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‘Selfish’: Angry man confronts climate protester blocking Sydney Harbour Tunnel

A furious member of the public has confronted a climate protester locked inside a car blocking the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

A climate protester locked inside a car blocking the Sydney Harbour Tunnel has filmed the moment an angry member of the public confronted her.

The video, streamed live on the Blockade Australia Facebook page, showed the woman with a bike lock looped around her neck and the steering wheel of the car.

Blockade Australia identified the protester as 22-year-old Mali.

As she told viewers what she is doing, a “really angry” man could be seen marching up to the car from behind her.

“I’m not sure what’s about to happen,” Mali said.

The man repeatedly knocked on the window yelling expletives.

“Get the f*** out of the way, you f***ing selfish c***,” he said.

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The protester was clocked to the car with a bike lock. Picture: Blockade Australia / Facebook
The protester was clocked to the car with a bike lock. Picture: Blockade Australia / Facebook
The man approached the car multiple times yelling expletives. Picture: Blockade Australia / Facebook
The man approached the car multiple times yelling expletives. Picture: Blockade Australia / Facebook

Mali remained calm and once he moved away, she said: “To this man, I would say I stand with you. It is for you, it is for your family that we do this. It’s for everyone’s people that we love that we take this stand because it is for all of us that we need our life support systems.”

As she continued to talk, she was again interrupted by a man yelling.

“There’s a lot of angry people around. It’s quite overwhelming,” she said.

Mali went on to explain she had been living in Lismore during both major floods this year and had seen the devastation it had caused.

Later in the video, police could be seen outside the car and eventually an officer approached and asked her to step out of the car.

Mali could be heard agreeing to show the officer identification and was asked to place her hands on the dashboard before the video cut off.

Protesters marched through Sydney’s CBD disrupting the traffic as part of the Blockade Australia protests. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper
Protesters marched through Sydney’s CBD disrupting the traffic as part of the Blockade Australia protests. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

According to police, emergency services were called to the northern entrance of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in North Sydney at about 8.15am, responding to reports a woman had stopped her car, blocking all citybound lanes. She was arrested.

“Around the same time, approximately 50-60 people who police allege were part of an unauthorised protest -walked on the streets of the Sydney CBD, interfering with the free flow of vehicles and pedestrians,” a statement said.

In total 11 protesters were arrested.

Blockade Australia wrote on Facebook that the aim of the protest was to “bring Australia’s largest city, Sydney, to a standstill”.

“Between June 27th and July 2nd we will show our collective resistance against Australia’s ecological destruction,” a description for the event read.

“Join the convergence of people blocking Sydney’s major roads. If we stop the city moving, we halt the system that is endlessly expanding, exploiting and destroying.

“This means the people in power have to take us seriously.”

Demonstrations began around 8am at Hyde Park, where protesters met before marching through the streets.

Protesters threw concrete blocks, garbage bins, pushbikes and ladders onto the city streets in an effort to disrupt traffic and delay police officers trying to disrupt the protest.

NSW Police trailed the parade of protesters on foot and with a convoy of vehicles with sirens wailing, cleaning up after the protesters in an attempt to clear roads.

Read related topics:Sydney

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/selfish-angry-man-confronts-climate-protester-blocking-sydney-harbour-tunnel/news-story/71f753e1053300234916baed8db7de84