Quick image transcription from my phone’s image text selection thing:

Dear Lord Mayor Dr Kerridge

I understand that the actions of Rising Tide supporters over the past week may be causing concerns to council members and would like to provide some insights prior to your council meeting.

I am a longtime local, having worked for 16 years in risk management in health. 3 years in project management at the university and 11 years as an organisational management consultant. I have written and reviewed more risk and safety plans than I care to remember. In all those years I have not witnessed such attention to safety and training as I did with this event.

For months leading up to the event. Rising Tide organisers ran training in locations around the country and online. These included safety (on the water and generally), legal rights and responsibilities and non-violent civil disobedience. I have attended these training sessions and have been impressed by the emphasis on staying safe, remaining respectful and making a considered decision regarding individual involvement. At no point was there any pressure to undertake action that we were not comfortable with: on the contrary we were encouraged to examine how we felt and to step back if the action didn’t feel right.

Having run many community events, conferences and training workshops over the years I was also impressed by the attention to detail in respecting the space. Over 1,000 volunteers ensured that the site remained orderly, clean and navigable. They provided meals, counselling, first aid, security, legal support and more. This was a dry event so no alcohol or illicit drugs, so no resulting poor behaviour. Today the site is so clean, it looks like the event never happened.

Throughout the event, organisers openly expressed their thanks to the council and in particular the Lord Mayor. for supporting the event under difficult circumstances. The actions by the state government were shown to be unlawful, unnecessary and a complete overreach of their authority. As citizens, we have a right to protest.

If there is discussion about the behaviour of the protestors at tonight’s council meeting, I suggest you hold judgement until the evidence from the blockade is presented in court in January. The information presented by police and some media agencies is not the whole story and at times factually incorrect.|

I would like to express my personal thanks to you, Lord Mayor, for taking a stand on such a controversial issue.

There is no greater concern to the world than the impending impacts of climate change. The move away from coal and gas is not a choice, it’s a necessity. I grew up in a mining community and understand the concerns of mineworkers. which is why a considered and just transition is so important. It’s to Newcastle’s advantage that we address that sooner rather than later.

Probably another note about safety, just heard that someone several people I was up there with had their paddles stolen by cops, were pushed out into the channel and left to drift. They had to paddle by hand to get to safety…