Activists urge blockade of freight rail lines over Adani

Protesters aged from 19 to 73 held after Brisbane CBD blockade.

An Extinction Rebellion protester is arrested in Brisbane. Picture: AAP.

Police have charged 56 climate change protesters aged between 19 and 73 during a rally that blockaded Brisbane’s political precinct and caused traffic disruptions today.

The first wave of arrests took place shortly before 8.30am this morning when activists sought to cause maximum disruption during peak hour.

Police worked to keep the action confined to the cordoned off William Street, arresting anyone who spread out onto nearby Margaret Street, which remained open to traffic.

Before 8.30am, 15 men and 12 women were arrested for offences including contravening a police direction, obstructing traffic, obstructing police and breach of peace.

Throughout the rest of the day, a further 29 people were charged with similar offences, with most arrests coming about 11am when the group stormed back onto Margaret Street, bringing traffic to a standstill for 20 minutes.

A police barrier between William and Margaret Street had become relaxed and was quickly overcome as the group surged onto Margaret Street in front of oncoming motorists.

Traffic quickly backed up on the Riverside Expressway as commuters were stopped in their tracks for about 20 minutes.

Dozens of climate change activists arrested in Brisbane's CBD, as #ExtinctionRebellion protesters stage 'Rebellion Day' rallies around the world.

Lord Mayor Adrian @Schrinner says council is working with @QldPolice to minimise disruptions for commuters.

Details @4kqbrisbane pic.twitter.com/sMFMOtVUNz

— Jo Hayes (@johayesjourno) August 6, 2019

Police gathered around the protesters and began to push them back onto William Street.

Some of the ringleaders used megaphones to urge protesters to hold their ground, but police soon started making arrests and forcing the crowd backwards.

Mounted police were called in to help corral the protesters.

Motorist Jan Langford, who was blocked on Margaret Street for 20 minutes, described the protesters were “self indulgent”.

“I’ve only seen certain individuals walking past here and they don’t look like the kind of people who are contributing too much to the economy,” Mr Langford said.

“They find it alright to hold people from working and stopping people from generating the income tax that’s going to contribute to their dole money.

“I get that people are upset about climate change, but maybe they should be protesting to God.”

Shortly after the group was herded back into William Street, Greens Senator Larissa Waters and Brisbane City Councillor Jonathan Sri took to the makeshift stage to thank the crowd for attending and to encourage further civil disobedience.

“It’s about time our political institutions represented the communities they are elected to represent,” Ms Waters said.

“It is cutting through.

“We are now having discussions in the federal parliament because of what you are doing here today, so keep going.”

Activists urge train blockade

Climate change activists in Brisbane have urged fellow protesters gathered outside the government’s executive offices to join a planned blockade of freight rail lines in north Queensland to protest the Adani Carmichael mine.

Hundreds of protesters disrupted peak hour traffic this morning in a bid to shock people into standing up for the environment.

The protests, organised by Extinction Rebellion, led to several arrests, with organisers saying about 20 people had been taken away by police.

“We need a whole lot of bodies up there really soon,” an activist said of the permanent anti-Adani protest camp in the Galilee Basin.

“There’s going to be buses and things organised to get mass people up there.

“We need people up there stopping the trains.”

Along with market stalls and marquees set up for protesters to create placards and purchase Extinction Rebellion-branded shirts, the protesters have parked a boat in the middle of William Street, which they have said represents where the Brisbane River level will be in 50 years.

Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Isabelle Harland, 23, of northern NSW, told The Australian the crowd had met expectations of about 1000.

“People like my parents are getting the message,” she said.

“They previously thought activism was a bit extreme but they recognise we are in a climate emergency.

“This is how change happens, through civil disobedience.”

Ms Harland said previous smaller protests had built up towards today’s action.

She was among several activists arrested last month when they sat in a canoe in the middle of the busy Victoria Bridge in the central business district.

Ms Harland said the group had expected arrests and was prepared for more.

