Climate activist succeeds with more lenient sentence

A climate activist who suspended himself above a train track at a Sydney port has had his community corrections order quashed and fine reduced after successfully self-representing his appeal.

Last year, Wenzel Valentine Auch and fellow protester Emma Dorge hung themselves above a rail line near Port Botany where petroleum and natural gas are imported.

The 30-year-old was originally sentenced to a $1350 fine and 18-month community corrections order after Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis found he had endangered himself and police officers, who attempted to rescue the protester.

Officers abseiled down from a bridge before Auch refused their directions and tried to superglue his hand to a pole to stop the extraction. 

He pleaded guilty to three charges of refusing to comply with a police direction, risking another person's safety by abseiling from the bridge, and refusing to inform police of the driver of his car which was used in earlier Blockade Australia activity.

But on Wednesday, Auch successfully appealed his sentence, having his community corrections order removed and the fine reduced to $1150 after representing himself at the Downing Centre District Court.

Auch did not disrupt Sydney's roads or the community. He also did not increase the danger to police by threatening to cut the rope he was hanging off or by lashing out, a court previously heard.

The Lismore man also had no prior criminal record in NSW and was a valued member of his community, engaging in volunteer work including rebuilding a local road.

While pleased with the result, Auch said his initial sentence was alarming.

"The politicised response to climate protesters that we have seen in NSW over the last 12 months is alarming," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Trumped up charges, punitive bail and even custodial sentences for people acting against the climate crisis forces us to look at the court's role in protecting the devastating industries of climate collapse."

Auch's result comes two weeks after Harbour Bridge protesters Deanna "Violet" Maree CoCo and Alan Glover had their respective jail sentence and community corrections order quashed in the District Court.

Last year, the NSW government passed laws to punish disruptive climate protests which meant activists could face fines of up to $22,000 and two years in prison. 

During the lead-up to the state election, the NSW Greens announced they would move to enshrine the right to protest without imprisonment in the next parliament.