Climate activist who shut down Sydney tunnel avoids conviction amid flood trauma

A climate activist who disrupted peak-hour in central Sydney has avoided conviction after as court was told of the trauma they suffered during the Lismore floods.

Mali Poppy Cooper, 22, who locked themself onto the steering wheel of a car on the eastern approach to the Sydney Harbour tunnel, faced a sentence hearing in Lismore Local Court on Tuesday.

They had faced charges of disrupting traffic and obstructing drivers or pedestrians following a Blockade Australia protest in Sydney's CBD and near the bridge in June.

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In dismissing the charges without conviction under the Mental Health Act, magistrate Jeff Linden discharged Mali Cooper into the care of a psychologist for six months.

"We are very relieved that the court calmly considered all of the facts in this case, including the psychological impact of climate change upon young people like Mali," their lawyer Mark Davis said in a statement.

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"Seeing (their) hometown of Lismore destroyed twice in the months preceding (their) action induced a trauma in (them) that was a decisive factor in today's decision.

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"Mali Cooper had said they had watched the town they loved being decimated by a climate disaster.

"The terrifying reality of climate breakdown is here, this town is still living it," they said.