Organisers of a pro-Palestine rally have offered to delay their march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge by a week after the New South Wales government said it would not support a protest of that scale and nature this Sunday.
On Sunday, the Sydney-based Palestine Action Group announced it planned to change the course of its near-weekly rallies through the CBD and instead walk across the iconic bridge to the US consulate.
The premier, Chris Minns, responded that the government could not support a protest of that size across the bridge this weekend.
“We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos,” Minns said in a statement.
“The NSW government cannot support a protest of this scale and nature taking place on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially with one week’s notice.
“The bridge is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in our city used every day by thousands of people. Unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns.”
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Minns said police were “in discussions with organisers” about other routes they could take and were “working to ensure community safety is upheld”.
The Palestine Action Group announced the rally in a social media post, highlighting the starvation of adults and children in Gaza.
The World Health Organization says it has recorded 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this year – 63 occurring in July, including 24 children under five.
“This is a genocide. Even if, under global pressure, Israel temporarily allows some food into Gaza, it will not mean the end of Israel’s goal of ethnically cleansing the [Gaza] strip,” the Palestine Action Group said.
The group said “this extraordinary situation” has led it to call for a March for Humanity over the bridge on 3 August “to save Gaza”.
Josh Lees, a spokesperson for the group, said if the premier needed more notice in order to support the rally, then the group could organise the march a week later.
“In 2023, the Harbour Bridge was closed for several hours to shoot a scene for a Ryan Gosling film. It is regularly closed at short notice for maintenance or emergencies. It was closed for the historic 2000 march for reconciliation and the 2023 World Pride march. It can be temporarily closed to help stop a genocide,” Lees said.
A person who was involved in planning the 2023 World Pride march said the event - which traversed a much longer route from north Sydney train station to the domain - took “months and months” of planning and was a “huge logistical undertaking”.
The Palestine Action Group has submitted what is known as a “form one” to police. The form is a notification to hold a public assembly that, if accepted by police, would protect those attending from being potentially charged under anti-protest laws.
In 2022, the then NSW Liberal government legislated – with support from Labor – a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $22,000 fine for protesters who obstruct facilities such as ports and transport hubs. The penalty also applies to protests on main roads.
Last year, the Palestine Action Group faced a supreme court challenge by NSW police after the force knocked back its form one application to hold two pro-Palestine events in October.
The group managed to come to an agreement with police that it would change the route of a rally on 6 October and an event on 7 October would be a standing vigil.
‘A tragedy’
The leader of the NSW Liberal party, Mark Speakman, said Minns had made “absolutely the right call” in blocking the protest.
“The Harbour Bridge belongs to everyone,” Speakman said. “I can understand that people have sincere and passionate views about what is happening in the Middle East. Whichever way you look at it, it is a tragedy.
Speakman said “there are plenty of other ways to protest, other venues.”
The NSW Greens spokesperson for justice, Sue Higginson, said she had written to the premier and the police commissioner urging them to support the protest.
“The people of Australia are completely aghast at our government’s inaction, and marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be a powerful symbol of solidarity between the nations of Australia and Palestine,” she said.
“The Palestine Action Group’s protest is legal, it is moral, and it must go ahead.”
Global condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza has sharply increased in recent weeks and days. International humanitarian organisations have pleaded for attention on starvation and malnutrition concerns for civilians still remaining in Gaza.
On Sunday, the WHO reported over 5,000 children have been treated for malnutrition in July, many with the most life-threatening form.
