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Australia: Protesters Shut Down Parliament House
CANBERRA—Federal Parliament's front doors were locked on Monday during a blockade by climate change protesters calling for deep cuts to carbon emissions.
About 200 protesters demanding a 40 per cent cut in carbon emissions were visited by senators Bill Heffernan and Steve Fielding, both renowned climate sceptics who tried to speak with them.
More than 20 police were called in to move the protesters away from parliament's front doors and some left before they were forced out.
Police dragged remaining protesters to an area under parliament, out of sight of reporters and photographers.
An Australian Federal Police cameraman filmed the demonstrators - in Britain, officials do the same to gather intelligence on a long list of "extremist" groups.
Earlier on Monday, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown was cheered by the demonstrators when he called for a referendum on coal industry compensation.
"You can delay everything for the big end of town but you can't get a proper consideration of what the Australian populace thinks on this issue," Senator Brown said.
"It wouldn't do any harm to have a referendum on it. They'd lose."
As one young woman was arrested she shouted: "I'm not going to comply when the Rudd government decides to do what the coal lobby says."
Protest organiser Georgina Woods, from the group Rising Tide Newcastle, said the protesters ranged in age from one to 87.
The father of the one-year-old was arrested but the mother left the protest scene with their child after police asked demonstrators to leave.
Ms Woods defended the couple.
"This has been a peaceful protest. There was no danger to the baby," Ms Woods said.
Fellow protest organiser Matthew Wright, from the group Beyond Zero Emissions, said the protest was not widely publicised beforehand to ensure demonstrators could blockade Parliament House rather than be forced to rally on lawns further away.
A Hunter Valley coal miner called Graham was the last protester to be arrested and taken to the basement of Parliament House.
Some police officers involved were not wearing either name tags or identification numbers.
One officer, when asked, said his was on his jacket which he had taken off.
Inside parliament, the federal government and the opposition were still trying to work out a deal to get the government's emissions trading scheme through parliament.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/parliament-house-protesters-removed/story-e6frf7jx-1225802062548