A group of climate protesters has caused major disruptions to morning traffic in Melbourne, blocking four of the busy West Gate Bridge’s five lanes.
7 News reports a group of protesters parked a rented truck across four lanes on the city-bound side of the West Gate Bridge at about 7:30am on Tuesday, March 5, bringing morning commuters to a standstill.
The backed-up traffic soon caused delays of more than an hour for commuters travelling into the Melbourne CBD via the Princes Freeway and M80 Ring Road.
Delays on the main roads also spread to smaller roads in nearby areas, as motorists tried to find alternative routes to their destinations. The protesters were reportedly removed by 10am local time.
West Gate Fwy, Spotswood – Lanes Blocked Inbound, Four lanes are closed inbound over the West Gate Bridge due to a protest. Police are directing traffic into the far right lane. Consider using Geelong Road or Ballarat Road as… https://t.co/kVjecMBSJY #victraffic
— VicTraffic (@VicTraffic) March 4, 2024
On average, more than 200,000 vehicles travel across the West Gate Bridge every day.
The protest comes in the same week as the ASEAN Summit in Melbourne, where leaders from 10 Asia-Pacific nations – including Australia – meet to discuss foreign policy.
Ironically, the disruption instigated by the protesters would have resulted in cars, trucks and buses impacted by the traffic jam using more fuel and causing higher emissions – one of the key factors climate groups want to reduce.
Last year an unrelated protest by another fringe climate group in Germany disrupted the start of a Formula E race – where the cars are solely electric and the championship has been focused on reducing the carbon footprint of motorsport.
The protest also comes a day after the Federal Government ended its consultation period with carmakers regarding the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), which is aimed at reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
The Government wants to implement its scheme by January 1, 2025.
