'Gullible council of Newcastle': Rising Tide application 'approved' under strict conditions

The Advertiser

2 days ago

RISING Tide's divisive application to hold its 2025 People's Blockade on council-owned land in November has been handed 'in-principle' approval under strict conditions.
The decision on will ultimately be in the hands of City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath once further public exhibition is undertaken on the newly-proposed Foreshore Park campsite. He will not make a decision on Camp Shortland.
The council approved Rising Tide's application to hold a climate concert at Camp Shortland, but its push to use Foreshore Park will need to go back to the drawing board.
The council's in-principle approval is not unconditional; Rising Tide organisers will need to submit a new event application for Foreshore Park, which will go back on public exhibition for an undisclosed period of time.
The climate activist group will need to submit and maintain a valid 'Form 1' to the NSW Police covering all locations for an authorised public assembly, consistent with the event licence application.
Rising Tide will also need to make a commitment that its organisers and participants will follow all "lawful" police directions.
Independent Cr Peter Gittins said he is an "old-school" type of person and if Rising Tide goes against its word, he would see it as a "fundamental breach of integrity".
"I wish and hope Rising Tide does not, under any circumstances, enter the shipping lanes, a commitment they gave to the lord mayor last year and broke," he said.
"I implore those involved with the protest, which I have said earlier, I support, to think seriously about the economic impact, the messaging, and health and safety in our port must be at the forefront of everything that is being done."
Newcastle council chambers were packed to the rafters on Tuesday night, spilling out the doors, as about 100 Rising Tide members anxiously awaited a decision.
Labor councillors Declan Clausen and Peta Winney-Baartz did not debate the application, having declared conflicts of interest in the matter and excusing themselves from the chamber.
The climate activist group threw a spanner in the works with a last-minute proposal to move the protest campsite from Hamilton North's Richardson Park back to Foreshore Park, where it was held in 2024.
City of Newcastle took Camp Shortland and Richardson Park to the public and received more than 1850 submissions, of which 86 per cent backed the event.
Members of the community did not have the opportunity to make submissions on Foreshore Park.
The 11th-hour change raised questions about whether approving a new location without further public exhibition would breach the Local Government Act.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe said the decision was a "defining moment" for the elected council to demonstrate its position on the right to protest and its commitment to "ensuring a safe climate future".
Cr McCabe said those against the event "demanded" councillors consider the actions of a small percentage of Rising Tide protestors, despite arrests being the responsibility of NSW Police.
Despite what she called "public pressure" from the premier and state government to refuse the application, Cr McCabe said there will be members of the community who feel compelled to participate in non-violent civil disobedience and would be "rightly enraged" if the application were shot down.
"If our priority is safety for everyone, event attendees, community members, residents and police officers, then it is our duty to ensure that a coordinated event with clear expectations and clear lines of open communication takes place," she said.
"If we reject this application, we risk an occurrence where potentially thousands of people will arrive in our city who are angry ... they will find somewhere to set up in our city, on our community land, without any of the agreements that we currently have in place for this licence application."
On Monday, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said an approval of the event licence without further exhibition would not be compliant with the requirements of the Act.
He reiterated those thoughts at Tuesday night's meeting.
"Lord mayor, as we well know, you were branded the gullible mayor of Newcastle after making a single undertaking just last year," Cr Pull said.
"If this event succeeds, and the event is approved, and en masse arrests occur for a third time in a row, the council will rightfully be branded the gullible council of Newcastle."
Cr Pull said the council as a whole would wear any reputational impacts, and pushed for the council to deny both event licences, arguing, "the buck stops with us".
According to the Act, a proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly if a council proposes to grant a lease or license, including on the council's website and on the land the proposal relates to.
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors said the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
The email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
Independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge found himself in hot water with his fellow councillors when he used his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, having been elected just two months before the event.
The extraordinary meeting marks the first time in recent history that councillors have determined an event authorisation.
In January 2025, Cr Kerridge asked City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to bring the decision to the elected council.
