Last Sunday, a property in Colo, north-west of Sydney, was raided by heavily armed police in dramatic fashion, with dogs and helicopters in tow.
People on the property, some of them members of climate activist group Blockade Australia, say earlier that morning they stumbled across two armed individuals near their camp, dressed in camouflage gear and who refused to identify themselves.
The two men, according to witnesses, jumped into an unmarked car and sped off, hitting two people in the process, but did not immediately get away.
Police say the officers were surrounded by activists as they sheltered in their car, their tyres were damaged and they “feared for their lives”.
Members of Blockade Australia asked the four occupants of the vehicle, which had no police markings, to identify themselves, but they refused, according to the Blockade Australia statement.
They said the car then “sped off” again through a crowd, with people on the bonnet.
In April this year, NSW parliament passed legislation, including fines of up to $22,000 and/or jail terms of up to two years, for protesting illegally on public roads, rail lines, tunnels, bridges, and industrial estates.
That followed protests that disrupted operations around Sydney’s Port Botany in March.
Of the seven people who faced court on Monday, at least one is facing a charge of planning to block traffic.
Meanwhile in Victoria…
Victoria has become the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the swastika, with those who defy the ban to face jail terms and hefty fines.
Legislation passed both houses of parliament on Tuesday making it a crime to publicly and intentionally display the Nazi symbol.
