Environmental Activists Hijacked White Night To Protest The Adani Coal Mine
They eventually had their projector confiscated.
Environmental activists briefly disrupted the White Night festival in Melbourne on Saturday night, in order to protest the controversial Adani coal mine in central Queensland.
More than 500,000 people converged on the CBD for the annual event, one that sees a number of the city’s most iconic landmarks lit up by projections every year. But punters walking past Flinders Street Station yesterday evening would have seen the building’s famous facade illuminated by an unauthorised light show featuring the #StopAdani logo.
Check out the renegade #StopAdani projection at #WhiteNightMelb
65% Australians can’t be wrong. pic.twitter.com/QOlGpS13Wr— ACooke ?️? (@AudreyCooke77) February 17, 2018
Police did not confirm whether any of the protesters involved in the stunt had been arrested, reports The Age. One activist told the paper that a member of the group had been thrown to the ground. Their projector was also confiscated.
Adani has become a major political issue in Melbourne, and is expected to be a key factor in next month’s byelection in Batman. While it was once among the safest Labor seats in the entire country, the inner north electorate is on the verge of turning Green, with the progressive party campaigning heavily on Labor’s failure to take a strong position on the billion dollar coal mine.
31 people were arrested over the course of White Night, on charges ranging from drug possession to assault. Despite this, police say they were “very happy” with the overall behaviour of the crowd.
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Feature image via red_river_gum/Instagram