According to a report to councillors, the event attracted about 3000 attendees in 2023 and about 5000 in 2024.
RISING Tide's divisive application to hold its 2025 People's Blockade on council-owned land in November has been handed 'in-principle' approval under strict conditions.
The decision on will ultimately be in the hands of City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath once further public exhibition is undertaken on the newly-proposed Foreshore Park campsite. He will not make a decision on Camp Shortland.
The council approved Rising Tide's application to hold a climate concert at Camp Shortland, but its push to use Foreshore Park will need to go back to the drawing board.
The council's in-principle approval is not unconditional; Rising Tide organisers will need to submit a new event application for Foreshore Park, which will go back on public exhibition for an undisclosed period of time.
The climate activist group will need to submit and maintain a valid 'Form 1' to the NSW Police covering all locations for an authorised public assembly, consistent with the event licence application.
Rising Tide will also need to make a commitment that its organisers and participants will follow all "lawful" police directions.
Independent Cr Peter Gittins said he is an "old-school" type of person and if Rising Tide goes against its word, he would see it as a "fundamental breach of integrity".
"I wish and hope Rising Tide does not, under any circumstances, enter the shipping lanes, a commitment they gave to the lord mayor last year and broke," he said.
"I implore those involved with the protest, which I have said earlier, I support, to think seriously about the economic impact, the messaging, and health and safety in our port must be at the forefront of everything that is being done."
Newcastle council chambers were packed to the rafters on Tuesday night, spilling out the doors, as about 100 Rising Tide members anxiously awaited a decision.
Labor councillors Declan Clausen and Peta Winney-Baartz did not debate the application, having declared conflicts of interest in the matter and excusing themselves from the chamber.
The climate activist group threw a spanner in the works with a last-minute proposal to move the protest campsite from Hamilton North's Richardson Park back to Foreshore Park, where it was held in 2024.
City of Newcastle took Camp Shortland and Richardson Park to the public and received more than 1850 submissions, of which 86 per cent backed the event.
Members of the community did not have the opportunity to make submissions on Foreshore Park.
The 11th-hour change raised questions about whether approving a new location without further public exhibition would breach the Local Government Act.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe said the decision was a "defining moment" for the elected council to demonstrate its position on the right to protest and its commitment to "ensuring a safe climate future".
Cr McCabe said those against the event "demanded" councillors consider the actions of a small percentage of Rising Tide protestors, despite arrests being the responsibility of NSW Police.
Despite what she called "public pressure" from the premier and state government to refuse the application, Cr McCabe said there will be members of the community who feel compelled to participate in non-violent civil disobedience and would be "rightly enraged" if the application were shot down.
"If our priority is safety for everyone, event attendees, community members, residents and police officers, then it is our duty to ensure that a coordinated event with clear expectations and clear lines of open communication takes place," she said.
"If we reject this application, we risk an occurrence where potentially thousands of people will arrive in our city who are angry ... they will find somewhere to set up in our city, on our community land, without any of the agreements that we currently have in place for this licence application."
On Monday, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said an approval of the event licence without further exhibition would not be compliant with the requirements of the Act.
He reiterated those thoughts at Tuesday night's meeting.
"Lord mayor, as we well know, you were branded the gullible mayor of Newcastle after making a single undertaking just last year," Cr Pull said.
"If this event succeeds, and the event is approved, and en masse arrests occur for a third time in a row, the council will rightfully be branded the gullible council of Newcastle."
Cr Pull said the council as a whole would wear any reputational impacts, and pushed for the council to deny both event licences, arguing, "the buck stops with us".
According to the Act, a proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly if a council proposes to grant a lease or license, including on the council's website and on the land the proposal relates to.
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors said the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
The email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
Independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge found himself in hot water with his fellow councillors when he used his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, having been elected just two months before the event.
The extraordinary meeting marks the first time in recent history that councillors have determined an event authorisation.
In January 2025, Cr Kerridge asked City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to bring the decision to the elected council.
