Climate protesters have interrupted Queensland parliament, gluing themselves to handrails, unfurling banners and chanting "stop coal, stop gas" during Question Time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had been speaking about decarbonisation plans on Wednesday when the 10 Extinction Rebellion protesters struck.
They stood up from their seats in the public gallery, chanting "stop coal, stop gas", and walked towards the zone reserved for journalists and Hansard reporters.
The protesters unfurled anti-fossil fuel banners over handrails, which some glued their hands to.
Speaker Curtis Pitt ordered the parliament's sergeant-at-arms to close the public gallery.
He also ordered one of the protesters to stop filming the demonstration.
"Order! The member of the gallery will put that device down," Mr Pitt shouted as the chants continued.
"You should not have a phone, it will be confiscated ... as will the second device that you're now holding."
Liberal National Party MP Michael Crandon then tried to raise a point of order, but Mr Pitt told him to resume his seat.
As the chants died down, the Speaker again ordered the public gallery to be completely cleared as all guests had been "tainted by the actions of others".
He said the seized phones would potentially be used as evidence for a probe into the security breach.
"This horrendous process we've seen this morning (is) disrespectful of the parliament and this institution," Mr Pitt said.
Ms Palaszczuk then continued her answer to Labor backbencher Joe Kelly's question about the government's decarbonisation plan.
"This is the strongest plan in the nation," she said.
"And our democracy here should be able to function, Mr Speaker, without any fear for members' security.
"I do want to reiterate that because people have the right to protest silently, I absolutely endorse that in public, but there are rules of this chamber, and I'll leave that for you to reflect on Mr Speaker."
Extinction Rebellion spokesman David Tucker attacked the government's plan to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, saying it was not enough to prevent global warming of 1.5C.
He also criticised the Palaszczuk government's omission of coal and gas exports from its climate plans.
"Continuing to export fossil fuels is reckless," he said in a statement.
"Fossil fuels, no matter where they are burnt, impacts everyone across the world. We all share the same atmosphere."
Australian Associated Press
