New film showcases 2025 people’s blockade of world’s biggest coal port

About 150 people filled the Ashfield Town Hall auditorium on October 10 for the Gadigal/Sydney premiere of environmental group Rising Tide’s new short film, Taking the Channel.

The film showcases the People’s Blockade of the world’s biggest coal port, which took place in Muloobinba/Newcastle, in November last year.

Taking the Channel features interviews with activists who took part in the blockade, as well as dramatic footage of the hundreds of people on their kayaks setting out from Horseshoe Beach to confront a giant coal ship attempting to pass through the Newcastle Port’s entrance.

During the film, it is revealed that several coal ships were directly turned around by the blockade, while up to a dozen others were cancelled by the authorities as a result of the mass action by activists.

Interviews with participants include a grandmother from Adelaide contemplating challenging the law by going out on the water: “Am I able to go through with it?” she says. But then she shows her determination to go ahead, when she feels the strength of the large number of people taking action on the day.

A young coal worker says that he and many of his co-workers are forced to work in the fossil fuel industry not because they want to, but because they have no readily available alternative jobs at present. “It is time for action,” he says, not only to stop the coal ships, but for governments to take genuine steps to implement the green transition to emissions-free employment.

A First Nations woman Elder says: “Never forget that all of us human beings are not separate from nature, we’re part of nature — we are part of this planet.”

The film premiered nationally in Muloobinba on September 24, and screened in Brisbane on October 10 and Canberra on October 11. It is being shown in cities and towns around the country.

Following the Gadigal showing, a panel of speakers discussed the film, including a young mother and Rising Tide activist from Muloobinba, who said her commitment to her young son’s future was an inspiration for her involvement in the action. A climate activist from the Pacific island of Tuvalu said: “If we save Tuvalu, we save the world.” A young nurse told the audience that “climate is a health issue”, stressing her determination to act to stop coal for the sake of community healthcare. Suha, from Rising Tide, urged the audience to commit to upcoming Rising Tide events.

Taking the Channel follows a previous short film, Turning the Ship, about the 2024 blockade, which also succeeded in disrupting coal shipping in the Port of Newcastle in November that year.

This year, Rising Tide is organising a one-day paddle out in Muloobinba on November 14, from 10am to 3pm, starting at Horseshoe Beach.

Publicity for the event explained that “unlike our People’s Blockade protestival, this event is not a blockade or a civil disobedience protest; meaning we will not obstruct the shipping channel and do not expect anyone to be arrested.”

Rising Tide has announced that the next multi-day People’s Blockade protestival will be held from February 25 to March 2, 2027.

“[The November 14] event is a very safe and bite-sized way to ‘dip your toe in’ to experience the fun and impact of a major Rising Tide protest on the water. Help us make this Newcastle’s biggest-ever flotilla!”

[To register for the November 14 paddle out, or for more information about the 2027 People’s Blockade, visit: risingtide.org.au. Watch the film’s trailer here.]