In an escalation of climate protests that have gripped Australia, over 20 activists from the group Rising Tide were arrested on Wednesday for blocking a main road leading to Parliament House in the nation’s capital, Canberra. The dramatic action, which drew hundreds of protesters, marked a new phase in the group’s campaign to pressure the government to end coal exports and cancel new fossil fuel projects.
From Kayaks to Handcuffs: Rising Tide’s Uncompromising Stand
The seeds of Wednesday’s showdown were planted days earlier, when a flotilla of activists in kayaks and rafts disrupted operations at the Port of Newcastle, the largest coal export hub in the world. In what organizers described as Australia’s biggest act of climate-related civil disobedience to date, police arrested a staggering 173 protesters on the water.
Undeterred, Rising Tide took their struggle to the steps of Parliament. As hundreds gathered on the lawns outside for a rally, around 100 demonstrators made the fateful decision to block traffic on a road leading to the building. An additional 50 activists occupied the foyer inside.
It has gotten to a point where we feel we have no choice but to take these types of actions so the government starts listening to us.
– Alexa Stuart, 21-year-old Rising Tide organizer
Demands for Urgent Climate Action
The protesters had three core demands for the Albanese government:
- Immediately cancel all new fossil fuel projects
- End all coal exports from Newcastle by 2030
- Introduce a 78% tax on coal export profits to fund renewable energy transition and support fossil fuel workers
These bold proposals reflect the urgency many young Australians feel about confronting the climate crisis. Rising Tide’s supporters argue that with catastrophic impacts already unfolding and a narrow window to prevent worst-case scenarios, disruptive protests are a necessary tactic to spur emergency-level action.
Youth Voices from the Frontlines
Among those arrested in Newcastle was a 13-year-old who had traveled from the Northern Rivers region, where 31,000 people lost homes in the devastating 2022 floods. At Wednesday’s rally, they delivered an impassioned rebuke of political inaction:
I’m here today because I’m really, really angry that our government is sitting in their air-conditioned boardrooms watching our future burn and doing nothing about it.
Such uncompromising stances from young people on the frontlines of climate impacts have fueled growing debate over the ethics and efficacy of disruptive protest. Critics argue tactics like blocking roads are counterproductive and alienating. But with emissions still rising and catastrophic tipping points looming, many in Generation Z see no alternative.
Crackdown and Solidarity
Rising Tide’s audacious actions have also cast a spotlight on Australia’s anti-protest laws, some of the harshest among liberal democracies. Most of the 173 people arrested in Newcastle were charged under statutes that carry maximum penalties of two years in prison or a $22,000 fine for blocking ports and roads – provisions that were partially struck down as unconstitutional by the supreme court last year.
In a striking show of solidarity, the City of Sydney this week donated $22,000 to Rising Tide, while passing a motion condemning “harsh police practices with respect to protesters” and calling for anti-protest laws to be repealed.
Disruptions can be inconvenient and costly. But let’s put this in context: the continued destruction of the planet is worse.
– Clover Moore, Mayor of Sydney
With neither side showing signs of backing down, the battle between a fossil fueled political establishment and a generation fearing for its future appears set to intensify. As one young protester vowed upon release from custody: “We will continue fighting until our leaders tell the truth and act to protect us.”
