"It is for your family that we do this": Protester's calm response to abuse
A climate protester who locked themselves in a car, blocking the Sydney Harbour Tunnel caught on camera the moment an angry member of the public confronted her.
The video – which contains extremely explicit language, was streamed live on the Blockade Australia Facebook page, and showed the woman with a bike lock looped around her neck and the steering wheel of the car as she was approached by a very angry motorist.
Blockade Australia identified the protester as 22-year-old Mali. As she told viewers what she was doing, a “really angry” man could be seen marching up to the car from behind her.
“I’m not sure what’s about to happen,” Mali said.
The man repeatedly knocked on the window yelling expletives.
“Get the f*** out of the way, you f***ing selfish c***,” he said.
Mali remained calm and once he moved away, she said: “To this man, I would say I stand with you. It is for you, it is for your family that we do this. It’s for everyone’s people that we love that we take this stand because it is for all of us that we need our life support systems.”
Mali went on to explain she had been living in Lismore during both major floods this year and had seen the devastation it had caused. Later in the clip, police could be seen outside the car and eventually an officer approached and asked her to step out of the car.
Mali was heard agreeing to show the officer identification and was asked to place her hands on the dashboard before the video cut off.
According to police, emergency services were called to the northern entrance of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in North Sydney at about 8:15am, responding to reports a woman had stopped her car, blocking all citybound lanes.
“Around the same time, approximately 50-60 people who police allege were part of an unauthorised protest -walked on the streets of the Sydney CBD, interfering with the free flow of vehicles and pedestrians,” a statement said.
In total 11 activists were arrested, with NSW changing the law in April to deter protestors with hefty fines and even jail time.
Blockade Australia wrote on Facebook that the aim of the protest was to “bring Australia’s largest city, Sydney, to a standstill”.
“Between June 27th and July 2nd we will show our collective resistance against Australia’s ecological destruction,” a description for the event read.
Image: Facebook