newy.com.au – Rising Tide says NSW Police have applied to the Supreme Court to oppose its planned Newcastle flotilla this Saturday 14 November, citing “serious safety concerns”.
Organisers expect hundreds of people at Paddle for the Planet and hope to form a line of kayaks across the port’s 400 metre shipping channel. Rising Tide said the court application was due to be heard early the following week.
The application concerns the group’s notice of intention to hold a public assembly, known as a Form 1. Rising Tide said it lodged the notice on 17 September and received a police letter opposing it on 5 November, seven weeks later.
Paddle for the Planet is planned for Saturday 14 November 2026 at Horseshoe Beach, from 10am to 2pm. Speeches are scheduled to begin at 10am, followed by a flotilla from 11am to 1.30pm. Organisers also plan to deploy a 20 metre floating banner.
The group’s event description describes the protest as “not a blockade”.
Speakers listed by organisers include Cheek Media chief executive Hannah Ferguson and NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson.
Rising Tide says the event is timed to coincide with the COP31 climate negotiations in Türkiye and will call for an end to coal expansion and exports.
Organiser Alexa Stuart criticised the police application.
“It’s shocking that NSW Police are attempting to shut down a family-friendly protest calling for a safe and livable planet.”
Stuart argued that the climate crisis posed the greater safety threat, citing Guardian reporting in support of her warning about projected deaths linked to El Niño.
Rising Tide accused the NSW government of suppressing peaceful protest, pointing to reporting on anti-protest laws and police opposition to other demonstrations as examples of what it described as a broader pattern.
A separate Rising Tide event, The People’s Blockade of the World’s Largest Coal Port, is planned for 25 February to 2 March 2027, according to the group.
