Sky News Contributor Louise Roberts says a pro Palestinian protest over the Sydney Harbour Bridge is madess

Sky News AU

5 days ago

This Sunday a radical activist collective - the Palestine Action Group - wants to shut down the Sydney Harbour Bridge to stage a pro-Palestinian protest.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says he will not allow our steel and granite symbol of unity and resilience to be closed 'under any circumstances'.
Good.
Let's be clear: no one is denying the right to protest and no one wants innocent civilians in Gaza starving to death.
Yes, the suffering we are witnessing from the safety of Australia is undeniable and to wholesale blame Israel for this is appalling when Hamas has the region in its cruel, iron grip.
Hijacking the Harbour Bridge to stage a global political spectacle from Sydney is not peaceful protest.
It is theatrics disguised as justice.
Mr Minns and NSW Police have said they would support the protest if it is held at another location or time.
The Palestine Action Group, I would argue, is not purely a group calling for peace and critical help for perishing and injured citizens in the Middle East.
To be blunt, some of them include people who, since the October 7 2023 Hamas terrorist slaughter, have waved flags for a cause that routinely veers into anti-Semitic slogans and chants for Israel to be wiped off the map.
When organisers like Josh Lees claim the Australian government is 'enabling genocide' through arms exports, the focus shifts dramatically.
Is this truly a call for humanitarian aid or has the march became a political battering ram aimed at Canberra?
NSW Police, under Deputy Commissioner Thurtell, have shown remarkable restraint.
They have enabled more than 100 pro-Palestine demonstrations since the horrors of October 7, despite the appalling aftermath of the protest on the Opera House steps.
That is not police obstruction. It is operational goodwill.
Organisers point to past closures of the bridge, such as for a Ryan Gosling film and World Pride, but those events were widely supported and carefully planned.
Mr Minns is treading a fine line between recognising public sentiment and upholding civic order.
Meanwhile across the border in Victoria, it's the same story. No surprise.
Pro-Palestine protesters are planning to block Melbourne's King Street Bridge this weekend despite warnings from police.
Hundreds of officers will be redeployed to manage this event which will drag resources away from crime, emergencies and actual policing duties.
What has become clear is this: the bridge protests aren't about peace or humanitarian concern.
They are about headlines and optics.
'Block the City for Gaza' reads the posters. Not help Gaza.
All of this is unfolding as Australia moves closer to recognising a Palestinian state, with suggestions that the Albanese government likely to join the UK, France and Canada in supporting the move as part of efforts toward a two-state solution.
This is despite fears, led by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, that this decision would fuel Hamas.
Respected Jewish leader Mark Leibler this week reminded Mr Albanese of his own conditions on this very issue: no recognition until Hamas is disarmed and the hostages are freed.
Neither has happened.
In an interview with The Australian, Mr Leibler's warning couldn't be clearer - premature recognition punishes the innocent and rewards terror.
Israeli hostages will still be underground, Palestinian civilians will still be suffering and meanwhile Hamas is emboldened by every Western government desperate to look progressive.
Social media messages this week ahead of the march from The Palestine Action Group include this: 'In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.'
And this: 'Chris Minns: get out of the way we're stopping a genocide'.
Plus more: 'The bridge is really important. The Zionists are comfortable in the city, with enormous power over media and institutions. A big march on the bridge will make them uncomfortable, will hit back.'
'See you there!'
'The cops can't arrest all of us even if it doesn't win in court.'
'Where can I get a Palestinian flag?"
And so on.
No mention of the mother and baby butchers and rapists of Hamas, then. It is always what evil Israel 'is doing'.
Fighting the police decision in NSW's Supreme Court is not about protesting.
It is about power. And they want to see if they can take it from us.
And the Premier, under fire for his handling of the situation, has been more than reasonable.
One MP even accused him of caring more about 'traffic flow than starving children.'
Protest isn't a free pass.
It doesn't allow you to bring national infrastructure to a halt just because you are passionate about a cause.