A protester was seen being dragged out of the road she was blocking by a frustrated driver.
In footage shared on Twitter, a group of Fireproof Australia campaigners can be seen sitting in a major road at Botany Bay in Sydney during rush hour.
A number of motorists jump out of their cars to ask the group - who are holding up banners and singing - to leave so they can be on their way.
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When they refuse, one man decides to take matters into his own hands, telling the woman closest to the median strip: “F**king move, I’ve gotta go to work."
“Get the f*** out of here,” he says as he pulls away the woman’s banner. The man proceeds to drag her by her arms across the road, adding: “I've got to go to work, you f***ing dope.”
In case you weren’t aware, Fireproof Australia is a campaign of civil resistance to the government’s response to the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, which killed approximately 450 Australians as well as killing or displacing three billion animals.
Following a number of climate change demonstrations in the area, this week the NSW parliament introduced legislation with harsher punishments for protesters who cause disruptions to major public spaces including roads.
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Those who break the new law face being fined up to $22,000 or a maximum prison sentence of two years.
Despite the strict rules, the Fireproof Australia protesters chose to demonstrate on Tuesday (5 April).
The organisation shared the clip on Twitter, writing: “Defying newly passed laws #FireproofAustralia supporters blockade a major road at Botany Bay in peak hour with their bodies and a call for a Large Aerial Tanker fleet of waterbombing planes to fight fires.”
Four of the protesters, comprising of three women and one man, were arrested and the road was cleared at around 9:00am local time.
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All were refused bail and were due to appear at Sutherland Local Court today, with charges including wilfully preventing free passage of person, vehicle or vessel, refusing or failing to comply with direction under Part 14, and failing or refusing to disclose identity as required.
In response to the incident, NSW premier Dominic Perrottet told 9News: "This type of behaviour needs to stop, people have the right to protest, people have the right to free speech, we promote that.
"But don't do it at the expense of people trying to get to and from work, trying to get their kids to school, stopping people earning a living and a wage - that's what these protests are doing.
"We've passed the laws, we'll throw the book at these people, because their behaviour is completely unacceptable.
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"And if you really want to lose support in the community for your cause, keep acting like that.
"Because that behaviour has no place in our state and to see those scenes in Sydney again today is completely unacceptable.
"And that's why we passed those laws, we'll throw the book at people who continue to act like that."
Topics: Australia, Politics, Global Warming, Environment
Daisy Phillipson