Tuesday, 26 November 2024

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (13:11): On the weekend I was so proud to attend the Rising Tide blockade at the world’s biggest coal port. This Rising Tide blockade was held at the world’s biggest coal port in Newcastle, where thousands of people gathered to resist and say ‘No more coal and gas’. I was so proud to be one of the thousands of people who paddled out onto that harbour to resist and say we need no more coal and gas in this climate emergency. It is being described as the largest act of civil disobedience in Australia’s history, and I want to pay tribute to the courageous people – the over 100 people – who paddled out into that shipping channel, turned around coal ships and stopped coal being exported from that harbour.

This harbour in Newcastle is the world’s biggest coal port, and it sees Australian coal exported and shipped around the word to be burnt to fuel the climate crisis. We headed up there because in Victoria we know the Labor Party is still supporting new gas and fossil fuel projects right here. It was so diverse, this blockade. We had unionists, teachers, doctors, miners, young people and First Nations people. You know who was not there? The Labor and Liberal parties and their coal billionaire backers. They were not there, but people power was. And if our governments will not act on the climate crisis and coal, the people will.