Nuclear protesters in hazmat suits heckle Peter Dutton before they’re evicted from NSW Liberal Party conference in Sydney
Protesters dressed in replica hazmat suits were kicked out of the NSW Liberal Conference on Saturday after heckling Opposition Leader Peter Dutton over his position on nuclear power.
Members and supporters of the Liberal Party watched as a group of men entered the lobby of the Sydney conference claiming to be Mr Dutton.
A video uploaded to the South Coast Labor Council’s Facebook page showed two men dressed in white full-body suits with radiation hazard symbols and signs reading ‘Dutton MP for Fukushima’ and ‘Nukes ‘R’ Us’.
“We have a special announcement from the Leader of the Opposition, Member for Fukushima, Peter Dutton,” one protester said of the disruption.
Protesters were escorted from the NSW Liberal Party conference at Sydney’s Fullerton Hotel on Saturday after turning up in hazmat suits claiming to be Peter Dutton.
The pair were quickly removed from the event chanting “Nukes ‘R’ Us, Nukes ‘R’ Us” after expressing support for nuclear power and opposing a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Disgruntled members could be heard off camera shouting ‘p*** off’ at the group of men as they continued their performance.
“I’m sorry we didn’t support Save the Whales sooner, but we’re going to save the whales from those pesky wind farms below,” said a protester posing as Mr Dutton.
The men spent several minutes voicing their support for nuclear power and opposition to a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before being escorted out of the conference chanting “Nukes ‘R’ Us, Nukes ‘R’ Us ‘ chanted.’
After the protest, Mr Dutton took to the stage to outline his plan to “start a conversation” about nuclear power in Australia.
He said most Australians did not understand the basics of nuclear energy, which he argued Australia could benefit greatly from if implemented correctly.
“Most people were influenced by the events at Chernobyl and elsewhere, some people in the survey were influenced by The Simpsons,” the opposition leader said.
“If you’ve seen The Simpsons, some of the investigative work showed that people didn’t want a Springfield to show up in their backyard.”
Mr Dutton was critical of the government’s recent energy plans, saying Australian taxpayers will be “left on the hook for years” due to mismanagement.
After the protest, Mr Dutton took to the podium to outline his plan to ‘start a conversation’ about nuclear power in Australia
Some members of the crowd of 600 people previously booed NSW Liberal state board member Michelle Bishop as she tried to recognize the land’s traditional owners
Earlier in the conference, tensions appeared to linger following the recent Voice referendum, when NSW Liberal state board member Michelle Bishop was booed as she recognized the land’s traditional owners.
Ms Bishop addressed the crowd of 600 people at the Fullerton Hotel, where she acknowledged “that we are on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and acknowledge our traditional owners”.
The audience began booing Ms. Bishop as she stammered nervously during her short speech.
One member said only a small group of people were behind the booing and not everyone joined in.