More than 140 charges, three ships turned back during Rising Tide ‘Profestival’

30 November 2025

[Updated 10:44pm Sunday] newy.com.au – Climate protesters have blocked coal ships leading to the arrest of 141 people by Sunday evening and ignited a political fight over safety, jobs and climate action during the Rising Tide “People’s Blockade” at Newcastle Harbour, which began on Thursday 27 November 2025.

For six days the annual “protestival” has turned the world’s largest coal export port into a stage for Australia’s climate debate, pitting thousands of activists and their supporters against the NSW Government, police, business groups and some local councillors who argue the disruption is dangerous and costly.

Rising Tide says campers from around the country have filled Foreshore Park and Horseshoe Beach for workshops, talks and concerts, with organisers calling it the biggest climate mobilisation in Australia this year and expecting crowds of more than 7,000 people over the weekend. In a media release, Newcastle organiser Alexa Stuart said “despite the NSW government’s attempts to shut us down, the People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port is happening”, describing it as thousands of ordinary citizens uniting to stop new coal and gas projects and “heavily tax coal corporations to fund a community-led transition away from coal”.

Spokesperson Zack Schofield said “thousands of ordinary people have come from all over Australia” to demand governments stop approving new coal projects and tax export profits to fund new jobs, adding “when governments won’t stand up to the greedy coal billionaires the people will”. Support has come from figures including civil engineer Professor David Hood, Newcastle surgeon Dr Stanley Chen, former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins and Reverend Faaimata Havea Hiliau, who have each framed participation as a moral response to worsening fires, floods and heatwaves.

Tensions escalated on Saturday 29 November when hundreds of people launched a flotilla from Horseshoe Beach and nearby Stockton, with kayakers, swimmers and a small boat entering the shipping channel despite police warnings. Rising Tide said 19 people were arrested and claimed NSW Police “lost control of the channel” as the coal ship Cemtex Leader, which had been heading towards the harbour, was forced to turn back. Police said 11 charged over alleged marine-related offences and others released without charge.

On Sunday the Port Authority of NSW temporarily suspended all shipping movements for about three hours after hundreds of protesters again took to the water, saying it made a “dynamic risk-based decision” to abort an inbound ship movement because protest activity posed a safety risk, a move that also delayed two other vessels including one carrying alumina for the Tomago smelter. The Port of Newcastle confirmed the Ragna coal ship was turned back, while the earlier‑delayed Cemtex Leader was able to enter the harbour on Sunday morning. Guardian and ABC reports say activists have now forced three bulk carriers to abort attempts to enter the port.

By 5.30pm on Sunday, NSW Police said a total of 141 people believed to be associated with the event had been arrested since the high‑visibility operation began on Friday. Of those, 18 juveniles were dealt with under the Young Offenders Act, 121 adults had been charged with various offences under the Crimes and Marine Safety Acts, and two women arrested aboard a ship off the Newcastle coastline remained under investigation. Rising Tide says some protesters are also facing charges under NSW anti‑protest laws that can carry penalties of up to two years’ jail for disrupting major infrastructure.

Police highlighted several incidents on Sunday alone, including a protest aboard a ship off the coast, a small boat allegedly colliding with a police jet ski inside the exclusion zone after failing to stop when directed, a 26‑year‑old woman who was the sole occupant of the boat was charged with contravening a notice regulating vessel use, operating a vessel negligently and hindering or resisting police, additionally there was an alleged assault at Foreshore Park that left a 46‑year‑old man in hospital with lacerations and a 17‑year‑old boy with minor injuries. While an 18‑year‑old man was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, all domestic‑violence‑related, and refused bail.

Police said they had witnessed “unsafe practices on the water” despite requests that attendees stay out of the harbour if they planned to obstruct port users, and reiterated that while they support peaceful protest their priority is community safety and there would be zero tolerance for illegal and dangerous behaviour.

Those charges sit alongside a NSW Government marine exclusion zone declared over most of Newcastle Harbour from 7:00am Friday 28 November to 7:00am Monday 1 December, marked by a line of buoys about 100 metres off Horseshoe Beach. Transport for NSW and police have warned that breaching the zone can attract fines of more than $1,000, while Police Minister Yasmin Catley has described entering the restricted waters as “a deliberate decision to put your life at risk and to endanger those who may be forced to save you”.

Greenpeace activists have joined the blockade, with three campaigners, including two members of band Lime Cordiale and doctor Elen O’Donnell, boarding a bulk carrier off Newcastle on Sunday and suspending themselves from its anchor chain while unfurling a banner reading “Phase out coal and gas” before being removed by police. Greenpeace and Rising Tide say their combined actions show “people power” at a time when they believe governments are still expanding fossil fuel projects.

Some participants say they were prepared to risk arrest. Newcastle parent and swimmer Jonathon Dykyj said the personal consequences of being charged “pale into insignificance compared to the consequences that runaway climate change will have on our community, our lives and the lives of our children”, accusing the Albanese Government of failing to plan a just transition for Hunter coal workers. Hunter Valley community worker Mina Bui Jones said she had seen what happens “when coal companies move on from communities when they’ve taken what they wanted” and wanted them held accountable for impacts on both land and people.

On land, City of Newcastle has defended issuing permits for the campground and concerts after councillors voted 6–5 to approve the “protestival” on council-managed land. Deputy Lord Mayor Charlotte McCabe said the approval was consistent with Newcastle’s 2019 declaration of a global climate emergency and its commitment to reach net zero emissions for council operations by 2030.

Several conservative councillors have publicly opposed the event. Maitland councillor Mitchell Griffin wrote on Facebook that police resources from Maitland and across the Hunter had been redeployed to the foreshore to “babysit the far left extremist group Rising Tide”, calling the situation “not good enough” and arguing businesses in Morpeth, Port Stephens and Cessnock were bearing extra costs. Newcastle councillor Callum Pull welcomed the state’s exclusion zone, saying Rising Tide’s refusal to be deterred showed “no regard for the rule of law”, warning that entering the harbour was “plainly dangerous” and claiming the protest “has never been about climate action, this is all about stunts for Rising Tide”.

Meanwhile independent mayor for Maitland Philip Penfold has taken to social media to criticise media coverage of the blockade, telling followers under a Facebook post that a television story “lacked much from the other side of the argument” and failed to reflect impacts on communities such as Maitland, where he says dozens of officers have been pulled off regular duties and “millions of dollars have been lost” through disrupted visits to Newcastle; in a further comment he said he supports the right to protest but argued it should not mean “forcing taxpayers to pay a fortune” or leaving other calls waiting while police manage demonstrations.

Business groups have also complained about the significant financial losses linked to cancellations.

Rising Tide has apologised for any unintended impact on small businesses but insists it has “precisely zero reason” to impede cruise ships, saying it only targets coal exports and accusing port authorities and politicians of using the cancellations to attack the protest. The NSW Minerals Council, meanwhile, has argued the blockade is designed to provoke arrests, risks public safety and sends a poor signal to investors about a sector it says supports thousands of jobs and delivers billions of dollars to the NSW economy.