Blockade Australia, a radical environmental organization, has canceled its planned rallies in NSW.
Multiple arrests were made as a result of the activists’ protests on Monday and Tuesday in Sydney’s central business district, and on Wednesday, as police targeted their picnic in Tempe, the activists fled from the scene.
On Thursday, they announced via the Blockade Australia: Resist Climate Inaction channel on the Telegram messaging service that they had taken the difficult decision to call off the mobilization and wait until we were bigger and stronger.
In every manner they can, “We urge on people to continue taking disruptive climate action.”
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has called the activists ‘bloody idiots,’ saying their actions did not aid their cause.
The group thanked those who had taken part in the disruptions on Monday and Tuesday.
‘We have endured extreme state repression. It has challenged our plans and further exposed what Australia will do to protect its own interest. We are tired but not broken, and moved by all the solidarity and support,’ the message said.
Under recently passed legislation, protesters who cause substantial disruptions on roads, ports, or trains may face up to two years in prison and a $22,000 fine.
Since the NSW Police established Strike Force Guard in March to stop, look into, and disrupt unauthorized protests, a total of 32 persons have been detained.
It happens at the same time as one of the Blockade Australia activists who is accused of wreaking mayhem in Sydney gripes about receiving a cheese sandwich following her detention.
Harley McDonald-Eckersall, a 24-year-old vegan animal rights activist who was denied bail and kept overnight in a police cell for allegedly causing the city to come to a stop, expressed her displeasure online.
She was fuming that she had spent the night sobbing in a cold cell – and outraged over the food options offered to her, and the fact she wasn’t offered a book to read.
‘Just an fyi to the Surrey hills police station that dry cereal and fruit is not food and that a cheese sandwich is not vegan,’ she wrote on Facebook under her pseudonym, Holly Eckells.
‘Get some real food pls, thanks. Also like, a book would be nice.’
One of ten persons detained when Mali Cooper reportedly blocked the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel with a car on Monday morning during rush hour was the Melbourne eco-warrior.
The former adolescent model allegedly padlocked herself to the steering wheel of her rented car and had to be freed by Police Rescue experts as the city came to a complete stop.
One angry commuter confronted her in the car during Cooper’s video of her protest, and he let out his rage at the mayhem she was reportedly making.
While rolling around the city to disrupt traffic and the police, protesting gangs in other parts of the city added to the unrest.
McDonald-Eckersall was one of the protesters arrested and fumed online about being denied bail and the conditions she had to endure.
In a lengthy post with a selfie of herself apparently in a police station toilet, McDonald-Eckersall whinged about her treatment and admitted she spent the night weeping in her cell.
Harley McDonald-Eckersall was furious to be given a ‘non-vegan’ cheese sandwich to eat by police
‘I was arrested with four others after under 30 minutes of moving through the streets,’ she said. ‘This was fine for me. I knew I was risking arrest and was prepared for that.
‘I was not however prepared to be refused bail. Because I was denied bail I spent 29 hours in police custody.
‘About half of that time was spent in what was essentially a see-through box which looked out on the custody desk and gave me enough room to lie flat with my head pressed against one wall and my feet against another.
‘The other half was spent in a cell with constant cold air blowing and thin blankets.
‘I am angry. This is how people who stand up for our planet and all life are being treated in this country…Do I deserve it? Will I deserve it?’
She added: ‘The only thing that made me cry silently into my blanket was 7 hours in when I had the crushing thought no one would be waiting for me on the outside.’
She said her immediate plans were ‘to take a rest, eat ice cream in bed and probably cry a lot.’
Harley McDonald-Eckersall’s comments were lashed by NSW Police Minister Paul Toole who slammed the activist for expecting hotel treatment in custody.
‘If these protesters are so concerned about their dietary requirements, they should heed the multiple warnings not to engage in illegal and unauthorised protests,’ he said.
‘Law abiding citizens rightly expect to see these offenders arrested and held in police cells, at the pleasure of Her Majesty, not the Marriott.
‘The patience of drivers caught in their chaos has worn thinner than any blanket in the cells, and our hardworking police have done a great job in disrupting their protests.
‘These professional pests are on notice – if you don’t like the cereal or fruit served in custody, stop your economic vandalism and get a real job.’
McDonald-Eckersall was finally released from custody yesterday but as she was set free, fellow activist Mali Cooper was re-arrested for allegedly breaching her bail conditions.
Police stopped a car in Petersham and found her inside, allegedly contravening her bail conditions which required her to return to Lismore and observe a 10pm to 6am curfew.
Cooper, 22, was taken to Surry Hills Police Station for questioning and was held overnight.
Her legal firm Sydney City Crime tweeted: ‘Police re-arrested our client today, climate protestor Mali Cooper, as she was driving to Lismore around midday.
‘Police calculated that she would be in breach of her bail as she wouldn’t arrive in Lismore by evening. Oh Pleeease! Sorry Mali, in their cold cells again tonight.’
NSW Police declined to comment on McDonald-Eckersall’s remarks but said she could make a complaint at the police station if she wished.