As part of a coordinated mobilisation of actions in response to what they say is Australia’s facilitation of the climate and ecological crisis, activist Raffi is on a bipod, halting all operations at Newcastle, the most significant economic bottleneck of the world’s largest coal port.
Raffi is on Kooragang Rail Bridge blocking the coal rail line on what they say is stolen, unceded Awabakal and Worimi Country in an active blocking of impactful action towards a safe climate.
‘Australia was established through brutal genocide with the sole purpose of extracting wealth,’ said Raffi. ‘That’s exactly what is still happening today.
‘The colonial project, known as “Australia”, will always protect itself instead of the people.
The legal avenues of change
‘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 – through individualism, climate denial, and illusion of meritocracy.’
Raffi said that direct action, like the ones this morning in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne, shakes up the current system and ‘business as usual’.
‘We are taught that power is only accessible to a 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. We all have the power to disrupt and transform the colonial project, known as “Australia”.’
Actions in Melbourne and Brisbane
Other actions to in Melbourne and Brisbane early this morning, are being staged by Blockade Australia climate activist Brad Homewood, 50, who has climbed a monopole blocking Appleton road on Coode Island, stopping the operations in and out of the Port of Melbourne, the largest port in Australia.
In Brisbane, activist Jem, 23, has scaled a pole, blocking all four lanes of traffic in front of a banner reading ‘Ecosystems not Empires’.
Jem has shut down the roads leading into the Port of Brisbane on Quandamooka Country. Jem says this act of resistance is a reminder of the need for action against the systems driving ongoing climate and ecological collapse.’
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