TWO WOMEN who performed a song and dance on board a coal train bound for Newcastle and a man that suspended himself over the Hunter River in climate protests yesterday have been fined.
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Ian Fox, 67, Rosie Ganino, 66, and Catrina Macleod, 60, were arrested and each spent a night behind bars before facing Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday.
They each faced charges of entering non-agricultural lands - serious safety risk; causing obstruction to railway locomotive or rolling stock; and entering inclosed hand without a lawful excuse.
The three protesters pleaded guilty to each charge and escaped criminal convictions, but each of them was charged $750.
Blockade Australia, which has been known to conduct similar stunts in the region, took responsibility for three protests in 12 hours in the Hunter on Tuesday, June 25.
Police were first called to Kooragang rail bridge at about 7am after Fox suspended himself over the Hunter River in an effort to block train movements into the Port of Newcastle.
The incident looked more like a rescue mission than an arrest, as police teams brought in an excavator and an officer in a harness used a series of cables to reach the protester and cut him down.
Fox held a banner which read "Survival depends on non-compliance. Act your politics".
Emergency services were called again just after 1pm after reports two women - Ganino and Macleod - were aboard a coal train at Sandgate.
They were seen standing in the coal live-streaming a rendition of The Supremes' hit 'Stop! In The Name Of Love' to 'Stop in the name of life'.
In another incident, Joanne Wilmot, 64, was arrested after standing on top of a train carriage in the Hunter Valley carrying a tattered umbrella, saying "we're on a railroad to hell".
Police were alerted at about 4.20pm that "a number of people" had entered the rail corridor at Belford.
Wilmot spent the night in custody before facing Newcastle Local Court today, where she faced the same charges as the trio that were arrested earlier.
She was also released without convictions but fined $750.
Two other men arrested at the same time as Fox will face court at a later date, and a 33-year-old woman from Victoria is expected to face court on Thursday.
She was arrested after police and the rescue team were called to reports people had entered the rail corridor at Rix's Creek near Singleton amid an unauthorised protest at about 8.30am on Wednesday, June 26.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
