Protesters glue themselves to road during grand final day parade
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Environmental activists glued themselves to the road in a brief and unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the grand final day parade.
The group pulled banners across William Barak Bridge and three protesters sat in front of the car procession around 11.20am on Friday.
Extinction Rebellion activists briefly disrupted the grand final parade on Friday.Credit: Alex Crowe
Security officers acted quickly to disband the flash protest and the parade continued onto Yarra Park after a delay of a few minutes.
The activists wore T-shirts that said “climate breakdown has begun”, referencing a statement made by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month. The T-shirts also said “can’t play footy in 50C”, a nod to the impact of global warming.
The protest occurred as Collingwood and Brisbane players travelled in a convoy of utes through Yarra Park. The players approached Jolimont Station before entering the AFL Footy Festival zone, finishing at a stage near gate three at the MCG.
More than 100,000 people turned out for the annual event, which was accompanied by stunning weather.
Protesters pulled their banner across the bridge in front of the vehicles.
Fans have embraced the return to the motorcade parade route after last year’s experiment on the Yarra River fell flat.
The activists, part of an international movement to draw attention to the impact of climate change, chose a location close to the MCG precinct to stage the action.
Extinction Rebellion protester Catherine Strong said disrupting “business as usual” was the only way to convey the message that immediate action was required to prevent disasters from global warming.
Strong said those disruptions would include events “we know give the community a lot of joy”, such as the grand final day parade.
“If our actions are considered extreme, we would argue that ordinary citizens should never have been put in the position to feel so desperate that they must take these steps,” she said in a statement.
“Government and media must step up to do the right things.”
Activist Anthony Gleeson, 70, said in the statement that he was a lifelong Collingwood supporter and didn’t take the decision to disrupt the parade lightly.
“I am prepared to risk arrest to draw attention to the fact that our government is not doing anywhere near enough to save us from runaway warming,” he said.
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