A Rising Tide activist has secured himself to a tripod in the middle of the construction for the coal railway line.
Eco-activists have shut down construction of a coal haulage railway line in the Hunter Valley to protest the industry’s expansion in the region.
A Rising Tide activist secured himself to a 10m-tall tripod during a pre-dawn raid on the Rutherford site, where a consortium of companies is planning to build a rail line to increase coal haulage to 200 million tonnes a year.
Spokesman Steve Phillips said the federal government had contributed $114 million to the project.
“Why are taxpayers’ dollars being handed over to rich mining corporations in order to prop up a polluting industry that is destroying human health and the environment?” he said.
“If all these projects go ahead, the consequences will be devastating.”
Police are on the scene but as of this post, have yet to remove the activist blocking the site.
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