One of the demonstrators at Friday’s XR protest in Manly was bio-diversity lecturer Martin Wolterding, 75, who was arrested at another protest earlier in the week. Police dragged Mr Wolterding off Parramatta Road at the earlier environmental demonstration.
Mr Wolterding said he was supporting his other Extinction Rebellion friends and showing them and the police that he would not be intimidated in getting the message about the current environmental emergency out.
Sometimes the group was confrontational and sometimes they used humour to get the message across, he said.
“A couple of people decided that what they would like to do is come down to the beach and put their heads in the sand to symbolise those out there in political offices, political positions, who have their heads in the sand but refuse to admit it,” he told Pittwater Online.
“The truth is so horrific that the human brain doesn’t want to contemplate it.
“So many people are still distracting themselves, still in denial about the seriousness of this environmental and bio-diversity emergency.”
Mr Wolterding said an embryonic XR group had begun on the Northern Beaches but those concerned about the issues could also discuss declaring an “environmental emergency” within their own groups – including churches and choirs – and join XR, bringing their own flags and banners along to events.
“One doesn’t have to be a member of Extinction Rebellion to be in this struggle, we want everybody to come in,” he said.
“Everyone will come to realise sooner or later that we were right, they were wrong, and my sincere prayer is that when they come to that realisation it will be early enough to join us.”
Discussing his arrest earlier in the week, Mr Wolterding said police had used a wrist lock, a form of pain control on him – injuring him in the process.
“They over-reacted and they hurt me, and when they realised they hurt me they had to send me off to the hospital,” he said.
Mr Wolterding received no bail conditions, unlike others arrested who stated given bail conditions which ban them from coming within 2km of the Sydney Town Hall, attending future Extinction Rebellion events or “going near” or speaking to members of Extinction Rebellion.
Of course, banning people from turning up 'within 2km of Town Hall' may also make it difficult to attend court in town without breaching those bail conditions (see this Issue's Cattle prods and welfare cuts: mounting threats to Extinction Rebellion show demands are being heard, but ignored by Piero Moraro, Lecturer in Criminal Justice, Charles Sturt University).
On Wednesday, the New South Wales Council of Civil Liberties said the conditions were “absurd”, would affect thousands of people, and infringed on the constitutional right to freedom of political communication.
“Where there is a legitimate political issue such as seeking action on climate change, protesters shouldn’t be seen to be forfeiting their democratic rights including freedom of association, freedom of movement and the implied right to freedom of political expression.” - NSWCCL President, Pauline Wright.
Martin Wolterding at Manly this week
Benny Wilson - photo by Grant Sproule/Surfing NSW
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