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Media Release

11th August, 2009

Climate change protesters disrupted a speech by Rio Tinto Coal Managing Director Bill Champion in Newcastle today.

Half a dozen protesters from Rising Tide Newcastle were removed from the premises by police after arriving at the speech with banners and a megaphone.

Protesters in kayaks today disrupted one of the largest dredging operations in the world, and the expansion of the world's biggest coal port in Newcastle.

Thirteen water-borne protesters paddled into the way of dredging machines in the South Arm of the Hunter River, calling on both State and Federal Governments to place the interests of the environment and the broader community ahead of coal corporations.

Dredging operations at the site ground to a halt for over an hour due to the protest. Water Police eventually moved all protesters out of the area without charge.