# Newcastle kayakers protest coal exports, no arrests made

> More than 600 kayakers paddled into Newcastle Harbour to protest coal exports and fossil fuels, after a court rejected police attempts to block the event.
- Title: Newcastle kayakers protest coal exports, no arrests made · Abc
- Summary: More than 600 kayakers paddled into Newcastle Harbour to protest coal exports and fossil fuels, after a court rejected police attempts to block the event.
- Keywords: rising tide, newcastle harbour, coal exports, climate protest, paddle for the planet, nsw police, supreme court of nsw, anthony albanese, chris minns, sue higginson, nsw election 2027, Abc
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-11-14/rising-tide-paddle-protest-newcastle-coal-exports/107386226
- Published: 2026-11-14T05:10:49+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: rising tide, newcastle harbour, coal exports, climate protest, paddle for the planet, nsw police, supreme court of nsw, anthony albanese, chris minns, sue higginson, nsw election 2027, news
## Court clears protest after police block attempt
NSW Police tried to stop Rising Tide's Paddle for the Planet event, citing safety concerns. The Supreme Court of NSW dismissed the application on Friday, deciding the event was in the public interest.
## Over six hundred kayakers take to Newcastle Harbour
More than nine hundred people registered for the protest. More than six hundred took to the water off Horseshoe Beach, with hundreds more lining the shore for the one-hour demonstration.
## Rising Tide attacks government climate record
Rising Tide spokesperson Joe Hallenstein called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hypocritical.He said Albanese tells the world Australia is a climate leader while his government and Chris Minns's state government approve new coal and gas projects.

> [Albanese] is over in Türkiye telling the world that Australia is a leader in climate action, when the opposite is true.
## Attendee frustrated with government inaction
Protester Scott Alcorn said he was tired of governments from federal down to local level not doing enough to reduce climate impact. He noted plenty of enthusiastic people shared his concerns.

> I'm tired of governments, from the federal government down to the local government, not doing enough about reducing [climate impact].
## Greens link protest to March election campaign
NSW Greens climate spokesperson Sue Higginson said climate change and fossil fuel projects must be key concerns in the NSW election scheduled for March thirteen, twenty twenty-seven.
## Government defies High Court on coalmine expansion
Ms Higginson criticised the Minns government for making legislative changes allowing Mount Pleasant coalmine to increase its life and output, despite a High Court ruling that global climate emissions must be considered in approvals.

> [The government] is literally carving laws that defy the High Court's ruling because a coal company is threatening to lay off workers before Christmas.
## Larger protest planned for February twenty twenty-seven
Rising Tide confirmed plans for a larger on-water protest at the end of February on Newcastle Harbour, a fortnight before the NSW election. No arrests were made at the November fourteen event.
## Key takeaway

Over six hundred kayakers protested coal exports in Newcastle Harbour on November fourteenth after the Supreme Court of NSW rejected police attempts to stop the event.