Police are reviewing charges against more than 120 protesters who participated in a blockade of the world’s largest port after four activists were acquitted in court this week.
Hordes of people descended on the Port of Newcastle in November to call on the federal government to rule out new coal and gas mines and introduce a 78% tax on coal and gas exports.
More than 170 were arrested during the multi-day event, which organisers Rising Tide hailed as the largest single act of civil disobedience in Australia’s history.
Four of the activists were charged with seriously disrupting or obstructing a major facility and faced Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday 21 October, where the charges were dismissed.
The magistrate found there was a lack of reliable evidence as to the protesters’ movements