Radical environmental activists who brought traffic on one of Sydney’s busiest roads to a standstill have vowed to create more peak hour chaos until governments listen to them.
Demonstrators from Fireproof Australia blocked off city-bound lanes of the Spit Bridge at Mosman on the lower north shore on Tuesday morning in the rain for 20 minutes before they were dragged from the road by police.
The disruption couldn’t have come at a worse time for motorists and workers from the northern beaches who faced a long commute to the city for a second day running a day after Sydney’s entire rail network was shut down.
The demonstrators chose to disrupt the morning routines of thousands to call for the government to buy water tank fleet to fight bushfires and to act further on climate change.
The protesters make no apologies for the widespread chaos they caused on one of Sydney’s busiest roads at Mosman before being dragged away by police
Buses heading into the city brought to a standstill by protesters (pictured) on the Spit Bridge
The activists, which included a legally blind grandmother, have since defended their actions and made no apologies for the mayhem caused.
The group boldly declared Tuesday’s protest was just the beginning and vowed to block Sydney’s major roads ‘consistently and non-violently, week after week until the government meets our reasonable demands’.
Fireproof Australia describes itself as being made up of ‘ordinary people’ that have suffered from the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 and feel betrayed by the government for not enacting the recommendations of the Bushfire Royal commission.
Demonstrators insist non-violent civil resistance is necessary as they called on others to join the campaign.
‘We need to be noisy, naughty Australians, we do not want to be doing this but our government is failing us and civil disobedience is the only and last powerful resort,’ the group explained in a video.
Activists from Fireproof Australia (pictured) vowed to cause more traffic chaos
Fireproof Australia demonstrators braved the rain to sit in the middle of road, sparking a divisive reaction from Sydneysiders
‘We trust the people who actually hold the hose and what they need to protect us is we will give them.’
‘We need a large aerial firefighting fleet. The bushfire Royal Commission has said they need this fleet to keep us safe and we’re going to sit on the road until a large Australian aerial firefighting fleet is here and we fireproof Australia.’
The group’s strong stance sparked a divided reaction online.
‘This is not the way to gain public support – you just served to frustrate people this morning and therefore they will not be sympathetic,’ one woman commented.
‘Educate – provide knowledge – illicit awareness and empathy, but not this – this was a weak action and rather ironic given it was raining.’
Another added: ‘Their lack of care for negatively impacting people’s lives under the pretext of wanting a society that is more aware of how we impact on our environment is bewilderingly incongruous.’
The group also called for the installation of smoke filters in all schools and nursing homes and for bushfire survivors to be rehomed.
Bus commuters on their way to work in the city were also caught up in the chaos (pictured)
The snap protest brought traffic to a complete standstill for more than 20 minutes.
Motorists and commuters shared photos and footage of protesters sitting in the middle of the road before being dragged away by police.
‘Protestors’ being basically carried off the Spit Bridge,’ one commuter tweeted.
2GB breakfast radio host Ben Fordham slammed the demonstrators on air for putting their lives at risk.
The group also copped backlash from local federal MP Jason Falinski.
‘These climate protestors have promised more civil disobedience and roadblocks,’ he said.
‘This never use to happen on the Northern Beaches until Climate 200 rolled in. They’re not actually trying to change policy, there are just trying to hurt people.
The snap protest brought traffic to a complete standstill for more than 20 minutes
Stunned motorists and commuters watched on as police dragged away the protesters
A NSW Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia protesters quickly dispersed from the scene and that no arrests were made.
Southbound traffic remains extremely heavy on Spit Road for most of the morning with motorists urged to allow plenty of extra travel time as queues stretched for more than two kilometres.
The incident added to a second consecutive day of chaos on Sydney roads after ‘limited’ train services resumed on Tuesday morning.
Traffic on the Spit Bridge remained heavy for most of the morning following Tuesday’s protest
