- In short: Police have arrested and fined 72 climate activists [$385 each] for staging a protest in the middle of a Melbourne CBD intersection.
- Demonstrators from the group Extinction Rebellion say they have tried less-invasive forms of protest to make governments listen to their concerns, but they have not been heard.
- What’s next? The group is planning further disruptive action for March next year.
It was the fourth consecutive day of action by Extinction Rebellion demonstrators, culminating in a rally outside Flinders Street Station at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets.
The protesters are calling on the federal government to reduce carbon emissions. Many who attended the rally came prepared to be arrested, saying their actions were a last resort.
They’re causing harm to people, and making enemies of voters instead of making allies. The person driving to their daughter’s wedding, or to the hospital, or even just everyone going to work on a normal day, can’t do anything about this stuff except for vote on ballots and with their wallets. How do the activists think the average person is going to vote on an issue that they now associate with being blocked in traffic? Sure, the person should be smart enough to understand that the issue is important regardless of who is promoting it, but that’s not how a lot of people operate. If the protestors insist on inconveniencing people, they need to inconvenience people actually responsible for fixing the problem, not some random person going about the necessities of life.