NSW Premier Chris Minns has said his government “cannot allow” for a pro-Palestine march that is scheduled to take place on the Sydney Harbour Bridge later this week.
The protest was organised by Palestine Action Group [PAG], which confirmed it had filed a Form 1 to notify NSW Police ahead of the bridge march slated for this Sunday, August 3 from 1pm.
Per a Facebook post, the group is planning the March For Humanity event on “Australia’s most iconic symbol” to protest the “deliberate starvation of 2 million Gazans”, as the hunger crisis in the region continues to rage on.
In response, Minns said in a statement (per The Sydney Morning Herald) that the state government “cannot support a protest of this scale, especially with one week’s notice”.
He said the Harbour Bridge is “one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in our city” and that “unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns”.
“We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos,” Minns said.
The premier said NSW Police are “in discussions” with PAG about other potential routes the marchers can take.
After that announcement, organisers hit back at Minns, saying in a social media statement that the “urgency” of the situation in Gaza means it is “only right that [the bridge] be temporarily closed to traffic”.
PAG also noted how, in 2023, the Harbour Bridge was briefly closed to allow for the filming of Ryan Gosling’s movie The Fall Guy.
“The premier warns of chaos, but there is nothing chaotic about people marching for peace, to stop mass starvation,” the PAG spokesperson said.
“We call on the NSW authorities to work with us to plan this event and stand on the right side of history.”
Noting Minns’ mention of the short notice given ahead of the protest, PAG questioned whether he would “agree to support the March for Humanity [if it were] a week later”.
It will mark the first time the pro-Palestine group have brought their march to the bridge in the nearly two years since their weekly protests began following the October 7 attacks in 2023.
Last year, Minns drew scrutiny for saying pro-Palestine protests should be blocked because of their “huge drain on the public purse”, and more recently, questions were raised about NSW Police’s use of anti-protest laws in the wake of Hannah Thomas’ arrest at a pro-Palestine demonstration.
It comes after two Australians were found to be on board Handala, a Gaza-bound aid ship intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday (local time).
Discussions between NSW Police and PAG regarding the planned bridge March remain ongoing.
Lead images: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images and Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
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