According to a report to councillors, the event attracted about 3000 attendees in 2023 and about 5000 in 2024.
RISING Tide's divisive application to hold its 2025 People's Blockade on council-owned land in November has been handed 'in-principle' approval under strict conditions.
The decision on will ultimately be in the hands of City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath once further public exhibition is undertaken on the newly-proposed Foreshore Park campsite. He will not make a decision on Camp Shortland.
The council approved Rising Tide's application to hold a climate concert at Camp Shortland, but its push to use Foreshore Park will need to go back to the drawing board.
The council's in-principle approval is not unconditional; Rising Tide organisers will need to submit a new event application for Foreshore Park, which will go back on public exhibition for an undisclosed period of time.
The climate activist group will need to submit and maintain a valid 'Form 1' to the NSW Police covering all locations for an authorised public assembly, consistent with the event licence application.
Rising Tide will also need to make a commitment that its organisers and participants will follow all "lawful" police directions.
Independent Cr Peter Gittins said he is an "old-school" type of person and if Rising Tide goes against its word, he would see it as a "fundamental breach of integrity".
"I wish and hope Rising Tide does not, under any circumstances, enter the shipping lanes, a commitment they gave to the lord mayor last year and broke," he said.
"I implore those involved with the protest, which I have said earlier, I support, to think seriously about the economic impact, the messaging, and health and safety in our port must be at the forefront of everything that is being done."
Newcastle council chambers were packed to the rafters on Tuesday night, spilling out the doors, as about 100 Rising Tide members anxiously awaited a decision.
Labor councillors Declan Clausen and Peta Winney-Baartz did not debate the application, having declared conflicts of interest in the matter and excusing themselves from the chamber.
The climate activist group threw a spanner in the works with a last-minute proposal to move the protest campsite from Hamilton North's Richardson Park back to Foreshore Park, where it was held in 2024.
City of Newcastle took Camp Shortland and Richardson Park to the public and received more than 1850 submissions, of which 86 per cent backed the event.
Members of the community did not have the opportunity to make submissions on Foreshore Park.
The 11th-hour change raised questions about whether approving a new location without further public exhibition would breach the Local Government Act.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe said the decision was a "defining moment" for the elected council to demonstrate its position on the right to protest and its commitment to "ensuring a safe climate future".
Cr McCabe said those against the event "demanded" councillors consider the actions of a small percentage of Rising Tide protestors, despite arrests being the responsibility of NSW Police.
Despite what she called "public pressure" from the premier and state government to refuse the application, Cr McCabe said there will be members of the community who feel compelled to participate in non-violent civil disobedience and would be "rightly enraged" if the application were shot down.
"If our priority is safety for everyone, event attendees, community members, residents and police officers, then it is our duty to ensure that a coordinated event with clear expectations and clear lines of open communication takes place," she said.
"If we reject this application, we risk an occurrence where potentially thousands of people will arrive in our city who are angry ... they will find somewhere to set up in our city, on our community land, without any of the agreements that we currently have in place for this licence application."
On Monday, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said an approval of the event licence without further exhibition would not be compliant with the requirements of the Act.
He reiterated those thoughts at Tuesday night's meeting.
"Lord mayor, as we well know, you were branded the gullible mayor of Newcastle after making a single undertaking just last year," Cr Pull said.
"If this event succeeds, and the event is approved, and en masse arrests occur for a third time in a row, the council will rightfully be branded the gullible council of Newcastle."
Cr Pull said the council as a whole would wear any reputational impacts, and pushed for the council to deny both event licences, arguing, "the buck stops with us".
According to the Act, a proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly if a council proposes to grant a lease or license, including on the council's website and on the land the proposal relates to.
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors said the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
The email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
Independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge found himself in hot water with his fellow councillors when he used his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, having been elected just two months before the event.
The extraordinary meeting marks the first time in recent history that councillors have determined an event authorisation.
In January 2025, Cr Kerridge asked City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to bring the decision to the elected council.
According to a report to councillors, the event attracted about 3000 attendees in 2023 and about 5000 in 2024.
