A 12-month jail sentence given to a 22-year-old climate activist over recent anti-coal protests in the NSW hunter region has divided opinions across the country.

Some say it's "too harsh" while others believe it's justified.

Eric Serge Herbert was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months, for his part in obstructing the Hunter's coal chain.

According to evidence presented to the court, Herbert is from Queensland and a well-known protester who has been charged and convicted of similar offences in multiple states.

The group behind two weeks of protests that disrupted the rail network, Blockade Australia, condemned the sentence and described it as repression.

Another lobby group known as the Solidarity and Resistance Collective labelled it as "unjust".

A 20-year-old spokeswoman named Zoe, who is from Newcastle and didn't want to reveal her surname, said there would be peaceful protests to demonstrate concern over the severity of the sentence.

"These types of offences in the past have been minor offences. People have been given fines or good behaviour bonds, and something like this is completely unprecedented," she said.

So will this set a precedent for the protest movement?

Federal Shadow Minister Assisting for Climate Change, and Shortland MP, Pat Conroy said protest action like the recent two-week campaign centred on the Port of Newcastle pits the community against each other.

He supports the sentence.

"I think it sends a strong message to these sort of extremists, that their actions are unacceptable," he said.

Mr Conroy said such protests interrupt and prevent a legal activity, which delivers millions of dollars of wages to families in his community.

"It actually hurts the cause of climate change action," he said.

"So I think this was an appropriate sentence."

The law is 'objectionable'

President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Pauline Wright, said it seems like a harsh penalty for a protester.

"If the law means that people participating in peaceful protest end up in jail then that law is objectionable in a liberal democracy where we have a right to peacefully protest," she said.

"When people take actions that put themselves or others into danger then that is one thing, but imposing a criminal sanction on that kind of activity isn't necessarily the way to go."

Ms Wright said it is her and the Council for Civil Liberties' view that the law is too harsh on protesters and it should be repealed or revised.

But state Upper Hunter MP David Layzell said he supports the sentence because it's linked to disruptive behaviour that put lives at risk.

"They've taken police resources away from what they should be doing in our community," he said.

"And there's been, to date, relatively light fines applied to these protesters and obviously that has not worked.

"These protesters are coming from Melbourne, they're coming from Brisbane, they're coming from all over the country, because they're protesting against what we do in the Hunter Valley."

Mr Layzell said while he has no objection to their voices, the full weight of the law needs to be applied to stop them from being disruptive and causing issues for the economy.

"I do support those efforts to stop this disruption in our lives and the impact it's having on people of the people of the Upper Hunter," he said.

The ABC contacted Legal Aid for comment, but none could be provided nor could the organisation confirm if Herbert's sentence will be appealed.