The model sisters of serial climate change protester Eric Herbert defended their brother as he was arrested for the sixth time during a rally in Brisbane.
Extinction Rebellion protests in the city on Tuesday resulted in the arrests of 72 activists, including Herbert, who said their cause is ‘necessary and significant’.
Herbert’s influencer sisters Renee and Elisha were spotted among the crowd – and said they fully support ‘him and his whole movement’.
Elisha posted a video to her Instagram of herself and Renee chanting ‘the cities are rising, no more compromising’ along with hundreds of other protesters.
Extinction Rebellion activists caused chaos for morning commuters after blockading a city street, protesting against climate change inaction.
Serial protester Eric Herbert was arrested for a sixth time on Tuesday after a rally in Brisbane caused chaos for morning commuters
Eric’s sisters Elisha and Renee said they are proud of their brother, and vehemently denied he has ‘made a fool of himself’ during protests
The protester’s father (right) was also in the crowd at Tuesday’s rally, and said his son is a ‘good kid’ and his heart is in the right place
Rally organisers said they had been planning the protest for months, and trained ‘rebels’ in how to bring the city to a standstill.
The group claimed some activists came from as far away as Melbourne to shut down one of the main highways into Brisbane.
The sisters told A Current Affair they are proud of their brother, and vehemently denied he has ‘made a fool of himself’.
‘This is not a joke… it’s not to be made fun of,’ Elisha said.
Eric first hit headlines in June when he caused traffic delays for three hours on after he and a woman super-glued themselves to a pedestrian crossing in Brisbane’s CBD.
Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists caused chaos for morning commuters after blockading a Brisbane street, protesting against climate change inaction
Eric Herbert’s model sister Renee was seen in the crowd, and said she fully supports him and his movement
‘I don’t care what punishment I get. Nothing’s going to stop me from doing this again,’ he said at the time.
The protester’s father was also in the crowd at Tuesday’s rally, saying his son is a ‘good kid’ and his heart is in the right place.
Herbert has already racked up more than $2,000 in fines, but his father said he wouldn’t be footing the bill.
‘Crowd source for that one,’ he said.
Herbert, who is a triplet and one of five children, went to Unity College, a Catholic and Uniting Church school in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast
While at school, Elisha and Renee ‘fell into’ modelling aged 14 when they were scouted on Instagram
When asked if Herbert was just a ‘poor little rich kid,’ Renee said: ‘He’s doing his own thing, it has nothing to do with his parents. He’s gone on his own journey… We’re here to support him and that’s it.’
Herbert promised that on October 7 similar protests ‘on a much larger scale’ will be taking place across the country and in Canberra.
Herbert has claimed on social media that he does not live with his parents, but during his first court appearance in June, the climate activist told the magistrate he lived in their Sunshine Coast mansion.
Elisha and Renee wanted to be marine biologists growing up and dabble in environmental activism – just in a less extreme way that their brother
The lavish canal-front home is complete with five-bedrooms, freestanding aquarium, a triple lock garage and a private jetty.
But the 19-year-old claims he has been sleeping on friends’ couches since he dropped out of studying nanoscience at UNSW in April to focus on protesting.
Herbert, who is a triplet and one of five children, went to Unity College, a Catholic and Uniting Church school in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast.
Elisha and Renee each have 1.4 million Instagram followers and contracts with Chadwick and Elite Models in Sydney and Los Angeles.
‘Yeah, he lives in Sydney and studies science – he’s super smart,’ they told Husskie magazine in 2017 before their brother dropped out.
‘He’s not into [us being models and influencers] at all, he’s so not about it. He doesn’t let us take photos. We have like one photo of him.’
Herbert has claimed on social media that he does not live with his parents, but during his first court appearance in June, the climate activist told the magistrate he lived with his parents who supported him in their Sunshine Coast mansion
Nearly a quarter of protesters at climate change rally are arrested
Police arrested and charged about a quarter of those involved in the climate protests which disrupted traffic in Brisbane’s CBD.
Tuesday’s demonstration is the latest in a series of protests by environmental group Extinction Rebellion to hit Brisbane.
Police have charged 72 people following the protests which involved about 300 people.
Superintendent Chris Stream says it’s been ‘some time’ since so many people have been arrested at one time in the city.
The protesters, aged between 18 and 73, were taken to the Brisbane watch house and charged with offences including public nuisance, disobeying lawful directions and obstructing police.
Supt Stream says it was disappointing to see roads used by emergency services blocked by demonstrators.
‘What you have is these protesters committing this unplanned disruptive activity, ‘Supt Stream said.
‘In fact, some of these routes are major routes for emergency vehicle routes such as to and from hospitals … and that is very very disruptive.
Laura Lucardie, organiser of the Extinction Rebellion protest, said causing disruption for commuters was the goal of the demonstration.
Ms Lucardie said the protesters were happy to go to jail for their cause and labelled the police response appropriate.
‘If we can fill the jails, we’ll fill the jails,’ she said. ‘We are quite happy to sacrifice our civil liberties.
‘It’s not an issue for us that there’s 50 arrests on the day.’
She said further protests are being planned.
Queensland Police say they acknowledge the right to protest and work to minimise disruptions.