Activists are vowing to march in anti-Australia Day rallies despite the police minister's warning that participants will be fined if they breach public health orders.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott told 2GB Radio on Monday that police would be enforcing COVID-19 public health orders on Tuesday.
"We've issued a number of fines (for previous protests) and people have been before courts and people tomorrow will be exposed to fines because they'll be in breach of public health orders," Mr Elliott said.
Outdoor gatherings are currently limited to 500 in NSW, and organisers estimate between 2000 and 3000 people will turn up for the rally.
"I can't believe any organisation, let alone one that pretends to advocate for Indigenous rights, would say 'let's put aside the risk of COVID-19, let's breach public health orders, let's get together despite the pleas of the community asking them not to get together'."
Mr Elliott said the rally could endanger the health of Indigenous people given their vulnerability.
Rally organisers say the government has stonewalled their efforts to agree on a safety plan.
"Organisers have a detailed COVID-safety plan that they have given the NSW government. But there has been no response from the NSW government, no response from NSW Health, no response from the NSW Police other than the threats of violence through the police minister," Greens MP David Shoebridge said on Monday afternoon.
Mr Shoebridge has published the six-page plan, which was sent to Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Friday.
He said in a statement that it was "every bit as stringent" as the plan governing the recent Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground and "more detailed than that used by shopping malls in NSW".
The plan includes compulsory mask wearing, over 85 marshals, pre-registration by QR code, hand sanitiser and social distancing.
Mr Shoebridge said it would be a "political crime" not to grant an exemption to the rally when the government has suggested it will lift restrictions later this week.
Organisers have called on Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Police officials to meet with them to agree on the plan.
Earlier on Monday, Ms Berejiklian said she respected people's strong feelings on the issue but urged them to respect the public health orders on large gatherings.
"People can express a view within the health orders and that is key," she told reporters on Monday.
"Our strong preference is for people to express their views without those gatherings because any gathering is a risk at a time when we have just got through a major outbreak."
Mr Hazzard labelled the planned rally as "problematic" and implored protesters to convene in groups of 500, rather than in one large mass.
He said he understood why some Australians wanted to protest on January 26, but public health came first.
Police said a "highly visible and mobile" operation would be in place on Tuesday for outdoor revellers.
Sydney's Circular Quay will be closed to the public by 6pm on Tuesday, with exemptions for those with bookings at restaurant or other venues.
NSW residents are being told to prepare for sweltering conditions with temperatures of up to 40C forecast.
A poll published on Monday suggests the majority of Australians do not want to change the date of Australia Day. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was not surprised by the results.
Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt, meanwhile, acknowledged January 26 was a painful date for many Australians, but argued the day was an opportunity to reflect on the nation's story of reconciliation.
