Newcastle Council Bans Rising Tide From Using Port Land for Protests
Council in NSW has barred the climate group from licensing events on its land following consultations with state officials.
By Hassan Ellis ·
Newcastle City Council has prohibited the climate action group Rising Tide from holding events on council land. The decision comes after the council consulted with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who warned that the local government would be complicit in any illegal activities occurring during the demonstrations.
The ban was enacted on Tuesday night when independent Lord Mayor Gavin Morris exercised his casting vote. In a mayoral minute, Morris stated that the group had broken the trust of the Newcastle community by defying police directions during previous protests. The council is home to the world's largest coal port, a site central to the group's activism.
Rising Tide organizes an annual blockade where thousands of participants use kayaks and rafts to stop coal ships over a six-day period. The event traditionally involves camping on council land and a music festival that has featured major Australian bands, including Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett. The group demands the immediate cancellation of new fossil fuel projects, the end of coal exports from Newcastle by 2030, and a 78% tax on fossil fuel profits.
Tensions escalated in 2024 when the Minns government established a four-day maritime exclusion zone around the port, criminalizing entry into the water. However, the supreme court ruled the zone invalid just as the protest began after a legal challenge by Rising Tide. During that year's event, 173 protesters were charged, though police later withdrew charges against 125 of them.
For the 2025 blockade, authorities did not attempt to stop the protest in advance. Police arrested and charged 129 protesters who entered the water, an action that prevented three coal ships from entering the port. These individuals remain in the court system. A smaller paddle-out event is scheduled for this Saturday, ahead of the main annual protest in February.
The group appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday regarding the Saturday event after police rejected their application for a form 1 permit. The court is expected to decide later this week whether to support the police decision to deny the protesters protection from charges under the Summary Offences Act.
Premier Minns wrote to the council before the motion was passed, stating it was not possible for the council to distance itself from the illegal activities at the protests. He noted that the protest relies on the council's licensing of events at a local park. Minns emphasized the need for safe protests that do not disrupt shipping traffic at the Port of Newcastle.
In his letter, Minns acknowledged the council's independence but believed that formally endorsing the protest would put lives at risk and make the job of NSW police impossible. He argued that Rising Tide has a history of intent to disrupt the shipping channel without regard for the law.
Yasmin Catley, the minister for the Hunter and police, also supported the decision. She described Rising Tide as bad faith actors, noting that they flouted a 2024 supreme court ruling prohibiting their assembly and ignored statutory requirements for protected protests in 2025, which resulted in 141 arrests.
Zack Schofield, a spokesperson for Rising Tide, called the ban a desperate attempt to suppress protest, arguing it proves the group has been effective in building pressure against the port. He stated that the group intends to exercise its right to protest because the climate is collapsing and time is running out. The group confirmed that the Paddle for the Planet event will proceed on Saturday at Horseshoe Beach, along with future protests.
