'Stop these antics': activists slam anti-protest cases

Detailed summary

Repeated efforts to stifle protesters through legal action have been slammed by a group of victorious activists who stared down a police commissioner in court.

Hundreds of protesters will paddle into a major Australian port after activists scored another significant win against authorities.

Climate activist group Rising Tide successfully argued in the NSW Supreme Court Saturday's inaugural Paddle for the Planet flotilla on Newcastle Harbour should be an authorised assembly.

The environmental activists run an annual blockade of the world's largest international export coal port but insisted Saturday's rally would not block operations or result in arrests.

"This is about the sixth time in the last few years the Minns Labor government have taken a full-scale assault on the people's right to protest," state Greens MP Sue Higginson told reporters outside court.

Police asked the court to deem Saturday's event an unlawful assembly over safety concerns for attendees and other users of the busy harbour, including commercial vessels.

That would have rendered anyone who stops port traffic liable for arrest.

During the group's three-day "protestival" and blockade in December 2025, more than 150 people were arrested.

But organisers of the protest - which nearly 700 people have registered to attend - argued they had taken adequate measures to mitigate risk and ensure compliance and the majority of their 15 on-water protests since 2005 were approved by police.

On Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the event start time, Justice Edward Muston ruled the flotilla could go ahead.

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