On Saturday, Coco led Extinction Rebellion’s climate choir in song outside of St Paul’s Cathedral as arrests took place below in the intersection. She was not removed by police.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said on Saturday afternoon that it did not yet have details of how many people were removed from the intersection by public order response officers and arrested.
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators on Collins Street during Saturday’s rally.Credit: Ashleigh McMillan
“There will be a highly visible and agile police presence, supported by specialist resources, to respond to any disruptive protest action,” a spokeswoman said earlier.
“We respect the right for individuals to protest peacefully, however we will not tolerate those who intentionally block roads or major arterials and not only disrupt the lives of the community and impact our economy, but also our emergency services who need to respond to urgent incidents.”
Coco, 33, has argued that protesting is a democratic right and authorities were breaching her human rights by attempting to prevent her from taking part in Saturday’s protest.
She also attended an Extinction Rebellion protest against the Atlas Network on Friday.
Coco, the first person jailed in 2022 under NSW’s now invalid anti-protest laws for a Sydney Harbour Bridge demonstration, said highlighting the gravitas of the situation the planet faced was more important to her than avoiding jail time.
“It’s not about signing a petition or buying a bamboo toothbrush it’s about showing with our bodies … the danger that we’re in. That means stopping everything that we’re doing, and saying this is the most important issue right now,” she told ABC radio.
“I prefer to have my freedom, but I think there’s some things that are more important in this world.”
Extinction Rebellion faced criticism when it was revealed a woman was forced to give birth on the side of the road after being stuck in traffic en route to the hospital during the West Gate blockade. Emergency services have pointed to further instances whereby they have been delayed due to protest.
Coco, along with two co-accused men, parked a truck on the bridge and unfurled banners stating “declare a climate emergency” and “climate breakdown has begun”.
A large police presence has been deployed to Extinction Rebellion protests throughout the week.Credit: Eddie Jim
They set off flares from the top of the truck and caused a traffic gridlock that blocked three city-bound lanes and delays stretching about 30 kilometres.
The Office of Public Prosecutions has launched an appeal regarding the inadequacy of the Coco’s three-week sentence.
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Coco and her co-accused Bradley Homewood – who remains behind bars – will next face the County Court for an appeal hearing on March 19.
They have both pleaded guilty to two counts of public nuisance by obstructing motorists and obstructing police and emergency service workers.
The third co-accused, Joseph Zammit, was released on bail after the protest.
Coco said she felt Extinction Rebellion’s methods were necessary to show people the danger they and their children were in due to climate change.
“It’s not about arrogance. It’s about trying to sound the alarm,” she said.
“If your house is on fire you don’t call a firefighter arrogant for waking you up and trying to get you out of the house…this is what I’m trying to do.
“I’m sacrificing my freedom to do that. I could not be doing this for my own benefit because I’m giving away everything for it.”
Saturday’s protest is the culmination of a four-day Extinction Rebellion campaign, which included a slow march that disrupted traffic on St Kilda Road and a demonstration on the steps of Parliament protesting seismic blasting in the Otway Basin.
The group also demonstrated outside the Institute of Public Affairs, a think tank that disputes the cost-benefit of renewable energy and supports keeping coal and gas-fired power stations open for the foreseeable future and exploring options for nuclear power.
Extinction Rebellion have criticised the “huge amount of police time expended in attempting to prevent peaceful protest” as “an outrageous waste”.
Three arrests had been made before Saturday’s event and multiple protesters had been issued fines.
with AAP
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