Protester, 97, faces arrest in major port blockade

A 97-year-old is among more than 100 people facing arrest for blocking a major coal port beyond an agreed deadline.

Groups of protesters have taken turns paddling out into Newcastle Port’s shipping lane since Saturday morning to maintain a 30-hour blockage.

But as 4pm passed, marking the end of police permission for the lengthy protest, scores of protesters remained in the water expecting arrest.

Alexa Stuart said those on the water ranged in age from 15 to 97 and included school students, a coal miner and a Christian minister.

“If the government will not take action on climate change, the people will use civil disobedience,” the Rising Tide organiser said on Sunday.

“We wish we did not have to do this, but the Albanese government needs to understand we are serious.”

Protesters are demanding the government stop allowing new coal projects, tax fossil fuel export profits at 75 per cent to fund community and industrial transition, and pay for climate loss and damage.

Police have kept an eye on a blockade of the Newcastle Port as the action went beyond its deadline. (HANDOUT/RISING TIDE)

Police granted permission for the protest to take place following several months of negotiations, the organisers said.

The action has won the support of senior members of the Greens and the party’s former federal leader Bob Brown.

Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt, who kayaked out with protesters on Saturday, called those taking part heroes.

“They’re fighting to stop more floods and bushfires in this country,” Mr Bandt said.

“People here know that we’re nearing a climate tipping point, and that coal and gas are fuelling the climate crisis.”

But NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said that while everyone had the right to protest, protest leaders had to ensure those participating did it safely and within the law.

He said stopping NSW coal exports would have a major impact on the NSW economy, given the industry supports 25,000 jobs.

“Coal is NSW’s most valuable export by far, and worth more than $70 billion nationally,” he said.

Coal royalties are a key revenue source for the NSW government, earning about $3.5 billion in the year to June 2022.

From July, the state’s cut of coal sales will rise by 2.6 percentage points, raising an extra $2.3 billion over the first three years.