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On our 5th consecutive day of action blocking the Port of Newcastle, Grace hangs from a bipod over a rail bridge with a banner that reads, “the system is rigged, not broken.”

Grace is right… environmental disasters, climate change, pollution and inequality are not mistakes – they are symptoms of a system built to exploit, to benefit those in power over the many.

The system is working just as intended. Politicians, corporations and the rich profit from the exploitation of people and planet because it’s in their job description.

She says, “I don’t think I’d be able to look at myself, if I wasn’t doing something.”

If you agree, join the resistance!

Peter (59) jumped onto a coal train for dinner tonight. As a resident of the Bega valley he saw first hand the impacts of climate disaster.

“We suffered badly from the black summer bushfires, and you’d think we’d learn from that, but we don’t. I thought that this would be a turning point but we have seen no real action to address the system that caused this”

“That’s the way you deal with a crisis, you pretend it’s not happening! That’s what the current system does.”

This is the 9th action in the last 5 days of the latest #blockadeaustralia mobilisation of sustained direct action.

“Personal change is fine but we need systemic change”

“In order to stop what we’re doing, we have to stop the system”

This action finishes off the day after this morning Toni suspended herself on top of a rail bridge, bringing all trains to a stop.

As the system blocks the action necessary to preserve our life support systems and maintaining the balance of our ecosystems demands radical change, ordinary people like Peter and Toni are standing up to get in the way of the infrastructure that fuels our destruction.

We are taking a stand – not just against coal, not just against climate violence, but against the political and economic system which continues to dominate this stolen continent.

It’s a militarised system of global extraction, exploitation and dispossession which is fuelling the climate crisis and driving an ever-deeper wedge between humanity and nature, between people and power.

This system cannot be “fixed” with renewable energy or nuclear power. To protect life on earth, the whole system must be brought down! This rampant extraction must stop.

Toni (28) is blocking traffic across 3 trainlines into the Port of Newcastle, suspended from a monopole traverse.

This is the 8th action in the last 4 days in the latest #BlockadeAustralia mobilisation.

Last night, Trish (77) and Ella (25) jumped on a coal carriage, bringing all trains to a stop!

Ella shared, “yeah, it’s cold and uncomfortable… but we find hope in direct action. It’s a way to say we are not complicit with what is happening and we won’t be silenced. It’s a direct message.”

“Being here really puts it into perspective – how much is being extracted from the land: stolen land, stolen resources.”

We are railroading towards a future of increased floods, fires, famines, conflicts and mass migration. Acknowledging Australia’s part in facilitating the climate crisis means acknowledging our responsibility to stand in the way of Australia. ​​​​​​​

Let’s go!

All people who have taken action in the first few days of the #BlockadeAustralia Newcastle Port actions have been released, except for Sam, who did an early morning action today.

Those who’ve been sentenced have been given Section 10s and small fines. Three others are awaiting court dates with harsh bail conditions, such as non-associations with other activists and surety payments.

This is the kind of action that is needed. The Australian system acts blatantly against the interests of the land and people, in the name of growth and profit. It has always been this way.

We know we cannot wait to act… a sustained, connected resistance against Australia is needed to protect our communities from climate collapse.

Support our legal fund here.

The Port of Newcastle was held up for 7+ hours last night by people taking part in the #BlockadeAustralia mobilisation.

73-year-old legend Sarah surfed a coal train into the moonrise.

Later on, strapping young champion Sam, age 21, swung from a railway bridge and praised indigenous ways of being while cursing the dominant system now acting as Australia,

“It’s supposed to be a symbiotic relationship, it’s not supposed to be an oppressive, dominating relationship between the state and the land.”

“There is nowhere I’d rather be right now than right here stopping this f***ing disgusting coal train!”

The climate crisis threatens all life on earth and the continuation of the human species. Relentless extraction and exploitation of the land and people that make up the foundations of the Australian system perpetuate this crisis and must be blocked.