Protesting against coal with Rising Tide

Hope this inspires someone! Paula Morrow

Radical Newcastle

Paula Morrow

I just told a bloke I met for the first time today in ‘Suspension’, the most activist-friendly coffee-shop in Newcastle, that being involved with groups that protest, that work for positive change, is enlivening.

I am here to tell you that you feel extremely alive when you paddle a kayak out on to the harbour with many others as part of one of the ‘flotillas’ organised by Rising Tide and stop the coal ships for the day. And Vera Deacon has done that in her 80s!

It reminds me of the day 200,000 of us sat down in Sydney’s main streets for the Vietnam Moratorium. And stopped the city.

And when you trespass on to the coal loaders and stop them operating for a few hours.

Or when you run breathless with fear and excitement (and probably lack of fitness once you…

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Had a great time in Tasmania. Gave a talk on ‘Sustainability and Protest’, focusing on Ben and friends’ direct action campaign to stop the logging in the threatened forests, including living on tiny platforms 60 metres up in the trees. (Documented in my book ‘Darwin’s Dilemma: the damage done and the battle for the forests’) Saw Bob Brown and Paul on the Monday night. Bob said ‘they saved 120,000 hectares!’ I organised a group of 12 us to walk in the beautiful, wonderful, threatened Tarkine.

I am speaking in Tasmania on ‘Sustainabilty and Protest’, Saturday the 7th March, at the North-West Environment Centre in Penquin. My books will be on sale there. I will then be participating in the Permaculture Convergence there from the 9th -15th March. Paula