Judgement to be handed down over legality of pro-Palestinian Sydney Harbour Bridge march

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

A judgement due to be handed down this morning will decide the legality of a pro-Palestinian march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday.
The Palestinian Action Group was referred to the Supreme Court by NSW Police after it announced plans to march over the bridge in support of Palestinians as the war rages on in Gaza.
NSW Police sought a prohibition order over the event, which would not ban people from attending and participating, but would mean those who did participate would not be protected against offences such as blocking roads or traffic.
The court heard from counsel for both the Palestine Action Group and police on Friday.
Under cross-examination, Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson said he had public safety concerns about the event.
"Imagine a scenario where the public assembly remains authorised. In that situation, are you saying police would not facilitate safe conduct of the event?" barrister Felicity Graham, representing the organisers, asked.
"We would always do our best to ensure public safety, but in these timeframes, no. We'd be unable to guarantee public safety," he replied.
"It's a certainty that a very large group of people attend even if the public assembly is not authorised, do you agree?" Ms Graham asked.
"It's a possibility," the witness replied.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Johnson told the court the bridge would still need to be closed if the gathering was authorised.
He also raised concerns about plans for attendees to first gather at Lang Park — situated on the corner of York, Grosvenor and Lang streets — to approach the harbour bridge.
"Fifty thousand people at Lang Park, whether it's authorised or unauthorised, has significant public safety risks," he said.
Before the hearing began on Friday, Josh Lees from Palestine Action Group told media the crisis in Gaza had not abated and it was an "urgent and horrific situation".
"It's why we called it over the harbour bridge, because we need to do something bigger than what we've already done," he said.
Mr Lees said the bridge had been shut previously for "much less significant reasons", including for a movie to be filmed, and said an argument that a closure required more planning time did not add up.
He said the plans had attracted "unprecedented support" and claimed NSW Police had not accepted the alternative plans suggested by the group, including delaying the event for several weeks.
The group took to Instagram to announce several union groups were backing the march, including the United Workers Union and the Nurses and Midwives' Association.
Premier Chris Minns said on Friday the government acknowledged the demand for the march, but that the "last thing" police wanted was "chaos" in Sydney streets.
"We recognise people want to protest, we're hopeful, depending on the outcome of the court case... ... [that] common sense can prevail and people are given an opportunity to express their voice," he said.
The "March for Humanity" is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Justice Belinda Rigg will hand down her verdict at 10am Saturday.