Greenpeace captain arrested in Qld

Police have charged the captain of a Greenpeace ship following a blockade at a
Queensland coal terminal.
Police said officers boarded a vessel in Cairns, executed a warrant about 9am (AEST)
on Saturday and arrested a 39-year-old man.
He has been charged with two counts of unregulated high-risk activity and one count
each of wilful damage.
The man has been bailed to appear in Bowen Magistrates Court on August 11 over those
charges.
He was also charged with failing to comply with a harbourmaster's direction,
navigating a ship in a pilotage area without a pilot and operating a ship that
endangers safety, police said in a statement.
He has been ordered to appear at Mackay Magistrates Court on August 19 in relation
to those charges, police said.
Greenpeace said the captain of its vessel the Esperanza had been arrested.
A spokeswoman said more than 20 police officers were waiting for the vessel when it
arrived in Cairns and the entire crew was detained for about four hours.
She said the captain was arrested for taking part in a blockade of the Hay Point
coal terminal for more than two days this week.
The terminal, 38km south of Mackay, is one of the largest of its kind in Australia.
"The kind of action that Greenpeace took is vital," said Fijian Greenpeace
campaigner Lagi Toribau.
"Our communities at home are being displaced and the existence of low-lying states
like Tuvalu is threatened."
Greenpeace this week stopped operations at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance
terminal at Mackay for 36 hours.
The protest was aimed to coincide with the Pacific Islands Forum held in Cairns,
where forum leaders called for big emission cuts from Australia and New Zealand to
save their homes from rising seas.
Protesters said Australia was not taking sufficient action on climate change.
Ms Toribau earlier said Pacific Island leaders had made it clear they needed
emissions cuts of 45 per cent.