“I went in knowing I was going to be charged,” she said of the canoe stunt.

“When I was in the cells I had never felt so peaceful with myself and so free.”

Ms Harland said she was prepared to breach her court-sanctioned good behaviour bond in order to get her message across.

Activists arrested

Earlier, at least seven climate change activists were arrested during the “Rebellion Day” protest in Brisbane’s CBD.

The rally has shut down a small stretch of William Street in front of the government executive offices.

Police have blocked protesters from encroaching on Margaret Street, which remains open to traffic.

Several protesters have been arrested and taken away by police for venturing too close to Margaret Street.

With each arrest, a cheer has erupted from the growing crowd, which began assembling nearby about 7am.

The group has been chanting “the seas are rising, no more compromising” and “keep coal in the ground”.

Police arrest an Extinction Rebellion protester. Picture: AAP.

Meanwhile, government employees pouring into 1 William Street for work have been greeted by a festival-like atmosphere, with musicians performing in front of a crowd of hundreds of protesters.

Activists have waved placards warning of “extinction” in front of government workers.

An organiser standing on a stage set up on William Street asked for protesters to applaud the “20” people arrested, thanking them for “sacrificing their liberty for our planet”.

“Our government has failed miserably to protect this planet,” she said.

“The only way forward is civil disobedience.

“Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, we are largely to blame for this crisis.”

Greenslopes IT worker Mac Riggs, 25, said he had joined to protest because he feared for the future of the Earth and his job security.

“Really sadly, if there’s no drastic change in what we’re doing to the earth, crop farming is going to become worse,” he said.

“Bees are almost extinct and higher temperatures and destruction of natural habitats and more coal burning is causing that to get worse

“Estimates over the next 40 or 50 years suggest there won’t be IT jobs because we will need so many more farmers.”

Mr Riggs said he believed the disruptive protests were the only way to make politicians listen to the group’s concerns.

“Numerous scientists and activists or decades have been doing rings the right way and it’s a real shame that it has come to this,” he said.

Josh Woods, 23, said he had taken the day off work to join the protest.

“I’ve taken the day off from my nine to five because I think it’s really important and it’s expected by 2050, civilisation as we know it will drastically change, and a lot of jobs will go, a lot of people will be displaced and temperatures will rise,” he said.

Activists descend on Parliament House

Earlier, about 100 climate change activists gathered at Queensland’s Parliament House for a planned all-day disruption to Brisbane’s political precinct.

A handful of early-bird protesters assembled at the site from 7am but the crowd had grown significantly by 8am.

Traffic in the inner city is yet to show signs of being affected.

The protest, set to continue until 2pm, has been planned by the Extinction Rebellion group, which is calling on governments to prioritise the environment to prevent catastrophic climate change.

The radical group has plunged the inner-city into traffic chaos with its recent protests, which included activists glueing themselves to the road.

Several activists have been charged by police during previous protests.

The group has dubbed today’s protest “Rebellion Day” and called for “mass civil disobedience”.

Extinction Rebellion has accused the government and media of not telling the truth about “climate and ecological collapse”, predicting the planet is heading for a “mass extinction”.

“The non-violent movement calls for society to dismantle colonial systems of exploitation, protect biodiversity, and transition to achieve net zero emission by 2025,” the group said in a statement.

Nurse Daniel Young said he was one of “48 people already arrested in the lead up to Rebellion Day”.

“If the climate was one of my patients — and I was ignoring all the warning signs and just waiting for them to deteriorate — I would be charged with criminal negligence,” Mr Young said.

“People are losing their lives and livelihoods, right now. If we take immediate action, we can transform our society into one that protects people and values biodiversity.”

A short stretch of William Street has been closed as the protest moved to outside of the government executive offices.

Police have cordoned off the street, which has been filled with market-style stalls and even a stage with microphones and a drum kit.

Protesters carrying signs saying “civil disobedience works” and “stop trying to make coal happen” are chanting “rebellion”.