Fifty climate change activists were charged with unlawful protest near Australia’s biggest coal export port on Sunday after protesters climbed on a coal train, Reuters reports.
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New South Wales police said 47 activists were charged with “rail corridor offences”, two with malicious damage and one with assaulting a security guard in relation to the “unlawful protest activity” near the Port of Newcastle.
Climate activist group Rising Tide claimed responsibility for the protest, and said arrests were made when people were “occupying the train”.
“Twenty of the group scaled the train and used shovels to unload coal from the laden wagons,” it said in a statement. Police said 14 activists had climbed onto a train carriage in a railway corridor in the suburb of Sandgate.
The Port of Newcastle is the largest bulk shipping port on Australia’s east coast and the nation’s largest terminal for coal exports.
The protest group posted an image on Twitter showing protesters in front and on top of a coal train. A banner on the train said, “‘Survival Guide for Humanity’: no new coal”.
The group tweeted it had “halted coal” into the port and was demanding the government “immediately cancel all new coal projects”.
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A Port of Newcastle spokesperson confirmed shipping operations had recommenced as normal.
