Hundreds of climate activists, aboard rafts and kayaks, have paddled out into the Port of Newcastle for a so-called “protestival”, to disrupt the world’s largest coal port.

The activists behind the protest, Rising Tide, are defying a police-sought court order that tried to have the protest stopped due to safety concerns.

It means the demonstration will run in the presence of a police force that has a full suite of powers.

Today, producer for 7am Cheyne Anderson on how challenges like this are becoming more common, set against a backdrop of a nation-wide crackdown on the right to protest.

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Guest: Producer for 7am Cheyne Anderson.

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