Last week I went to my first Rising Tide blockade of Newcastle coal port.
I marvelled at the courage of people of all ages who put aside personal comfort to join in direct action for our planet. Particularly the young people who showed amazing vitality, hope and dedication in spite of their awful knowledge of what lies ahead.
I got the sense of being part of one body, a hive of bees with individual roles working towards a unified outcome. Along with 1,200 others I took volunteer roles in this well-organised operation. Daily ‘Spokes Councils’ were held to make decisions in a very impressive display of democracy in action.
52-hour vigil
Over the days, I watched as hundreds of kayaks, inflatables, paddle boards (even blow-up unicorns) took to the waters of Horseshoe Bay to face-off against a ridiculously intimidating line of police watercraft. Stoic paddlers carried vessels to and from the beach up to three times a day. A night flotilla was organised in which shifts of kayakers paddled through the night in a constant 52-hour vigil. Support teams were there for all aspects of the operation including kayak management, police liaison, communications, media management, catering/waste/sanitation, entertainment and, most importantly, excellent legal advice provided by Sue Higginson MP and others.
Risk of jail and fines
By Saturday it became clear that several courageous people had decided to break through police lines into the shipping channel and face potential penalties of two years jail or $22,000 fines (under new anti-protest laws). Several were from the Northern Rivers hub. A total of around 200 went down in support.
I was awestruck when my friends Joanna Gardner and Mary Jane Johnston decided to enter the channel along with 20 other people from this region including Julie Hodges and Michael Walker.
What had been stressed in all group discussions was, that, despite the enormous solidarity and unity of purpose, when the police hand hits your shoulder, you are on your own. At this point you must decide for yourself whether to paddle back in, or refuse the order and stay out, knowing that you will be arrested and charged.
So, an action was planned for Sunday. Shipping timetables consulted for a safe window to enter the channel. Rising Tide never allows kayakers to come anywhere near massive cargo ships. I watched from a vantage point as thousands amassed on the beach with music and celebration whilst hundreds took to the water. A line of heavily-manned Zodiacs and police power boats faced a bunch of everyday people on kayaks and inflatables.
Finally, one or two broke through the line and were quickly intercepted. Then more found gaps and made it through. Slowly, unbelievably, around 200 vessels paddled out into the channel. This caused shipping movements to stop for a few hours and a coal ship was blocked from entering. It was an historic moment. It’s being labelled the largest act of civil disobedience in Australia in response to climate inaction.
So, what is the purpose? The Rising Tide movement is simply asking the Australian government to end new coal and gas projects and to levy a fair tax on existing operations, and to fund new jobs in renewables.
What is the current situation? The current Labor government has accelerated fossil fuel production. During their term 32 new coal projects have been approved or are in the approval process. This will result in an extra 13 billion tonnes of emissions that are not included in our so-called ‘reduction targets’.
Who will be most impacted? It’s our youngest who will bear the brunt. Listening to the powerful speeches of 16 year-old schoolgirl Niamh Cush brought tears to my eyes. Just picture yourself at that age. What dreams, hopes did you have? What plans? Bring those into the present and imagine the only certainty you have is that everything around you will get worse. Many of the things you love will disappear. Suffering and destruction will escalate for millions of people and other species. You to would be thinking something like:
‘By the time I’m in my fourties global temperatures will have passed through major climate tipping points. With business as usual between now and then, warming will sit at 2°C, bringing major global transformations with no return.
‘So, my world will be utterly different from today, but exactly how, is difficult to predict. The climate models I see are staggering. A collapse of the oceans’ global “conveyor belt” which currently maintains the climate of continents. Permanent melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets (bringing metres of sea level rise). The loss of the Amazon rainforest and the conifer forests of Northern Europe.
‘The list of “domino effects” from these tipping points is almost impossible for me to comprehend. My life may be still ahead of me, but I cannot plan for a family, a career or a path forward; the world will be too dangerous a place for this.’
This is very different from decisions I faced at 16. I am now at a stage where I am looking ahead to a world of climate chaos knowing that I will LEAVE IT. These young people will have to LIVE IT.
Find out more at: Northern Rivers post blockade or www.instagram.com/risingtide.aus.
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