Rising Tide banned from using council land for protests at world’s largest coal port in Newcastle
Summary
Newcastle council has barred climate group Rising Tide from holding events on council land after consulting New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. The decision comes ahead of a smaller protest this Saturday and the group’s next annual blockade, planned for February.Key Facts
- Lord Mayor Gavin Morris used his casting vote on Tuesday night to block council licenses for Rising Tide events on council land.
- Rising Tide holds protests at the Port of Newcastle, where participants use kayaks and rafts to try to block coal ships.
- The group calls for an end to new fossil fuel projects, a stop to Newcastle coal exports by 2030, and a 78% tax on fossil fuel profits.
- A court invalidated a four-day maritime exclusion zone the New South Wales government imposed around the port ahead of Rising Tide’s 2024 protest.
- Police charged 173 protesters in 2024; they later withdrew charges against 125 people.
- Police charged 129 protesters who entered the water during the 2025 blockade, which stopped three coal ships from entering the port; those cases remain before the courts.
- Rising Tide went to the New South Wales Supreme Court on Wednesday after police rejected its application for a permit for Saturday’s event.
- Minns told the council that licensing the events could make it complicit in illegal activity and put lives at risk.
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