The following statement can be attributed to an Abbot Point Operations spokesperson:

This morning an anti-fossil fuel activist put his life at risk and wasted police time when he suspended himself from a stacker reclaimer at our Abbot Point coal export terminal near Bowen in North Queensland.

Police were called before 5am and arrived quickly and are now working to remove the activist. Port operations were temporarily halted to ensure the safety of all on site and are expected to recommence at 7.30am when both shiploading and unloading operations will resume. .

The lock-on comes the day after activist Julie Lamont was arrested when she locked onto a Bowen Rail Company train near Bowen yesterday with a number of other people.

Ms Lamont has a history of putting herself and others in danger by trespassing and illegally locking onto port conveyors and trains. In recent weeks she locked onto conveyors at the Abbot Point terminal and at Hay Point terminal.

In 2018 she was charged after locking onto live conveyors in the dead of night with three other people at the Abbot Point terminal, that incident left port staff traumatised as had conveyors been activated Ms Lamont and her friends could have been seriously injured or even killed.

Governments are not making sure there are sufficient deterrents and penalties to stop the activists who put their own lives at risk by locking onto conveyors, coal trains and railway lines as they have again done today.

 Activists get nothing but a slap on the wrists in Queensland and are back within weeks, as we have seen today, causing a nuisance and wasting police time and taking officers away from other important work protecting our local community

We respect that people have differing opinions but these protests are not a safe or appropriate way to express those opinions.