‘Radical protest group’: The who’s who of Rising Tide

Protest group Rising Tide could be stripped of its charity status after 170 ‘numbskull’ protesters were arrested for blocking Newcastle Port at the weekend, as we reveal the main players in the radical organisation.

Climate protest group Rising Tide could be stripped of its charity status after 170 “numbskull” protesters were arrested for blocking Newcastle Port at the weekend.

Strict rules for charities say they can be deregistered if they are “engaging in, or promoting activities that are unlawful”.

Among the 170 protesters arrested for their role in blocking the shipping channel in Newcastle was Rising Tide’s treasurer and serial protester 42-year-old Naomi Hodgson, who was among those charged and granted bail on Monday.

NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the mass protests and arrests at the Port of Newcastle showed the organisation should be stripped of the charity status that allows every donation to be claimed as a tax deduction.

“By any measure, Rising Tide is not an ‘environmental organisation’ planting trees or protecting habitats. This is a radical protest group,” he said.

Rising Tide treasurer Naomi Hodgson following her court appearance. Picture: John Appleyard

“Rising Tide should not be receiving a tax break to help fund its law-breaking.

“The federal government should immediately intervene to remove Rising Tide’s Deductible Gift Recipient status.”

Assistant minister for charities and treasury Andrew Leigh said Rising Tide’s charitable status was now a matter for the The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the police.

“We know public confidence and trust in the charity sector is its most valuable asset,” he said.

“Allegations of criminal activity are rightly a matter for the police, and where that activity involves a charity or its leaders, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission works closely with enforcement agencies to determine what action is warranted under charity law.”

Rising Tide chairperson Jessica Ledgerwood.

Rising Tide secretary Shaun Murray. Picture: LinkedIn

Hodgson is a serial protester who has travelled the country in support of climate change activism and proudly boasts about spending five months protesting at the James Price Point blockade in the Kimberley in Western Australia.

Rising Tide’s other key office holders, chairperson Jessica Ledgerwood and secretary Shaun Murray, both have a history of involvement in climate activism.

Ms Ledgerwood has been charged and convicted of multiple offences related to climate protests since 2021 while Mr Murray has also been arrested a number of times.

In the past he took over then Premier Dominic Perrottet’s Epping office and chained himself by the neck to scaffolding at Carriageworks as part of a Stop Adani protest.

Another of the event’s key organisers, 21-year-old Alexa Stuart, has been protesting since she was 15-years-old and counts her academic father and reverend grandfather as two of her “biggest supporters”.

Alexa Stuart is a Rising Tide organiser.

Her father Graeme Stuart, an honorary lecturer at the University of Newcastle, declared how “very proud” he was of her “commitment and dedication” in an online blog post.

The 2020 Newcastle Young Citizen of the Year’s 97-year-old grandfather and church minister, Alan Stuart, joined her at an earlier port protest.

Coal miner Grant Howard, 61, was charged with disrupting a major facility for protesting against the industry that gave him his living.

Doctor Peter Schofield, a professor with the University of Newcastle’s School of Medicine and Public Health, was filmed being dragged from a boat and arrested on Saturday. He returned on Sunday and was charged.

“As a doctor and epidemiologist, I know that climate change is causing a global public health crisis and I know that many medical professionals feel similarly,” he said in a statement afterwards.

Doctor Peter Schofield was arrested at the Rising Tide protest in the Newcastle Port over the weekend. Picture: Facebook.

His son, Zach Schofield, is Rising Tide’s media spokesman who said the organisation “relies on donations” to fund its activities but could not clarify exactly who the donors were or how much they had paid.

The organisation, which was first registered as a charity in March last year, has not filed any financial documents with the first not due until January 31 next year.

People who joined in the protest at the weekend were asked to pay a “comfortable” $20 fee for every day they attended plus $5 for every meal. Concessions were asked to pay $10 a day.

Mr Schofield estimated 7000 people attended over the seven days of protesting but said only a maximum of 5000 of those had registered and paid.

“I don’t have the exact details, there will be many people who didn’t pay and just rocked up,” he said.

A conservative estimate based on Mr Schofield’s figures would indicate the organisation earned $100,000 for every day of protest or more than $500,000 for the entire event.

To facilitate the protest Mr Schofield said the organisation had bought 200 inflatable yellow kayaks to take on the water. “We have purchased these kayaks and will be using them again,” he said.

When not in use blocking shipping lanes he said he and other protesters took the kayaks “out on the water for fun”.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission said it cannot speak publicly about the status of any charity or update anyone who has raised a concern about a charity.