Protest pushes owner’s buttons
THE owner of Adani’s Townsville offices has confronted protesters and religious leaders, telling them to get off private land and stop interfering with people trying to earn a living.
About 20 people, including religious leaders and children, gathered in front of the entrance to the South Townsville office building for speeches and songs including a version of All Things Bright And Beautiful with the lyrics “our coal will kill them all”.
Warren Ebert, Sentinel Property Group managing director, interrupted them, telling them to go and protest somewhere else.
“People are trying to earn a living and employ people,” Mr Ebert said, indicating to protest signs.
“The kids, why aren’t they in school instead of holding this rubbish?”
Some of the protesters responded they weren’t stopping people from working, asking Mr Ebert: “Do you work here?”
“I own the building,” he replied.
“If you want to protest get on public land, not on private land. We have to pay rates and taxes for this and support all these bludgers.”
When one of the protesters told him she was enjoying a soy latte, Mr Ebert said: “Drink a real coffee; soy latte, exactly what I would expect.”
Protesters moved about 5m away from the building entrance to continue their action and police arrived to speak with Mr Ebert and protesters.
Religious leaders defended the protest.
The dean of Brisbane’s St John’s Anglican Cathedral and chair of the Social Responsibilities Committee for the Anglican Church, Peter Catt, said “sometimes emotions run high”.
“It is what it is,” Dr Catt said of Mr Ebert’s complaints.
“I’m not particularly disturbed. I think it’s OK.”
Rabbi Jonathan KerenBlack, a board member of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change and the Jewish Ecological Coalition, defended the presence of the children, including a girl who burst into tears after Mr Ebert’s intervention.
“I would say this is the most important education, what they learn from coming for a couple of hours out of school to look after the future,” Rabbi Black said.
A letter, signed by more than 50 “faith leaders” asking Gautam Adani to abandon his proposed mine and invest in solar energy, was handed to an Adani representative who came out on the building’s ground floor entrance to accept it.
“We are not merely opposed to this one mine. We are opposed to all new coal development in the Galilee Basin,” the letter says.