RISING Tide's divisive application to hold its 2025 People's Blockade on council-owned land in November has been handed 'in-principle' approval under strict conditions.
The decision on will ultimately be in the hands of City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath once further public exhibition is undertaken on the newly-proposed Foreshore Park campsite. He will not make a decision on Camp Shortland.
The council approved Rising Tide's application to hold a climate concert at Camp Shortland, but its push to use Foreshore Park will need to go back to the drawing board.
The council's in-principle approval is not unconditional; Rising Tide organisers will need to submit a new event application for Foreshore Park, which will go back on public exhibition for an undisclosed period of time.
The climate activist group will need to submit and maintain a valid 'Form 1' to the NSW Police covering all locations for an authorised public assembly, consistent with the event licence application.
Rising Tide will also need to make a commitment that its organisers and participants will follow all "lawful" police directions.
Independent Cr Peter Gittins said he is an "old-school" type of person and if Rising Tide goes against its word, he would see it as a "fundamental breach of integrity".
"I wish and hope Rising Tide does not, under any circumstances, enter the shipping lanes, a commitment they gave to the lord mayor last year and broke," he said.
"I implore those involved with the protest, which I have said earlier, I support, to think seriously about the economic impact, the messaging, and health and safety in our port must be at the forefront of everything that is being done."
Newcastle council chambers were packed to the rafters on Tuesday night, spilling out the doors, as about 100 Rising Tide members anxiously awaited a decision.
Labor councillors Declan Clausen and Peta Winney-Baartz did not debate the application, having declared conflicts of interest in the matter and excusing themselves from the chamber.
The climate activist group threw a spanner in the works with a last-minute proposal to move the protest campsite from Hamilton North's Richardson Park back to Foreshore Park, where it was held in 2024.
City of Newcastle took Camp Shortland and Richardson Park to the public and received more than 1850 submissions, of which 86 per cent backed the event.
Members of the community did not have the opportunity to make submissions on Foreshore Park.
The 11th-hour change raised questions about whether approving a new location without further public exhibition would breach the Local Government Act.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe said the decision was a "defining moment" for the elected council to demonstrate its position on the right to protest and its commitment to "ensuring a safe climate future".
Cr McCabe said those against the event "demanded" councillors consider the actions of a small percentage of Rising Tide protestors, despite arrests being the responsibility of NSW Police.
Despite what she called "public pressure" from the premier and state government to refuse the application, Cr McCabe said there will be members of the community who feel compelled to participate in non-violent civil disobedience and would be "rightly enraged" if the application were shot down.
"If our priority is safety for everyone, event attendees, community members, residents and police officers, then it is our duty to ensure that a coordinated event with clear expectations and clear lines of open communication takes place," she said.
"If we reject this application, we risk an occurrence where potentially thousands of people will arrive in our city who are angry ... they will find somewhere to set up in our city, on our community land, without any of the agreements that we currently have in place for this licence application."
On Monday, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said an approval of the event licence without further exhibition would not be compliant with the requirements of the Act.
He reiterated those thoughts at Tuesday night's meeting.
"Lord mayor, as we well know, you were branded the gullible mayor of Newcastle after making a single undertaking just last year," Cr Pull said.
"If this event succeeds, and the event is approved, and en masse arrests occur for a third time in a row, the council will rightfully be branded the gullible council of Newcastle."
Cr Pull said the council as a whole would wear any reputational impacts, and pushed for the council to deny both event licences, arguing, "the buck stops with us".
According to the Act, a proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly if a council proposes to grant a lease or license, including on the council's website and on the land the proposal relates to.
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors said the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
The email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
Independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge found himself in hot water with his fellow councillors when he used his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, having been elected just two months before the event.
The extraordinary meeting marks the first time in recent history that councillors have determined an event authorisation.
In January 2025, Cr Kerridge asked City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to bring the decision to the elected council.
According to a report to councillors, the event attracted about 3000 attendees in 2023 and about 5000 in 2024.