Extinction Rebellion protesters stage ‘drown-in’ on Brunswick St
Melbourne’s week of protest mayhem and activist chaos has finally come to an end — but not before climate rebels disrupted traffic once again on a busy inner city street.
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Extinction Rebellion protesters have marched up Brunswick St away from the city on their final day of disruption.
The theme of today’s final protest is the rising sea levels, with cars and trams halted on Gertrude St as protesters staged a “drown-in” — their final act of disruption.
They walked from Gertrude St just before 1pm to Brunswick St, where they lay silently on the road to symbolise death due to rising sea levels.
Around 1.30pm, they walked back to the Carlton Gardens via Carlton St, led by a procession of people dressed in black robes and carrying a coffin.
People were dressed in colourful ocean-themed costumes and chanted “the oceans are rising, no more compromising”.
They marched with signs that read “Great Barrier Grief”, “cool it” and “ecological revolution”.
The group began speeches to wrap up their week of activities about 2pm, vowing to demand action on climate change in the future.
#ExtinctionRebellion protesters are staging a “drown in†on Brunswick St - laying down to symbolise drowning due to rising sea levels @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/5cvVLsL41k
— Angelica Snowden (@ang3snowden) October 13, 2019
#ExtinctionRebellion protesters are marching up Gertrude St, toward Brunswick St on their last day of disruption. @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/hbIj1dWSVh
— Angelica Snowden (@ang3snowden) October 13, 2019
It brings a week of protests to a close, after leaving commuters fuming over consecutive days of traffic and transport disruptions.
Saturday saw a “nude” march as scantily clad protesters stormed Melbourne Central at midday.
A large group disco-danced their way down Bourke St mall on Friday, shutting tram services down, before lying on tram tracks before being moved on by police.
More protesters blockaded the Melbourne headquarters of mining giants Rio Tinto and Oceanagold, triggering a large police response.
It came as police took the unprecedented move of telling commuters to finish work early on Friday and leave the city as soon as they could.
On Thursday, 41 protesters were arrested when climate rebels flooded peak-hour trains, glued themselves to a bridge and blockaded traffic in Melbourne.
On Wednesday, the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets was blocked off by protesters at peak hour.
Protesters also staged a “Last Supper” in the fountain outside the NGV, while others blocked Hoddle St with their bicycles during the morning peak hour.
On Tuesday, 59 people were arrested when tense scenes unfolded at a massive protest, with police carting activists off one by one.
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And on Monday, hundreds of climate protesters marched through the city in a widespread evening demonstration that shut down parts of Melbourne’s CBD.
Activists gathered at an illegal campsite at Carlton Gardens and blockaded the intersection of Russell and Bourke streets.
Dozens of climate activists stormed EnergyAustralia’s Melbourne headquarters earlier in the day, creating a human barrier at the CBD building.