Pro-Palestine protesters have been banned from marching across Brisbane’s Story Bridge after a court challenge by police.
Chief magistrate Janelle Brassington on Thursday approved an application for a ban by the Queensland Police Service (QPS), made on the basis of community safety.
Brassington ruled that the planned Gaza march could not go ahead due to a risk to public safety.
She said the rally would require closing all six lanes of the bridge, blocking emergency vehicles.
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Brassington accepted submissions by the Brisbane acting assistant commissioner, Rhys Wildman, that police could not prevent people from climbing on to footpaths attached to the bridge. They have been closed since March for repairs due to engineering concerns.
“My view of the situation is this, with all of the good intentions of the organisers … with respect, they don’t have the expertise, the experience of the Queensland Police Service and those that must make those judgments,” she said.
“There is a significant risk to public safety as indicated by the experts in this matter.”
It is the second time this year that a group has been banned from marching over the bridge for the same reason. An active transport group was blocked in May.
Remah Naji, the spokesperson for organisers Justice for Palestine Magan-djin, said after the ruling that protesters planned to still “go ahead with our peaceful assembly”.
“The plan is still to assemble at one o’clock at Raymond Park. We are going to convene. Justice for Palestine is going to convene, and we’re going to make a decision publicly over the next couple of days,” Naji said.
“Personally, I’m prepared to do everything in my power to pressure my government to act in accordance with international law.”
In a statement earlier this week, the police said they had participated in mediation with the organisers on Monday, but couldn’t come to an agreement.
“The QPS respects the right to peacefully assemble; however, this must be balanced with the need to ensure public safety and minimise disruption to the broader community,” a QPS spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Naji said that organisers expected about 7,000 people to march from Kangaroo Point to Fortitude Valley at 1pm on Sunday.
The protest would completely block the bridge to traffic.
“I wish it weren’t necessary to march across the Story Bridge, but the severity of the situation in Gaza and the failure of our government to uphold its obligation under international law make it incumbent upon us to act and hold our politicians to account,” she said.
“Taking a group of human rights advocates to court for daring to organise a protest at a location previously shut down for several other reasons is disgraceful.”
In New South Wales earlier this month, police sought to deny legal protection to a planned protest over the Sydney Harbour Bridge – but that bid was overturned by the NSW supreme court at the 11th hour.
Police say 90,000 people marched across the bridge on 3 August, while organisers put the figure at closer to 300,000. Regardless, the scale of the turnout ranks the protest as historic, and the day went ahead without major incidents.
In Melbourne on the same day, in contrast, pro-Palestine protesters were met by a wall of police in riot gear behind barricades, mounted officers and riot squad vans when they sought to cross the King Street Bridge.
The court heard Queensland police had suggested several alternative routes, but that the protesters had decided only the Story Bridge would “bring appropriate attention” to the issue.
Respondent Angus Scott pointed to the precedent of the approval of the Sydney protest.
He said in that case, the court had decided there was no additional risk to the public from ruling in favour of the protest.
“Whether or not the court gave the approval, there wouldn’t be a significant impact on public safety, because the authorities were going to have to respond anyway, and that’s what’s going to have to happen here,” Scott said.
Scott also argued that several previous events had been held on the bridge, including after the closure of the walking paths, without issue.
Brassington judged that there were differences in what was proposed in Brisbane, including the poor state of the adjacent footpaths, four nearby hospitals and the risk of impeding emergency services.
“I simply … cannot reach the same conclusion with respect to the risk of public safety,” she said.
The minister for police, Dan Purdie, said the court had backed the police and called on event organisers to respect its decision.
“If protestors defy the decision of the court, it will not only put people at risk, it will also take hundreds of police away from responding to crime,” he said.
