More than 600 climate protesters have taken to the water at one of the world's biggest coal-export ports, after an Australian court rejected a police attempt to stop their demonstration.
Hundreds of kayakers and other small vessels gathered in Newcastle Harbour in New South Wales on Saturday, while hundreds more joined the protest from the shore. The hour-long demonstration, organised by climate campaign group Rising Tide, called for an end to coal exports and greater action on climate change.
No arrests were made, according to NSW Police and the organisers.
The protest went ahead after the Supreme Court of New South Wales rejected a police application to stop the gathering, with Justice Edward Muston ruling on Friday that the “public interest in the facilitation of political expression through assembly” outweighed the police objections, according to ABC News.
Police had argued that the demonstration could put participants at risk, particularly if kayaks collided or capsized. Rising Tide said it had made safety arrangements, including requiring mandatory life jackets and deploying a team to assist participants on the water.
Rising Tide organiser Anne Hodgson told the court the event would be family-friendly and that there would be no civil disobedience.
The court allowed the event to proceed, with a limit of 785 vessels. Shipping movements through the port were suspended between 10am and 2pm on Saturday.
Rising Tide spokesperson Joe Hallenstein used the demonstration to criticise Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, who was attending the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye alongside climate change minister Chris Bowen.
“[Albanese] is over in Türkiye telling the world that Australia is a leader in climate action, when the opposite is true,” Hallenstein told ABC Newcastle. “Both Albanese’s federal Labor government, and Chris Minns’s state Labor government continue to approve new coal and gas projects, which is the opposite of action on climate change.”
Newcastle is home to the world’s largest coal export port, making it a focal point for Rising Tide’s campaign. The group wants coal exports from the port to end by 2030 and is calling for a transition to other jobs for workers currently employed in the industry.
On Tuesday, Newcastle City Council voted to ban Rising Tide and affiliated organisations from holding protests on council-owned land, after concerns surrounding previous demonstrations which resulted in clashes with police and mass arrests.
NSW premier Chris Minns had backed the council’s move, arguing that local authorities should not have to provide public land for protests that have involved illegal activity. Police minister Yasmin Catley had also criticised the group, describing its members as “bad faith actors”.
Rising Tide’s relationship with police has been strained by previous protests at the port. One hundred and seventy-three people were arrested during its 2024 demonstration; police later dropped charges against 125 protesters in August this year.
The group’s 2025 blockade also led to arrests after demonstrators entered the shipping channel and disrupted coal shipments.
The NSW government has been facing criticism over its support for the coal industry, particularly after a recent court ruling involving the Mount Pleasant coal mine in the Hunter Valley.
On 7 October, Australia’s High Court ruled that authorities must consider the global emissions produced when coal is burned overseas before approving certain mine expansions, in a decision seen as a significant victory for climate campaigners.
However, the Minns government announced legislation on 10 November to allow the Mount Pleasant mine to continue producing up to 16.5 million tonnes of coal a year until 2032. The government said the move was necessary to protect jobs and provide certainty for the industry.
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson criticised the decision at Saturday’s protest, saying: “The government is literally carving laws that defy the High Court’s ruling because a coal company is threatening to lay off workers before Christmas.”
Rising Tide plans to return to Newcastle Harbour for a larger demonstration in February, with its annual six-day People's Blockade scheduled for 25 February to 2 March, shortly before the election.
