As more than a hundred climate activists waded into the Port of Newcastle on Thursday afternoon with kayaks and rafts, with police boats drifting in the distance, it was unclear what would happen next.
In a supreme court room, about two and half hours’ drive south in Sydney, sat 21-year-old Alexa Stuart who was challenging a maritime exclusion zone the New South Wales government had imposed around the port. The zone restricted anyone entering the water over a four-day period in a bid to stop the protest, which was attempting to stop coal ships from leaving the port.
A few hours later, the court would accept the argument of the protest organisers, Rising Tide, that the government had improperly used the Marine Safety Act and deemed the move invalid.
When news of the win spread to the protesters floating on the water, the crowd erupted in a rousing cheer, waving paddles in the air.