Protesters Stand Up For Gender Rights At Wickham

 BY IAN CROUCH

Protesters have picketed a community information session at Wickham overnight amid concerns about the indoctrination of children in schools.

Former Victorian state coordinator of the the Australia One Party, Craig Cole was giving a talk at the Croation Wickham Sports Club.

He promoted the event arguing the sexualised indoctrination of children in schools needs to stop.

Around two dozen protesters gathered outside the club.

In a statement, protest organiser, Nimiah Anderson said school should be a safe learning space for all kids, including trans kids and spreading fear mongering and hateful misinformation only causes harm. 

 

Protesters gathered at Wickham on Monday night

67-Year-Old Charged Over Kooragang Island Protest

BY OLIVIA DILLON

A woman has been charged following an unauthorised protest at the Port of Newcastle today.

The 67-year-old entered Kooragang Island on her bike just after 6:00am, and locked herself onto a coal ship loader. 

She was removed by police, arrested, and taken to Newcastle Police Station, where she was charged with seriously disrupting work at a major facility and breach of bail.

The woman was refused bail to attend Newcastle Local Court later today. 

Image: Blockade Australia

BREAKING! Protester Glued To Coal Loader At Kooragang

 BY IAN CROUCH

A woman is due to front court today after allegedly gluing herself to a coal loader at Kooragang overnight.

Police were called to Cormorant Road at about 8.30pm on Tuesday following reports a woman had scaled the coal loader and glued herself to the railing.

Officers from the Police Rescue Squad safely removed the woman from the structure about an hour later.

The 18-year-old from Canberra has been charged with enter and remain on major facility and cause damage to facility, and entering enclosed lands.

Meanwhile, no trains are running between Scone and Maitland due to protesters on the tracks at Branxton.

The Transport Management Centre says at this stage there are no replacement buses available and passengers should make alternative transport arrangements.

Environmental Protestor Blocks Coal Train Line at Kooragang

BY OLIVIA DILLON 

An environmental activist is protesting in Newcastle this morning, blocking off trains at a vital rail bottleneck. 

The Blockade Australia protestor is suspended from a tri-pod above the trainline, blocking access to the Kooragang Island terminals at the Port of Newcastle. 

Zelda Grimshaw from Blockade Australia, says the organisation believes the entire network of systems Australia has in place to exploit and extract, including, but not limited to, coal, is a problem for the climate. 

"We're hoping to build a resistance movement that will continue to disrupt the destructive machine that is Australia, until we get a system in place that can sustain life," she said. 

Ms. Grimshaw says it's part of a coordinated action, aimed at ending climate destruction. 

"Our young person will be up there as long as she possibly can. She's in a very inaccessible position where she is, so I think it will take them a while to get her down." 

The protest has been reported to Newcastle police, and it's believed they are on the scene. 

50 Charged Over New Coal Protest at Sandgate

BY OLIVIA DILLON

All 50 people involved in an anti-coal protest which stopped a train at Sandgate yesterday have now been charged. 

Around 20 people scaled the train which was heading to the Port of Newcastle, and used shovels to unload coal from its carriages. 

Others surrounded the carriage, chanting and waving signs and banners. 

Police say two people damaged property, and a third assaulted a security officer while attempting to gain entry into the rail corridor. 

The protestors were reportedly linked to the Rising Tide climate group. 

The action shut down the line to Kooragang Island for at least three hours.  

Image: Rail Express

BREAKING! Police Break Up Protest At Adamstown

BY IAN CROUCH

Police have been called to a protest demonstration at Adamstown.

Police say about 50 people gathered outside The Foundary building site off Brunker Road just before 7.00am.

It's believed the group were members of the CFMEU protesting over their claim for a 15% pay rise from a Canberra-based formwork company.

Officers arrived a short time later to break up the group - it's not known if any arrests have been made.

Earlier, police dispersed another group of CFMEU members at Huntington Waterfront Apartments site in Honeysuckle - another project being undertaken by the Canberra-based company.

Hunter Workers Protesting Harvey Norman CEO

BY GIORGIA WILSON 

Hunter Workers are protesting outside of Harvey Norman Kotara at 12pm today in response to the submissions opposing a minimum wage increase. 

Gerry Harvey, CEO of Harvey Norman, has been a vocal opponent of a minimum wage rise despite his company's profits more than doubled during 2020. 

The Fair Work Commission is expected to make a decision concerning the annual minimum wage review in early to mid-June. 

Hunter Workers supports the Australian Council of Trades Union urging the Fair Work Commission to increase minimum wage by 3.5% for Australian workers. This increase would offer a much-needed boost from the record low wage growth over the last 8 years. 

"Wages have been stagnant for some time now," says Hunter Workers Secretary, Leigh Shears. "There's a significant gap between the increase in the cost of living and peoples pay bracket."

Hunter Workers have campaigned to improve the lives, wage, working conditions and social services for all workers and their families within these communities. 

A significant minimum wage rise would come as a great relief to Hunter Workers who have been impacted by increased cost of living fueled by housing and rental market shortages. 

"It's going to be a domestic recovery," says Shear. "The economy cannot recover if our workers do not have money to spend."

Since JobKeeper was cut it is estimated there has been a 70% increase of Hunter people living in housing stress. Hunter Workers will continue to campaign for the things that matter for all workers across the region.