Ninth Blockade Australia protester arrested at Port Waratah in Newcastle after week of havoc

A climate change activist group continues to wreak havoc across Australia, with police called to another coal port on Friday.

Police have arrested a ninth Blockade Australia protester, with the climate activist group ramping up their anti-coal demonstrations across NSW despite condemnation from politicians.

Police confirmed emergency services were called to Egret St in the Newcastle suburb of Kooragang at 6am on Friday following reports someone had climbed on top of a coal loader at Port Waratah.

Social media photos from Blockade Australia show a woman on top of the coal ship loader with a sign that read: “Chuck another planet on the barbie”.

The 67-year-old woman was arrested, but no charges have been laid as yet.

A 67-year-old woman was arrested by police for her demonstration at Port Waratah. Instagram: Instagram

In this week alone, nine protesters have been charged over a series of anti-coal demonstrations from climate crusaders Blockade Australia in NSW, with the organisation also holding disruptive action in Victoria and Queensland.

On Thursday, police removed two people from the top of a train near Singleton railway station at about 6am on Thursday. The vehicle was bound for Newcastle’s coal port.

Both were charged with obstructing a railway and entering enclosed non-agricultural lands where there is a serious safety risk.

The woman was refused bail and will reappear in court on Friday, while the teenager was granted strict conditional bail and will appear in court in July.

Blockade Australia members interrupted services to the Newcastle coal port by sitting on top of a train. Picture: Instagram

Premier to seek talks with Facebook

Earlier this week, NSW Premier Chris Minns lashed protesters for endangering the lives of themselves and emergency service workers.

Appearing on Today, Mr Minns said he was looking to consult with social media platforms including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as police to deter protest groups from broadcasting protests online.

Blockade Australia climate activist Brad Homewood has climbed a monopole to stop the operations of Port of Melbourne, the largest port in Australia

The Premier said demonstrators were putting their own lives, and the lives of workers and emergency services workers, at risk and warned them of tough penalties.

NSW has some of the harshest penalties for protesters who “shut down major economic activity” and protest near major roads, freight train lines, or infrastructure sites. If found guilty, activists can face maximum penalties of two years jail time or fines up to $22,000.

“Holding up a train line or a freight line on the way to a coal terminal means shutting down the heavy vehicles, the tonnage, that comes down those rail corridors – it’s extremely dangerous,” Mr Minns said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns urged demonstrators against the dangerous protests. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Jeremy Piper

“I say to people who are considering launching one of these demonstrations, not only are you potentially inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of people that live in NSW, I think you’re undermining your ultimate cause, but in the process you could find yourself in jail or in the worst-case scenario killed as a result of these demonstrations.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said she was outraged over the acts that broke the law and endangered others.

“The Premier, myself and the Commissioner (Karen Webb) are keen to meet with Facebook soon to see what can be done to get livestreams of illegal and dangerous activities taken down quickly,” she said.

“Social media is like oxygen for these clowns. They are achieving zero for the environment. It’s all about gathering ‘likes’ on social media.

“If we can take that away, I think these incidents might reduce greatly in frequency.

“I hope the courts treat them harshly as a lesson to others.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said she was outraged over the acts that potentially endangered the lives of police. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Simon Bullard

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman commended the Premier for taking action, however questioned how he would legally enforce the ban.

“I think it’s a very worthwhile initiative. Often when you’re trying to tackle bad behaviour, it’s not it’s not just having a law in place that criminalises something, it’s being able to prevent it in the first place,” he said.

“It is incredibly anti social to try to close down the economy and closed down people’s lives.”

In a statement from Blockade Australia on Thursday morning, Kalpha said the group would continue to “hold the Australian system accountable for the current ecocide”.

“I have climbed onto the train that was heading towards Newcastle coal port, the biggest coal port of the world and a key economic world fossil fuel gateway, to protest this system’s inability to care about the survival of any form of life on the planet,” he said.

On Wednesday night, Angus Hearn, 22, was charged with obstructing a railway and entering enclosed non-agricultural lands where there is a serious safety risk after suspending himself on a 9m pole over railway tracks in Branxton, west of Newcastle on Wednesday morning.

The protest, which aimed to stop supply coal lines from Hunter Valley into the Newcastle coal port, also halted trains for five hours.