West Gate Bridge protest: Extinction Rebellion protesters cause traffic chaos on Melbourne freeway
Climate activists have blocked three lanes of one of Melbourne’s busiest highways, turning commutes into a nightmare.
Extinction Rebellion members brought rush hour traffic to an abrupt halt on Tuesday morning with a truck blockade on the West Gate Bridge.
Activists climbed onto the roof of the truck to let off flares and held banners declaring that “climate breakdown has begun” and “declaring a climate emergency.”
The disruption has caused major delays for commuters in the city, where only two lanes are open.
Climate activists have stopped traffic on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge, causing major delays
There are further delays at Hoppers Crossing on the Princes Freeway and the Deer Park Bypass on the M80 Ring Road.
One outbound lane is also closed.
“Right lane closed on Todd Road due to a police incident. Three lanes remain open. Please merge safely and be aware of people near the roadway,” reads a warning from VicTraffic.
Police were forced to use aerial platforms to remove protesters from the bridge during the ongoing incident.
“Long live the rebellion, join us and be on the right side of history,” shouted a protester standing atop the truck.
“Follow your heart, come on board, shake up the government… the sooner we can address this crisis, then we won’t have to do these uncomfortable, terrible protests anymore,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Extinction Rebellion said the protest came ahead of a planned period of disruptive action, calling on federal and state governments to declare a climate emergency.
Protesters climbed on top of a truck blocking three lanes in the city
The protest coincided with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Melbourne.
“Australia must show leadership at the ASEAN Summit by declaring a climate and ecological emergency and calling on other ASEAN leaders to do the same,” the group wrote online.
‘The top is working to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, but the proposed measures do not even come close to the speed and scale that is needed.’
Participants include Violet CoCo, 33, who was previously convicted over similar protests at the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
“The government must choose which side of history it will be on,” she said in a statement released by Extinction Rebellion.
‘Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of fossil fuels, making it one of the biggest contributors to the global death project that is already killing people through floods, fires, drought and famine – especially in low-income countries such as those in South America. Africa. East Asia.’
Climate activists (pictured) standing on top of the truck blocking traffic have since been removed by police