The NSW Supreme Court has ruled a major pro-Palestine protest over Sydney’s Harbour Bridge can go ahead.
Labor Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police had both moved to block the protest from taking place. Despite this, at least five Labor MPs said they planned to attend the rally.
Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg has refused the police’s official application to block the protest, meaning it is officially “authorised”.
At least 10,000 protesters are expected to turn up.
Background
The Palestine Action Group has organised mass protests every week for nearly two years.
This weekend, the group planned to hold a rally protesting Israel’s restriction of aid into Gaza, which has caused mass starvation. United Nations experts say at least 16 children under five have died of “hunger-related causes” since mid-July.
Activists and supporters had planned to march from Wynyard Station in Sydney’s CBD to North Sydney, crossing the Harbour Bridge.
Blocked
Activists filed an application with NSW Police, providing notice of plans to cross the Harbour Bridge.
Police opposed the application.
NSW Premier Chris Minns called it an “logistic and communications Everest,” approving NSW Police’s bid to block the Harbour Bridge protest.
“ The last thing police want is chaos in Sydney streets,” Minns said.
Pushback
The Government and the police’s decision to oppose the protest triggered backlash.
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Upper house Labor MP Stephen Lawrence said he was “extremely concerned” about the Premier’s intervention, insisting police should coordinate with the activists without political intervention.
Lawrence is one of at least 15 MPs who publicly voiced support for the protest. The group also included the Greens, Libertarian MP John Ruddick, independents Alex Greenwich and Jacqui Scruby, and four other Labor MPs.
Court
Police escalated the matter to the NSW Supreme Court to “prohibit” the protest.
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Adam Paul Johnson told the court more than 50,000 people could attend the protest, at least five times more than the organisers’ estimates.
While lawyers insisted police would take steps to ensure “public safety”, they said many were concerned about cutting off access to the Harbour Bridge “regardless of the cause”.
Lees told the court pro-Palestine protests had been regular and peaceful since October 2023, saying the Harbour Bridge was chosen as a location because of the amount of attention it would attract.
Justice Belinda Rigg ruled the protest was authorised.
She rejected the police’s argument about the “inconvenience” of shutting down the bridge to motor traffic.
Justice Rigg cited the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Sydney, saying “peaceful protest” will inevitably cause disruption, but is a foundational democratic right.
Counter-protest
A counter-protest was flagged in response to the Palestine Action Group (PAG), by the pro-Israel Never Again Group.
It was planned to take effect at the mouth of the Sydney Harbour tunnel, near the route of the PAG protest.
Justice Rigg ruled the protest would be unlawful because the Never Again group did not file a ‘Form 1’ Application at least seven days beforehand.
Organisers have since said their protest won’t go ahead.
