2021-11-23
Greens Leader Adam Bandt has said a 12-month prison sentence for a young climate activist engaging in peaceful civil disobedience was harsh and excessive, as he called for greater legal protection for peaceful activists and urged people to join protests against the sentence.
The 22-year-old man was convicted and sentenced for direct action stopping a coal train at the world’s biggest coal port in Newcastle.
Quotes attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:
“Our country shouldn’t be jailing peaceful activists fighting to defend human life.
“People engaging in non-violent civil disobedience to stop millions of people dying deserve the law’s protection, not punishment.
“The mining and burning of coal is the biggest cause of the climate crisis. We must phase it out.
“The real criminals are the big coal and gas corporations burning our future for corporate profits, and the politicians that enable them.
“This is a harsh sentence for someone who was protecting all our futures. The law should be changed to protect peaceful climate protest. In years to come, young people like Sergeio will be celebrated as heroes.”