CLIMATE activists have been fined $600 each for not complying with police directions while paddling inflatable kayaks in the shipping channel during a protest on Newcastle Harbour.
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Five people were sentenced in Newcastle Local Court on Monday after pleading guilty to one charge each stemming from the Rising Tide blockade on November 24.
Manon O'Neill, 26, was in court in person as her defence solicitor revealed she had been impacted by fires and floods and had a "certain desperation" about climate inaction.
The defence solicitor argued the protesters felt like they "morally" didn't have a choice.
"Yes, they do," magistrate Peter Feather replied.
He said the 'People's Blockade' had drawn a massive police response and put protesters and officers at risk.
The court heard a large vessel was due to arrive in the harbour within about an hour of the kayakers paddling past police safety markers and entering the shipping channel at the end of the multi-day protest.
Mr Feather acknowledged O'Neill's concern about the climate and noted terrible bushfires were ripping through Los Angeles.
"I commend you for your concern, but that does not entitle you to break the law," he said.
Mr Feather said there was some planning involved in the offending.
Two doctors from Tasmania, Christopher Holden and Elen O'Donnell, along with mechanical engineer William Parkinson and 58-year-old Kerry Suthern, were also fined in Newcastle Local Court.
Each of the five people sentenced on Monday had pleaded guilty to not complying with a direction by an authorised officer.
Holden told the court in a letter he believed he needed to act on climate change as it was a threat to public health.
Suthern wrote to the court she went onto the harbour that morning because she was distressed about the future of the next generation.
"She clearly understood what she was doing was wrong," Mr Feather said.
She wrote that she was "not remorseful for her actions" but apologised to police, the court heard.
Several other Rising Tide protesters had their cases adjourned to March, while others remain before the courts.
Police confirmed at the time that they made 170 arrests during the November 2024 Rising Tide harbour protest, including 14 people under the age of 18.
