Newcastle

CHUCK ANOTHER PLANET ON THE BARBIE!

Strike #12 for #BlockadeAustralia this week.

Vickers scaled a stacker reclaimer this morning at the port of Newcastle and pressed the big red button to shut its exports down. Like many of us, Vickers fears it’s too late to stop climate collapse …

ā€œIt’s time we take a crowbar to this system, pry it up, rethink it, reimagine it.

Now thereā€™s nothing left to do except for non-violent direct action, except for pushing the big red stop button. If you look around, around corporate institutions, thereā€™s heaps of them. Pinch points in destructive supply chains, like ports, are exactly the places we can shut this machine down.

Hopefully in the chaos down the slide of ecological disaster, there will be enough space to reimagine our relationships with each other and the environment.

This particular system is not listening to us, itā€™s time for us all to go push the big red buttons.ā€

šŸ‘‰Online Info Talks: https://www.blockadeaustralia.com/events
šŸ‘‰Donate to support Blockade Australia: https://chuffed.org/project/blockade-australia-support-fundraiser
šŸ‘‰Read more and get involved: https://linktr.ee/blockade.australia

WE STOPPED A COAL TRAIN. ONE BOTTLENECK AT A TIME.

For the fourth consecutive day, the operations of the worldā€™s largest coal port at Newcastle was stopped by two activists who locked on, atop a loaded coal train at a Hunter River bridge crossing in Singleton (on stolen, unceded on Wonnarua Country). Ayla has just been released and is on their way home, and Kalpa is still in police custody awaiting court tomorrow.

Ayla (16) said: ā€œIā€™m here because this system is hurling us towards total climate collapse, because Iā€™m worried about my future, worried Iā€™m not going to be able to have kids. Iā€™m taking the power back for myself. I donā€™t believe anyone has a say in our current political system, especially not those whose future weā€™re trying to save. Iā€™m here in solidarity with everyone else whoā€™s fighting for our future, in solidarity with the land and the water and the trees. Because itā€™s something worth saving.ā€

Kalpa Goldflam (64) said: I take this action today on Wonnarua Country as an act of civil resistance. As I write this, our world as we know it is continuing to hurtle towards ecological and climate collapse.”

“The system that is called Australia – the industries, governments, and organisations are all complicit in maintaining economic growth, despite the certain increasing death of more and more people, animals and ecosystems this priority ensures.”

ā€œSo much climate disaster is already happening, and thatā€™s one of the reasons I believe governments and corporations are engaging in gaslighting. Itā€™s not like weā€™re going to be at some point in the future, we are in an emergency right now.ā€

“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.”

ā€œI have three beautiful grandchildren from 10 down to 3 months. I have a village of millions of children around the world, and as a village member Iā€™m taking responsibility for making changes ā€“ not within the current system, but direct at the system itself. Itā€™s the system thatā€™s causing the harm they are saying they are managing to fix.ā€

šŸ‘‰Online Info Talks: BlockadeAustralia.com/Events
šŸ‘‰Donate to support Blockade Australia: https://chuffed.org/project/blockade-australia-support-fundraiser
šŸ‘‰Read more and get involved: https://linktr.ee/blockade.australia

It’s a long way to the ground

Stealthy Ninja Grace (18) and Angus (22) the impromptu comedian ground coal export to a standstill on Tuesday night. Separated by 50km and 5 hours they live streamed their legendary acts of courage on facebook. One cheeky and one hilarious they’re both great entertainment.

Grace jumped the barbed wire fence surrounding the mountains of coal at 9pm in the worlds largest coal port and ran in to pull the breaks an enormous machine that unloads trains and loads ships. She then scaled that machine and glued their hand to a maintenance railing 5 stories high.

Angus erected a 9m metal pole in the middle of the train tracks on a narrow rail bridge at 3:30am, the pole was tensioned across all the train tracks and Angus proceeded to safely climb up the pole and livestream for 6 hours.

Muloobinba local, Angus, stopped the Hunter Valley supply line leading into the Newcastle coal port, atop a 9-metre pole in early morning darkness into sunrise this morning on Wonnarua Country. The 22-year old said:

ā€œThe Australian system is killing us. We need to fight to continue living. The luxury of a handful of people is being prioritised over the lives of every other living thing on the planet. The best way we can fight the system is by directly confronting its operations with direct actions like this. Physical action that disrupts the destructive functioning of the colonial project known as Australia is real, political power.”

Stealthy ninja, Grace (18) said:

“Engaging in direct action like this makes a clear statement that we won’t be messed around. We are doing this because it’s necessary for survival and necessary to avert mass extinction. Actions like this are for our collective survival. I act out of love for our haters, for the people rooting for us, for literally all human and nonhuman life.”

They are proud to have taken impactful action to disrupt the system that is killing us.

2 quality livestreams for the watch list:

The cheeky sneaky ^^^

The radical comedy show ^^^ (seriously hilarious)

šŸ‘‰Online Info Talks: https://fb.me/e/3EAa0KxsI
šŸ‘‰Donate to support Blockade Australia: https://chuffed.org/project/blockade-australia-support-fundraiser
šŸ‘‰Read more and get involved: https://linktr.ee/blockade.australia

BLOCKADE STRIKES FOR THE 6th TIME IN TWO DAYS

Grace, 18, has now been arrested after stopping operations at the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle by stealthily climbing to the top of a stacker-reclaimer and gluing their hand to the railing ā€“ it’s a crane-like machine that is five stories high, think biggest machine you’ve ever seen. Stacker-reclaimers are used to load coal onto ships for export. Grace glued herself onto the machine and said:

“We are a relentless bunch of people. We will not stop until real action on climate is taken.”

