Activists who glued themselves to a downtown Brisbane pedestrian crossing were protesting against the approval of a $21 billion mine in the Galilee Basin.
QMEB can confirm environmental protestors, who brought part of the CBD to a standstill, were unhappy with the Queensland Government approving Adani Australia’s Carmichael Coal Project, 160km northwest of Clermont.
A man dressed in a bunny costume and a woman super glued themselves to a busy pedestrian crossing on Queen Street at about 7:30 am on June 18.
“I must do this, I must sacrifice my liberty to stand up for the human race and all races on earth,” one of the protestors yelled to reporters. “The Australian government has been complicit in the planning of our genocide to systematically murder everyone.”
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Protest lasted three hours
The protest lasted for three hours because Queensland Fire and Emergency Services had to use safe chemicals to slowly dissolve the glue, which was bonding them to the road.
“They’ve taken positions on the road that is going to be hard for police to remove,” Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Greg Rolles told the Australian Associated Press. “We are trying to slow down business as usual because business as usual equals death.”
‘Ridiculous waste of resources’
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) criticised the protestors for wasting tax payer money and charged them with public nuisance.
“It’s a ridiculous waste of our resources,” QPS Senior Sergeant Geoff Acreman told repoters. “I don’t think it does their cause any good in relation to getting the public on [their] side.”
‘Move on’
State Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the opportunity to protest the mine’s approval has already passed.
“The anti-Adani protestors do need to move on,” she said at a press conference.
The Queensland Premier urged the activists to behave themselves.
“I just think everyone needs to be respectful,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters.
Sorry but protests will continue
Rolles apologised for causing trouble but would not rule out holding more protests in the coming weeks and months, with another protest planned for June 21.
“[I am] very sorry that people feel that they have been impacted,” he said. “I personally feel very sorry for people who are dying from a lack of drinking water in Bangladesh right now because of global warming.”
Passerbys were less than impressed.
“Although I do support anti-Adani causes, I do feel this is possibly a really silly way to go about it,” one woman told reporters.
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