Sydney Climate Activist Arrested During Protest Complains About Lack Of Vegan Food In Jail

Blockade Australia activist Harley McDonald-Eckersall has complained about the conditions she's enduring while being locked up in jail.

The climate change protestor was arrested for her involvement in the Blockade Australia protests that sent Sydney into chaos this week.

While she's been incarcerated, she has hit out at the lack of appropriate options for her to eat as she identifies as vegan.

"Just an FYI to the Surry Hills police station," McDonald-Eckersall wrote on Facebook. "Dry cereal and fruit is not food and that a cheese sandwich is not vegan."

She added: "Get some real food please ... Also, a book would be nice."

Her observations about the menu and lodgings on offer did not go down very well with the public.

One social media user said: "If you want to make a change, do it in a way that you gain support not p**s people off. No one is talking about the reason you're protesting, they're talking about you being a vegan who whinges about a cheese sandwich in a police station."

A second added: "Here's an idea, if 'hotel lock up' wasn't to your taste, stop breaking the law."

A third said: "Cry me a river. Go get a job and stop bludging on the rest of us."

2GB host Ben Fordham also lashed out at the protester on his radio show.

“I think the apocalypse arrived when you realised there were no vegan menu options in the police cells," he said on 2GB.

In her long social media post, McDonald-Eckersall also mentioned the cramped and cold conditions she experienced while being remanded in custody after her bail was refused.

"I was refused bail and remanded in custody for taking action with Blockade Australia," she wrote on Facebook.

"Those who know me know that this is not my first arrest. But this one rattled me."

She also described the holding cells she was kept in.

Vicious arrests, ridiculous charges and obscene bail conditions won't change our resolve. The stakes are high and the survival of humanity and all species on this earth depends on our resistance. #ClimateCrisis
We will continue to Blockade Australia. #BlockadeAustralia pic.twitter.com/xSiJMh4JI7

— Blockade Australia (@BlockadeAus) June 28, 2022

"About half of that time was spent in what was essentially a see-through box which looked out on the custody desk and gave me enough room to lie flat with my head pressed against one wall and my feet against another," she said.

"The other half was spent in a cell with constant cold air blowing and thin blankets."

McDonald-Eckersall was arrested during Blockade Australia's protests on Monday (June 27), which saw one activist block the Sydney Harbour Bridge tunnel with her car.

Other protesters descended on the Sydney CBD at peak hour and marched through the city waving signs and blocking streets.

One driver in the CBD rammed his car into protesters.

The 31-year-old Bondi man was fined $469 by police for driving into the crowd, the Daily Telegraph later reported.