A climate activist has publicly apologized to a new mother after his selfish actions forced her to give birth to her second child on the side of a busy highway in a major traffic jam.
Climate change protesters paralyzed traffic on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge during the morning rush hour on Tuesday.
The Extinction Rebellion protest involved a truck blockade which blocked three lanes into the city and caused a 30km traffic jam to the Princes Freeway at Hoppers Crossing.
Roshni Lad was in labor and on her way to the hospital when she, her husband Bhairav and a family friend got stuck in the traffic jam.
The couple stopped where two passing motorists also stopped and helped Lad deliver a healthy baby before paramedics arrived.
Three protesters were arrested and each pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct for obstructing motorists and obstructing police and emergency services workers.
Roshni Lad gave birth to her baby on the side of a highway during Tuesday’s traffic chaos
Protester Joseph Zammit (pictured) has apologized for the inconvenience caused to a Melbourne mother forced to give birth on the side of the motorway.
One of the protesters apologized to Lad hours after he was granted bail.
“I’m very, very sorry this happened… I would hate for it to happen to my wife,” Joseph Zammit told ABC Melbourne on Wednesday.
“It’s just incredibly unfortunate.”
He added that it was not the group’s intention to disrupt emergency services or prevent patients from accessing medical care.
Delays extended to Hoppers Crossing on the Princes Freeway and the Deer Park Bypass on the M80 Ring Road.
“Our intention is to emphasize the message that we are in a climate crisis,” Mr Zammit said.
‘We do what we can with the best intentions.
‘Things don’t always go perfectly. It’s unfortunate for this lady and I’m very grateful that the baby, you know, was born well and happy and I saw the photograph of the mother with the baby. “They looked good and I’m grateful for that.”
Lad wasn’t the only one heading to the hospital and got caught up in the chaos.
Another woman told ABC that her granddaughter missed an appointment to have an electroencephalogram as a result of the protest.
Three Extinction Rebellion protesters charged over truck blockade protest
Zammit called on the federal government to do more to address climate change.
“Yes, we are pushing the limits to try to make things happen,” he said.
“We are very sorry that (the highway birth) happened, but we are also very sorry that we have to go further and take these pretty extreme measures to be heard.”
Hours earlier, Zammit, 68, defended the group’s actions in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.
“What they (motorists) suffered today is nothing compared to what will happen in the future,” he told reporters.
“What we’re really doing is a service to the community.”
Zammit was granted bail to reappear in court on April 16. He has agreed not to participate in any illegal protests.
The other two protesters, Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco, 33, from New South Wales, and Bradley Homewood, 51, from Williamstown, were sentenced to 21 days in prison.
Climate activists paralyzed traffic on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge, causing traffic jams 30 kilometers long.
CoCo, 33, had already been sentenced and jailed for 13 days for similar protests on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. He was the first person to be jailed under New South Wales’ now-invalid anti-protest laws.
“The government must choose which side of history it will be on,” he said in an Extinction Rebellion statement released after Tuesday’s protest.
‘Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of fossil fuels and therefore one of the largest contributors to the global death project that is already killing people through floods, fires, droughts and famines, particularly in low-income countries. like those of the South. East Asia.’
Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines called the protesters “idiots”.
“It is clear that these people would like to cause massive disruptions that could put their safety and that of other members of the community at risk,” he said.
He added that Victoria’s anti-protest laws “strike the right balance between ensuring police have the tools they need to maintain public order while protecting citizens’ rights to peacefully protest.”
Extinction Rebellion has promised more disruptions next week.
The three protesters got on a truck to block three lanes of traffic in the city.