Hannah Thomas (left) and Climate Defenders Australia Lawyer Trish Kashyap (right) outside Newcastle Court
June 26 2026 – Hannah Thomas, who came to national attention after being punched by a police officer while protesting, has had a charge dismissed in court today after being arrested for taking part in a different protest in Newcastle last year.
The former Greens candidate was arrested at the Rising Tide People’s Blockade on 28 November 2025. Thousands of people entered the water near the Port of Newcastle, the world’s biggest coal export port, protesting coal’s role in driving climate change.
“As Europe swelters through a record-breaking, killer heatwave, NSW Police are taking peaceful protesters to court for sounding the alarm on climate collapse,” said Ms Thomas. “The real threat to our future is a system that profits from climate destruction and war, not those who protest it.”
She faced Newcastle court today charged with entering/remaining on and seriously disrupting or obstructing the use of a major facility. That charge falls under an anti-protest provision introduced in 2022 that carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. She had pleaded guilty to the charge.
However, Judge Caleb Franklin dismissed the charge with no conviction recorded and an order for Ms Thomas to be on good behaviour for 12 months.
“Today’s outcome is welcome – but the threat of imprisonment should never have been a possibility and would have been unthinkable in Australia only a few years ago. Hannah Thomas should never have faced the prospect of time in jail for participating in a peaceful protest,” said Julia Grix, the Executive Director and Principal Solicitor of Climate Defenders Australia. She was part of the legal team that ran a successful constitutional challenge to the anti-protest laws before the NSW Supreme Court in 2023.
“Climate Defenders Australia is proud to represent peaceful protesters like Hannah Thomas and will continue to see these cases through the courts to defend the rights of concerned citizens involved in this event,” Ms Grix said.
The 2025 People’s Blockade was the largest mobilisation Rising Tide has ever done. With over 8,000 people involved, and at least 130 arrested.
“I’m proud to have been part of a mass movement willing to put their bodies and liberties on the line to disrupt the coal and gas industry,” Ms Thomas said.
BACKGROUND
- The Rising Tide People’s Blockade took place in November 2025 at the Port of Newcastle, NSW. Activists using kayaks and canoes entered the water in protest of Australia’s coal exports. Approximately 130 people were arrested.
- Section 214A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) is an anti-protest provision introduced by the Perrottet government. It criminalises serious obstruction of a major facility, carrying a maximum penalty of a $22,000 fine and/or two years’ imprisonment.
- In a highly publicised incident Hannah Thomas was punched in the right eye by a police officer at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney in June 2025. She underwent three rounds of surgery on the eye. A civil action brought by Ms Thomas saw NSW admit to false imprisonment and battery and offer to pay her medical costs. The officer in question is also facing a criminal hearing after pleading not guilty to assault.
- In the 2025 Federal Election Hannah Thomas unsuccessfully contested the seat of Grayndler in Sydney’s inner west, which is held by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
