Extract from The Guardian
Alleged incident in Clermont comes day after activists say women in
the Bob Brown-led convoy were ‘abused and threatened’ by locals
The former Greens leader Bob Brown has condemned the actions of a man
who allegedly rode a horse into an anti-Adani mining protest in central
Queensland on Sunday afternoon, injuring a woman in her 60s.
ABC reported that the woman, from northern New South Wales, was in hospital in a stable condition and that the man had been taken into police custody.
Witnesses told media the man allegedly galloped into the Clermont Showgrounds where the anti-coalmining protesters were gathered before charging out the gates, knocking over the woman.
Brown, who is the Stop Adani Convoy organiser, told media after the incident: “There is no place for that behaviour … no place for out-of-control yahoo-ism and the actuality of violence which has come on to this field because we’re simply discussing the future.
“It is an assault on this lady who is in her 60s and it could have been worse.”ABC reported that the woman, from northern New South Wales, was in hospital in a stable condition and that the man had been taken into police custody.
Witnesses told media the man allegedly galloped into the Clermont Showgrounds where the anti-coalmining protesters were gathered before charging out the gates, knocking over the woman.
Brown, who is the Stop Adani Convoy organiser, told media after the incident: “There is no place for that behaviour … no place for out-of-control yahoo-ism and the actuality of violence which has come on to this field because we’re simply discussing the future.
Liz Cameron, a witness and member of the convoy, told the Brisbane Times the incident was “confronting”, especially given there were children among the protesting crowd.
On Saturday the protesters received a hostile reception from local pro-mining supporters in Clermont, where rocks were hurled at cars taking part in the convoy and women were “abused and threatened”, according to anti-Adani protesters.
Fears that shots had been fired in Clermont prompted emergency calls overnight. Police said it was suspected the noise could have been a firecracker and no one had reported seeing the source of the noise.
On Saturday, politicians spent the early afternoon rallying the “start Adani” group, with Matt Canavan, Clive Palmer, Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts turning out to support the coal industry.
Clermont’s three pubs refused to serve Stop Adani Convoy participants and a sign was hung from a hotel which read, “go home and turn off your power and walk”.
Another read, “Mr Brown and ‘Stop Adani’ protesters, you may have travelled far and wide but you won’t get food inside.”
Appleton said he understood locals would leave the anti-Adani protesters alone in the town’s showgrounds on Sunday.
“We still get treated we’re like a bunch of hooligans but we’re not, like I’m half proud of being called a redneck, we probably are, we live out west, there’s graziers, there’s cotton farmers,” he said.
“People have driven up from Toowoomba [nine hours away] to stand on our side. That’s what brought everyone together, just being all good people, you know.”
On Sunday morning a statement from organisers of the convoy aimed at stopping Adani’s Galilee Basin coalmine said about 350 people would gather in town on Sunday.
Brown said the convoy was “about every Australian child’s future security in a rapidly heating planet”.
“You can back your children or you can back Gautam Adani’s mine but you can’t have both.”
Brown said Queenslanders were worried about the mine, contrary to perception. “It’s a complete fabrication that people in central Queensland aren’t worried about this mine,” he said.
Brown’s convoy has travelled some 5,000km from Tasmania to protest against the proposed Carmichael coalmine.
Brown, who rose to prominence because of his opposition to the Franklin Dam project in the 1980s, was asked why the Carmichael mine, and not other proposals, have become the focus of environmental and climate activism.
“I got asked that very often about the Franklin Dam. Why this dam and why not other dams?” Brown said. “This has become a litmus test for coalmining around the world. Bloomberg indeed describes it as the most contentious coalmine in the world.”
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
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