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Major export facilities across the continent have been disrupted six times in two days by #BlockadeAustralia

Grace is a conservation student who grew up on a farm on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country (Canberra). Grace works at a bakery, and is concerned about the future of food amidst the climate and ecological crisis, and what the future holds for all life on Earth.

She live streamed it!

Donate to support Blockade Australia: https://chuffed.org/project/blockade-australia-support-fundraiser
Sign up to get involved: https://www.blockadeaustralia.com/sign-up/
Join our telegram channel: https://t.me/BlockadeAustralia
Read more at: https://Facebook.com/blockadeaustralia

A young climate activist at Kooragang island has stopped exporting at coal terminals of Port of Newcastle, on stolen, unceded Awabakal and Worimi Country.

The activist locked on and glued on, suspended off a bipod for over four hours.

They said, ā€œThis direct action not only brought coal trains to a halt, but was a disruption to the colonial project, known as Australia. Australia was established through brutal genocide with the sole purpose of extracting wealth. That’s exactly what is still happening today.

ā€œThe colonial and expansionist project, known as Australia, will always protect itself instead of the people. The legal avenues of change currently presented to us only facilitate Australia’s protection of itself, and its priority to incentivise the accumulation of wealth. This priority is perpetuated culturally ā€“ through individualism, climate denial, and illusion of meritocracy.ā€

Other activists blockaded the Port of Brisbane (on stolen lands of the Quandamooka peoples) and Port of Melbourne (on unceded Boon Wurrung Country) at the same time this morning.

“Direct actions like these shake up the current system and ā€œbusiness as usualā€. 98% of Australiaā€™s trade is via ports ā€“ meaning most of the flow of the economy is centralised around these pinch points which we are able to disrupt.

“We are taught that power is only accessible to few individuals in “special” and “authorised” places. Everyday people are feeling disenfranchised and disempowered. We’re breaking that down by building a resistance movement that disrupts pinch-points in this destructive machine. Collective power comes when we stop destructive forces from operating. We all have the power to disrupt and transform the colonial project, known as Australia.”

This is a coordinated response to Australiaā€™s facilitation of the global climate and ecological crisis.

Update: Claudia has been released on bail pending court on the 20th of July. NSW police charged them with trespass and obstructing a railway.

Donate to support Blockade Australia: https://chuffed.org/project/blockade-australia-support-fundraiser
Sign up to get involved: https://www.blockadeaustralia.com/sign-up/
Join our telegram channel: https://t.me/BlockadeAustralia
Read more at: https://Facebook.com/blockadeaustralia

After 11 consecutive days and over 20 actions, Blockade Australiaā€™s mobilisation against the biggest coal port in the world has come to a close. For 65+ hours infrastructure was blocked with 28 people arrested. Thank you to everyone who watched, shared and participated in Blockade Australiaā€™s Newcastle mobilisation.

The past two weeks have shown that itā€™s possible to cause serious disruption to the Australian system, if motivated individuals unite in a coordinated way. The police came down on us through a Strike Force, excessive charges, helicopter patrols, and raids on unconnected homes and offices. With this expected state repression we continued to pull off actions around them, showing that we will not be intimidated by their flexes that guard Australia and property over all life on earth.

If you were inspired by this mobilisation, transform that into action by committing to the Sydney Dates: 27th of June – 2nd July. Through collective power and strategic direct action we can force Australia to deal with climate change. Simply ignoring it and blocking climate action will not continue under our watch.

Follow Blockade Australia and if you give a damn about your future make sure you plan, take time off, organise yourself and be in Sydney in 2022

Jacinta and Kirsten entered at dawn; with Kirsten disabling machinery and Jacinta locking on to a structure at ground level. This is the 20th action in 11 days halting operations at the Newcastle port.

“The problem is that our system is based on exponential growth, that revolves around money and power which is unjust and unequal. All life forms suffer because of the human actions of the corrupt and exploitative systems of our government and multinationals. Iā€™ve come here to do direct actions because I feel it is one of the ways for me to stand up for what is right”

Jacinta

ā€œIā€™m a law student and it is upholding the duty of care laid down in Sharma v Minister for Environment to stop coal ports fuelling the CO2 emissions that cause climate change. In July this year the Sharma case found that the Minister has a duty to take reasonable careā€¦ to avoid causing personal injury or deathā€¦ arising from emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earthā€™s atmosphere”.

Kirsten

For the second time today, activists have shut down the World’s Biggest Coal Port in Newcastle as part of disruptions against the port that have been taking place since last Monday. Newcastle local Quinn (24), has locked on to infrastructure. Clancy (20) is dangling above piles of coal.

The pair have hung a banner that says
“Australia: climate thug”.

“Resistance is fertile and is effective when we come together. Iā€™m calling for people to join blockade Australia next year from June 27th in Sydney the economic and political heart of this beast. The resistance to inaction on climate is growing and it needs you.ā€

Australia is a racket. Getting in the way of of this empire of destruction and desecration is the only appropriate action at this point in history. Action like this is our best chance at prying power away from the dominating class and create space for real solutions to the climate collapse.

Zianna and Hannah have shut down Newcastle coal port, abseiling from coal handling machinery, known as stacker-reclaimers. The port cannot resume operations until the pair are removed by police. This is the tenth consecutive day of disruption to Newcastle coal port and its supply rail network!

ā€œThe institutions and corporations of Australia are designed to work together to exploit natural and human resources. Climate collapse will be the last result of this system.ā€

ā€œWe are getting in the way of Australia, stopping the machine that has set our homes on fire and drained our rivers, that promises mass starvation and water wars.ā€

Hannah and Zia

Resist Australia where it matters. See you in June.