Jacinta jumped on top of a freight train at the Port of Melbourne today, halting its import/export operations.
The Port of Brisbane, Port of Newcastle and Port of Melbourne are three pieces of infrastructure that critical to Australia’s operations. Shutting them down halts global supply lines. These are growth-driven chains of destruction that are actively harming the climate and failing to provide the needs for any life to thrive.
This is what Jacinta had to say:
“Australia works within an extractive system that is literally killing our chances of survival. We need to reimagine a world we want to live in”.
“We do not have time to wait for the government and corporations. They are never going to do what we need to do to survive. The system is geared solely towards exponential economic growth and expansion. We can’t have exponential growth on a finite planet.”
WE STOPPED A COAL TRAIN. ONE BOTTLENECK AT A TIME.
For the fourth consecutive day, the operations of the world’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: “I’m here because this system is hurling us towards total climate collapse, because I’m worried about my future, worried I’m not going to be able to have kids. I’m taking the power back for myself. I don’t believe anyone has a say in our current political system, especially not those whose future we’re trying to save. I’m here in solidarity with everyone else who’s fighting for our future, in solidarity with the land and the water and the trees. Because it’s something worth saving.”
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.”
“So much climate disaster is already happening, and that’s one of the reasons I believe governments and corporations are engaging in gaslighting. It’s not like we’re going to be at some point in the future, we are in an emergency right now.”
“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.”
“I 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 I’m taking responsibility for making changes – not within the current system, but direct at the system itself. It’s the system that’s causing the harm they are saying they are managing to fix.”
The main road leading into the Port of Brisbane has, for the third day in a row, been blocked by an activist bringing attention to the vital system change that we need to foster a healthy environment on this planet.
Naomi was locked onto the back of 2 vehicles for a couple of hours to stand in the way of the destruction of this continent. This disruption was taken collectively, on stolen land, with actions happening across so-called Newcastle and Melbourne ports.
In her livestream, Naomi said “I’m doing this because otherwise I’d be completely miserable watching the ecosystems around me be destroyed. Direct action is a method for creating change because it speaks truth to power and demonstrates the urgency of the situation. I really wish for humanity that we can find common goals and a sense of purpose, and more loving ways of existing with the earth.”
An organised resistance movement, made up of everyday people, is what is required to stop Australia’s destruction and protect the natural systems necessary for all life.
Update: 35 hours later (at publication time) and Naomi has still not been released or seen a magistrate and likely won’t until at least 2 days after this protest.
2 supporters of Blockade Australia have were arrested on site at this protest and have been in court and ordered to be held in prison at least until 17 June.
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:
“The 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.”
Glued on
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.
This morning, Niamh (20) abseiled off the Footscray Rd Bridge, blocking six lanes of traffic and access to the Port of Melbourne, the biggest container port on the continent.
Niamh said: “Blockade Australia has no demands because you cannot demand anything from a system that is designed to extract and exploit. The system that will always put profit above acting on the climate crisis. This system is the problem and the only way to create change is to stop it.”
For the third consecutive day, activists have mobilised to blockade major ports across the continent. Ports are a critical part of the infrastructure of the Australian export economy. This is an organised response to Australia’s role in causing the climate and ecological crisis.
For a second day in a row the roads leading in and out of the Port of Brisbane have been blocked by another activist. Darsh hung from a tripod spread across the 2 in-bound lanes and was later removed by the fire brigade.
This morning, Darsh said “I stand for a community that cares for each other, that shares the wealth created by the labour of the working class instead of stealing it for the benefit of the 1%, and that uses increasing repression to enforce their structural privilege at the cost of ecological catastrophe.”
“This is an act of self-defense. I am blocking the operation of the port because the port is a central part of the system that is threatening our safety. We need to end the system that is destroying our future and this action is the beginning of that process.”
Darsh was not offered police bail when taken into the watch house. Later that afternoon in court the Magistrate decided to imprison Darsh at least until the 17th of July 2023 while he waits for his next court appearance.
It is the most vulnerable in the world who are already suffering the consequences of Australia’s heartless decisions.
A supreme court appeal of this bail decision will be heard on Monday.
Protests are planned against this police repression on Friday and Monday
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 – 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.
Day Two: six Blockade Australia actions to break the system that is breaking us.
We’re still here, organising resistance to Australia’s exploitation and extraction. Ordinary people can disrupt the supply chain that feeds the ‘economy’ aka the destruction of our biosphere.
The doctrine of infinite profit is killing us. We’re here for self defense.
Munro: ‘We’re digging ourselves a hole and the port is a big part of the shovel. We need to put that shovel down’.
Darsh: “It’s an act of self defense to disrupt the destruction of the ecosystems that sustain us.”
We are here for life, for earth and all her peoples.
This morning, Munro (26) suspended themselves on a monopole at the gate of the Port of Melbourne, disrupting operations of the continent’s biggest port for several hours.
They said: “We’re in dire circumstances and I’m willing to put myself on the line to try to bring Australia’s climate destruction to an end.”
“This port is directly contributing to the climate and ecological collapse. When you realise the truth, that we are in such a desperate situation, then you need to come to grips with it and do something about it.”
The doctrine of infinite profit is tearing our future from us. Economic disruption has become vital for survival.
Power no longer only resides in governments and institutions – it is through the movement of goods and resources via roads, ports and rails that the current system is maintained. It is through the disruption of these flows that the system is challenged.
The doctrine of infinite profit is killing us. We’re here for self defence.
Munro: ‘We’re digging ourselves a hole and the port is a big part of the shovel. We need to put that shovel down’.
We are here for life, for earth and all her peoples.
Update: The legend known as Munro was in court the same day, he plead guilty and spoke for himself in court after refusing a lawyer, he convinced the court he did the right thing and was released without a conviction or a sentence.
Earlier today, the Port of Brisbane was at a standstill while an activist blocked the flow of goods coming in and going out for a few hours while hanging from a monopole. This happened along side similar actions taken part in Newcastle and Melbourne.
This continent and the people on it have been and are still being exploited by the political and economic structures. Everyday people recognise that the system is not broken, it was designed this way. It is failing us all and it needs to be stopped.
In their livestream, Jem, 23 said:
“One person making morally guided consumer decisions holds no power to stop the system or to change it. But one person organising collectively can shut down the flow of goods for an entire port”
“When we work together and utilise our combined strengths, we have a greater chance at resisting the systems of oppression that we all live under.”
This action was taken on the stolen lands of the Quandamooka peoples. The first peoples resistance against the violent invasion of this continent, their culture and their people is still going on today.
