The 27-year-old woman who yesterday protested the treatment of asylum seekers effectively abandoned by the Australian government on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island has been charged, and could face jail time over the train-disrupting demonstration.
She is accused of handcuffing herself to the steering wheel of a car which was parked on a train line near Ascot Vale, which disrupted services to Flemington Racecourse for the Melbourne Cup.
The car, which was emblazoned with slogans such as “Evacuate Manus”, also had its tires deflated. Police and the fire brigade attended the scene and extricated the woman from the vehicle, but not before the protest delayed some 200 train commuters.
Manus Island protesters use a car to block rail lines heading to Flemington @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/xMbhfSHCje
— Lynne Scrivens (@lynnescrivens) November 7, 2017
Around 50 passengers chose to leave the train and walk along the tracks due to the protest, which public transport service provider Metro says caused major delays.
Flemington Racecourse line: Major Delays continue due to a motor vehicle stopped across rail lines, see https://t.co/fE9E9Hyp10 for updates
— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) November 7, 2017
The associated protest group claims the car was never at risk of being hit, as they had informed the train driver of their plan ahead of time. Metro denies this statement.
Regardless, she has been charged with conduct endangering serious injury, as well as a host of other vehicle-related offences. She’s been bailed to front Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on February 8.
Of course, that wasn’t the only protest targeting the horse racing event. Two woman who climbed a crane overlooking the race course unfurled a banner saying “SOS: Evacuate Manus Now”. They only descended the structure after police agreed there would be no arrests.
JUST IN: ‘SOS: Evacuate Manus Now!’ – Protesters scale a crane and unfurl a banner at Flemington. #7News pic.twitter.com/g8TwburdRH
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) November 7, 2017
Around 600 men remain barricaded inside the Manus Island detention centre, which was abandoned by staff a week ago. Cut off from food, water, electricity, and medical supplies, the men refuse to relocate to alternative accomodation facilities they say are unfinished and unsafe.
