Activists held a rally outside the main branch in the Murray Street mall, and occupied the Hay Street branch a block away. The rally featured a human coal train chugging through the gathering pulling carriages emblazoned with “STOP funding dirty coal #STOP ADANI”. The bank reacted by locking its doors.

In August the Commonwealth Bank Board will meet to discuss their climate change policy which will impact their funding of the Adani project. Environmental groups and regular citizens have been urging CommBank to rule out funding Adani and other fossil fuel companies for months.

“All the other banks have refused to fund Adani. Why does the Commonwealth Bank want to support coal and ruin the Great Barrier Reef? I will have to close my account because this bank cannot be trusted with our children’s future.”  said Lynda Willis.

“It’s outrageous for CommBank to commit to less than 2 degrees warming and at the same time help Adani. Not only are they saying one thing and doing the opposite, but they are also hurting all Australians. CommBank needs to rule out funding Adani.” – Kassel Hingee from StopAdani Perth said.

Last time a similar protest was held, 30 police and 2 SWAT vans were in attendance. There was one arrest and the branch was closed for over an hour.

Images at http://bit.ly/2vdl9Pu