Harbour Bridge pro-Palestinian protest organisers vow to fight NSW Police in court as civil society groups blast Chris Minns
The Palestinian Action Group Sydney revealed in a statement on Sunday that protestors were seeking to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on August 3 to send a 'powerful' message to the world amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza strip.
Despite the group calling on the NSW government to facilitate the March for Humanity Premier Minns said in a statement that he could not support a protest of this 'scale and nature' on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, 'especially with one week's notice.'
On Tuesday NSW Police blocked a request submitted by the organisers to close the Sydney Harbour Bridge to traffic for demonstrations on Sunday with Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna insisting the march would put 'public safety' in jeopardy.
Organisers stated they were issued with a summons on Wednesday afternoon from NSW Police to attend a hearing at the Supreme Court on Thursday and said they had not yet received a time slot, according to News.com.au.
Acting Deputy Commissioner McKenna said on Tuesday that NSW Police would be lodging an application with the Supreme Court deeming the protest unlawful.
NSW Police insisted its call to shut down the demonstration in court was not influenced by Premier Minns' vehement opposition and that it was open to negotiating with the protests co-ordinators.
The Palestine Action Group said in a statement after NSW Police handed down its decision on Tuesday that the protest 'must go ahead' despite authorities warning the demonstration could shut down the city and spark a logistics nightmare.
'Hundreds are starving to death … the people of Australia, and NSW, have had enough of this atrocity and are determined to take a powerful stand to make it stop,' spokesperson Josh Lees said.
'We will see them in court,' the statement read.
Organisers offered to delay the protest by up to two to three weeks, however Mr Minns promptly shot down the idea and said that he would not close the bridge under 'any circumstances.'
'I'm asking the organisers to work with NSW police on an alternative route. To shut (the bridge) down in these circumstances would be beyond the resources of the NSW government,' Mr Minns reiterated.
Mr Minns has come under fire for his handling of the situation, with 55 union and civil society bodies penning a scathing letter to the Premier on Thursday calling on him to 'facilitate the exercise of the democratic right of protest'.
'Seeking to shut down this rally would be a serious departure from the NSW State and Police's responsibility to uphold the democratic right of protest,' the letter read.
The groups involved in the joint letter include the Redfern Legal Centre, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Human Rights Watch and Asylum Seeker Centre.
Premier Minns' position has also been slammed by his own MPs, with Labor backbenchers stating he needed to re-think his stance on the demonstration.
Labor MP Anthony D'Adam who was sacked from his parliamentary secretary roles after condemning police tactics used at a pro-Palestinian protest said the Premier was over-exaggerating the impact of the protest.
Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence separately said the Premier's conduct amounted to political interference.
The march has been shared widely on social media with organisers expecting tens of thousands of attendants.
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