A 21-year-old woman-identified as Laura Davy- who was reported to have secured herself to a piece of machinery during a climate protest at a Newcastle coal terminal has been sentenced to three months in prison.
Now in its 14th day, the climate protest which has involved daily actions, was reportedly organised by Blockade Australia to call for a change to the economic and political system to achieve meaningful climate action.
Available reports show that no fewer than 30 people have been arrested so far since the protest began on 25 June for actions that have included standing atop trains and hanging suspended above railway lines.
Davy, who faced Newcastle local court on Monday, pleaded guilty to entering a major facility causing serious disruption and was sentenced to three months in prison. An appeal on the sentence has been filed. Davey, who is from Tasmania and is one of many who have travelled interstate for the protest, also faced a $1,100 fine for entering inclosed non-agricultural lands.
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Brad Homewood, who is a spokesperson for Blockade Australia, said it was the harshest penalty faced by the protesters so far, with most of the 30 arrested facing fines between $750 and $1,500.
“We’re shocked but not surprised because this is what we expect the state to do, to repress people in what we would call lawful protest and direct action,” he said.
Under anti-protest laws passed by the former NSW Coalition government in 2022 with the support of Labor, protesters who block major facilities – such as railways, ports, transport facilities or infrastructure – can face a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and $22,000 in fines. The laws are now being reviewed.
Recall that In December last year, the NSW supreme court found some subsections of the section of the Crimes Act that prohibits causing damage or serious disruption to a “major facility” were invalid because they infringed on the implied freedom of political communication.
The two-week-long protest is continuing and Blockade Australia has not said when it will end. On Monday a 32-year-old suspended themselves 10 metres above a railway line, blocking trains from passing through for five hours, according to Blockade Australia.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
