At around 6 am on 13 September last year, anti-coal protester
Micah Weekes climbed on top of a 13,000 tonne freight train on
Sandgate Bridge, Newcastle, with the aim of preventing it and other
coal trains from making it to the largest coal port in the
world.
Weekes spent around 2 hours atop the train, with much of the
nonviolent direct action live streamed on social media. That's
until NSW police turned up with a cherry picker to remove the
activist and arrest him. Weekes was subsequently charged with three
serious offences.
The difference between Weekes' coal mining protest and
others that have been increasingly appearing in the press of late,
is that he's a former coal miner of 10 years, who was trying to
draw attention to the devastating health effects the industry is
having upon local communities.
