George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The behaviour of anti-coal activists at Carmichael Mine in North Queensland has reached a dangerous level. They are putting their lives at risk and endangering the lives of mine workers who are just trying to do their job. The level of harassment, abuse and intimidation that workers are subjected to is illegal and disgusting. We recently had an aggressive high-speed off-road vehicle chase, with activists pursuing and swerving towards the vehicles of mineworkers. They circled a mineworker's ute in their own vehicle, accelerated and then slammed on the brakes right in front of that worker's ute.

It's fine to protest. I support the right to free speech and the right to march peacefully in the streets. You all know I support the freedom protests. But it's interesting to juxtapose how an anti-coal activist behaving violently in North Queensland is dealt with by the law with how a freedom protester marching peacefully on the streets of Melbourne is dealt with. As I said, it's fine to protest, but it's not fine to put other people's lives at risk and it's not fine to trespass on private property. We've seen activists chaining themselves to railway lines, abusing railworkers just trying to do their jobs. The latest was this morning, with a serial offender suspending herself from equipment at the Abbot Point coal terminal. The problem is that these serial offenders get a slap on the wrist in court, and then they're back at it again. The law needs to be stronger. North Queensland workers need to be better protected from the illegal and dangerous behaviour of these serial offenders.