Steve Price: Australian correspondent on authorities arresting 170 people involved in floating blockade of Australian port

Australian police arrested 170 climate activists over the weekend after their floating blockade briefly disrupted activity at one of the world’s largest coal ports.

The fleet of kayaks, paddle boards and inflatable boats blocked the entrance to the Port of Newcastle, which exports millions of tonnes of coal each year.

Police said on Sunday evening 156 adults and 14 youths had been arrested and charged with offences including 'disruption of a major facility'.

Australian correspondent Steve Price says shipping was temporarily paused as the group blocked at least one major vessel from entering the port. 

"The Greens leader was there, looking like a fool, they were called 'numbskulls', and it was dangerous - really, really dangerous. We'll wait and see what happens in court."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stay priced in Australia. Very good morning to you. Good
out standard of living? Where are you at.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Back at the nineteen fifties? According to report at the weekend,
households in Australia are suffering the worst decline and anyone
think you've moving to Australia should listen to this worst
decline in living standards since the nineteen fifties, with the
fall in real disposable income eclipsing those of the last
four major recessions. I couldn't believe this when I read it.

(00:28):
Analysis of the official government stats shows the current cost
of living crisis has hit households twice as hard as
our recession we had to have in nineteen nineteen ninety
one and the eighty two to eighty three recession, and
significantly more sharply than anything going all the way back
to nineteen fifty nine reveals living standards in this country

(00:48):
during the current inflation crisis. And this is the importance
that I have fallen more than in any other OECD country,
where the hit to households now worse than all comparable
developed nations. So there you go. That's where we're at.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Can you feel it?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
I can't because I'm lucky, but I think anyone with
a family living in a major capital city on two
household average incomes would definitely be feeling it. And it
comes through things like the price of petrol groceries. People
are not going out as much. I definitely think they

(01:26):
can feel it, and the cost of living is going
to be the major issue when the election comes around, because,
of course, Anthony Alberaneze and Jim Chalmers before the last
election said they would cut everyone's energy bills and everyone
will feel better off under labor. All Peter doesn't do
a stand up and say what Donald Trump said, Do
you feel better two and a half years on from
when Antony Alberanez was elected or not.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
It's a classic thing. If you run a polt's is
the country hitting in the right direction and the majority
of people say no, the government of the day will lose.
That's how it works.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, but we've not seen a one term federal government
defeated since the nineteen thirty so the stats go against that.
And I keep warning everybody that a minority labor government
would be complete disaster.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Now, the big protest yesterday, how many arrests.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
I'm sure you probably saw the pictures. Last night, one
hundred and seventy climate protesters. They blockaded the Newcastle Port
Court where most of the coal comes in and out
of the country. They paddled out there at ten in
the morning. Ten of the protesters got stuck and needed rescuing.
Fourteen of those people charged with children. Can you believe
you take children out in a kayak and paddle in

(02:33):
front of a coal ship. Seems to be not very sensible.
Opposition police spokesman up there, Pull Tool, said he was
concerned the magistrates would not hit protesters with the full penalties. Well,
I never do. They give them a slap on the wrist.
Full penalties would include jail time fines of twenty two
thousand dollars. That's not going to happen, he said. They've
got to stop giving people a slap on the wrist.

(02:56):
This ship was forced to stop and could not leave
the port. Adam An The Green's leader was there looking
like a fool. They were called numb skulls and it
was dangerous, really really dangerous. And so we'll wait and
see what happens.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
In court, OK, and then what's the treaty process in Victoria.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Secret I know you've been having issues with the white hanging.
In New Zealand. The first treaty negotiations between the Victorian
Labor government and something called the euroch Justice Commission, which
is an indigenous elected panel, took started on Monday this

(03:33):
start on Monday this week today, and the Premier has
come out and said, well, look, I'm not going to
rule things in or out here today. We will have
those negotiations at the table. But one of the Assembly
members has told the herok Son negotiations we have been
kept top secret. The public and Assembly members have been
locked out. We've been told to stay quiet, do not
speak about the negotiations, clean our social media accounts up,

(03:58):
and don't talk to the media. Well, this treat is
going to involve everything from land rights to compensation for
previous crimes committed. You know, everything is on the table,
and the premier is not going to let the public
know that.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
And that's just in Victoria, just for.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Victoria, yes, and at least two other states are also
having similar discussions. But Victoria, they went to the last
election making it clear they were going to have these negotiations,
but no one was ever told exactly what it's going
to do and the general public has no say in
the negotiation at all.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Hey, this back down back to Albanza, the backdown on
the social media and lies and all that sort of
stuff that the Senate got upset about, and they back
down on that. What's driving the alban easy I know
how to run your life. And that's before we get
to the banning kids from social media. Well, where's is that?
Just a classic left leaning labor government who wants to
run your life.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Well, if you at the worst case scenario, it's about
everyone having a digital ID. So we've tried in this
country before to have you know, everyone to have a
a card that says who they are and where they live.
That's what this would end up being, because you would
have to register. It's also the same with the under sixteens.
But the Senate was never going to pass it. The

(05:11):
Greens even arked up about it, and so did the Coalition,
And so the misinformation built was going to hand over
to a bunch of public servants the right to say
what you and I can put up on social media.
It was never going to happen. So that's been binned.
But interestingly, Peter Dutton will meet with his Coalition Party
members in Candra this morning. He's going to try and

(05:33):
convince them that this under sixteen social media ban on
kids is a good thing. Now, many in his party
disagree with him. Many think it's a trojan horse. So
he's going to have to try and convince him. I
can't see how it's going to work.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well no, yeah, well that's the other thing. So the
point is it a good thing, as in like we
need to do something, but versus it can't work because
it won't Well.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
I think it can't work because it won't. And know
the use of social by anyone under the age of
sixteen should be up to the parents, and the parents
should be monitoring what they do and do not do.
Now people will say I'm being naive by saying that,
but our kids will find a way around. Of course,
there's no way, I mean, And parents who don't care
will simply hand their phones over to their kids and

(06:17):
so go your hearts exactly right.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
Might see Wednesday Steve Price out of Australia. By the way,
part of that cost of living. I found it fascinating.
If you think housing's a problem here, it's problem there
as well. In fact, their problem is worse than ours.
Cost of building a home in New South Wales and
Victoria has gone up my more than twenty five percent.
So when we say we need more homes, why don't
we're building more homes. The answer is because count affordable. No,
you've got to have a buyer at the end of it.

(06:40):
And if you're running up ten thousand dollars a square meter,
by the time you've run a couple of hundred meters,
you've got a two million dollar home. No one's buying it.
National average has risen from three forty five thousand four
forty three between twenty three and twenty four. It's gone
up twenty five percent in Victoria, thirty percent in New
South Wales, forty four percent in Queensland. More from The
Mic Asking Breakfast.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
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