at the Extinction Rebellion protest yesterday.
“The police have my full support because when protesters take it too far it doesn’t only risk their own safety but the safety of others and community safety is what the police are there for,” she said.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said no one was hearing the protesters’ message because of their “stupid behaviour” in disrupting traffic.
“No one is hearing their cause and all they’re doing is disrupting and making people angry,” he said.
“If they’re message is about climate change it’s not being heard because of their stupid behaviour.”
One of those arrested was beekeeper and farmer Peter Matthison who spoke at the rally.
“The whole state is running out of water. The way we see it is there is no future in farming if our government doesn’t act on this ASAP.”
Police at the scene said they were unable to comment on the arrests.
The 38-year-old said he was not setting out to be arrested but was willing to be detained.
“As a farmer, I have no other option but to put my body and my liberty on the line,” he told AAP.
“I will receive fines, I will get a criminal history which I’ve never had before, and I’m completely fine with that as long as we secure a safe future on this planet.”
Scott Umbers, a horticulturist from Canberra said he joined the movement four months ago.
“I’m not sure how many bee species there are in the world. I’m doing this for the future of my children,” he said.
Mr Umbers said he has made several adjustments to his home and garden to make it more environmentally friendly.
“Keep cups are so important. I forgot mine today at my home but a lot of plastic cups these days are fully compostable.”
‘These are the exact issues I’ve been fighting for 50 years’
Peter Thompson from the Sutherland was also unsure of how many bee species there are in the world.
“Bees are dropping like flies,” he said.
“The science is very clear on this but no one wants to listen to the science because it’s inconvenient.”
Today’s action follows the arrests of 38 Extinction Rebellion supporters who protested alongside 500 people from Hyde Park to Broadway yesterday.
The demonstrators, aged between 19 and 75, were all charged with failing to comply with a direction under the NSW Road Transport Act and granted bail to appear in court at a later day.
Yesterday’s day of chaos saw some protesters lock themselves inside a water tank before being hauled away by the riot squad. Others sat on the road in a staged sit-down and refused to move while holding up traffic.
Extinction Rebellion is staging a week of action across the world including other major Australian cities. 10 people were arrested during protests in Melbourne yesterday while police are today negotiating with a man in Brisbane who is hanging from Story Bridge.
It’s understood he has packed enough supplies to hang underneath the structure for days.
More to come