Cairns shows solidarity to Violet CoCo

December 13, 2022
Issue 
Lumps of coal for Annastasia Palaszczuk, Dominic Perrottet and Curtis Pitt. Photo: Socialist Alliance Far North Queensland/Facebook

Gifts of love and solidarity for Violet CoCo were placed under a聽Christmas tree here on December 11.

And for聽Queensland Premier Annastasia Palaszczuk, Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt and New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet, lumps of coal for their unabashed support for coal and gas magnates while criminalising peaceful climate protest.

Santa Claus made a surprise appearance, saying: 鈥淟ike Violet, I bring hope to children while heralding major traffic disruption."

鈥淜ids used to ask me for toys,鈥 Santa said, adding:聽鈥淭hese days they ask for a planet that鈥檚 fit to live on.

鈥淭here are many more Violets in waiting. Your leaders want to lock them up as this climate crisis deepens, so their fossil fuel bosses can keep engorging themselves on their riches. And you don鈥檛 live as long as me without knowing that it鈥檚 only through protest and civil disobedience that so many basic rights have been won.

鈥淪o, this year in every child's stocking I'm giving a real gift of hope 鈥 a photo of Violet CoCo stopping traffic and a megaphone for taking to the streets together.鈥

Violet Coco will spend Christmas behind bars after she was sentenced last week to 15 months jail with an 8 month non-parole period under draconian new NSW laws targeted at non-violent climate protest.

The sentence has drawn international condemnation, including from聽the United Nations Special Rapporteur.

Similar anti-protest laws have recently been enacted in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.

Meanwhile, Pitt pressed for charges against nine elderly climate protesters who chanted 鈥淪top coal, stop gas鈥 inside Queensland parliament last week. The charges carry potential jail terms and have not been used since the days of Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

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