Sydney Harbour Bridge reopens following pro-Palestine protest
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West Australian
6 minutes ago
- West Australian
Nationwide protests planned after pro-Palestine Harbour Bridge march
Protest laws could be repealed or expanded following a march across an iconic national landmark, as activists plan for more demonstrations. The pro-Palestine movement, boosted by a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which made news across the nation and around the world, hopes to build on its momentum. The march across the bridge and back in pouring rain came after opposition from police, and a court's overruling approval that has politicians worrying about the rare occurrence becoming common. Further protests are planned on August 24 in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth with hopes more can be organised in other cities. Ahead of the state's parliament resuming on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns says his Government is examining whether a legal precedent has been set by the Supreme Court judgment that allowed the protest to proceed. 'No one should believe it's open season on the bridge,' he told reporters on Monday. But new laws might be needed to stop future bridge protests. Mr Minns was 'not ruling anything out' but said any legislation could not be rushed. Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley encouraged the premier to look at 'what might happen next'. 'Because we can't continue to have these protests that shut down such an important area of a major city,' she told reporters. In her determination declining to prohibit the march, Justice Belinda Rigg said the bridge would have been closed to traffic regardless of whether the protest was authorised or not. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said demonstrations were an important part of democracy and highlighted the peaceful nature of the Sydney march. 'Australians want people to stop killing each other, they want peace and security ... they don't want conflict brought here,' he said. Mr Minns has faced some internal dissent from other Labor MPs over protest legislation. NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson has also flagged plans to seek the repeal of laws limiting protest, first introduced by the previous coalition government but expanded under Labor. Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees, defendant of the court action NSW Police took in an unsuccessful attempt to have the demonstration ruled unlawful, says nationwide protests are being planned for August 24. 'We want to build on this massive momentum we have now,' he told reporters. Despite concerns of regular marches across the bridge, Mr Lees said the group has no plans for a repeat crossing any time soon and accused the premier of having an anti-protest agenda. 'His stance is pretty clear and he's passed a raft of anti-protest legislation already,' Mr Lees said. 'We're going to have to keep fighting for our rights to demonstrate.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Divisive debate has no place in Australia, Tony Burke says
A day after tens of thousands of people marched in support of Gaza across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and in the Melbourne CBD, Burke countered claims from pro-Palestine activists that Labor had been weak on the Netanyahu government. 'We've taken sanctions against two members of their cabinet, so it's no light touch,' Burke said of the June decision to sanction far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. 'That's a big deal. When I knocked back [a visa application from former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked ], the huge thing was that this is a former minister. We've since then taken sanctions against current ministers.' Burke spoke to this masthead on Friday in his office at Parliament House, the same office occupied by Peter Dutton when he was home affairs minister. Unlike previous governments, Burke said that Labor wanted people to feel safe but without compromising security. 'The Coalition approach on this portfolio is they want people to be safe and feel afraid. The Labor approach is you want people to be safe and feel safe,' Burke said. 'Language that's been used right back to Tony Abbott and before, had a direct impact on Muslims being abused in the street. Scott Morrison's language had a direct impact on the Chinese community.' In 2017, Dutton become the first minister in charge of the Home Affairs mega-department that takes in police, immigration and spy agencies. It was split up by Labor last term due to concerns about handing power to one minister and worries about maintaining proper checks on intelligence agencies. Mark Dreyfus, the former attorney-general and barrister, was a key voice inside Labor arguing against Dutton's super-sized portfolio. In Labor's first term, Dreyfus was handed ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. But after the election, Dreyfus was unceremoniously pushed out of the cabinet and Burke's department was turned back into the all-encompassing portfolio. Dreyfus was contacted for comment. Burke, the member for Watson in western Sydney, is one of the prime minister's most trusted strategists on the right of the party and is considered a rival to Treasurer Jim Chalmers to one day lead Labor. Loading Speaking about his expanded portfolio, Burke said the security environment described by ASIO chief Mike Burgess, characterised by online-fuelled grievances mixing rapidly to create lone-wolf actors, had strengthened the case for a central point of accountability for security inside the government. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously cited the Dural caravan incident, about which he was not briefed for days after the discovery of what turned out to be a planted bomb in a caravan, as justification for returning security agencies to the Home Affairs department. 'Pace is much more of an issue' in the modern era of radicalisation, Burke said, and by streamlining the department, 'you get much quicker access to a full range of risks, well before they start to be confirmed'. Burke said the attempted hijacking at Avalon airport in Victoria in March was an example. 'The simplest example that really struck me was Avalon,' he said. 'The pace between someone coming into our orbit and action is truncated from what used to be months or years to, you know, potentially days.' In the Avalon case, a teenager was detained by flight attendants after he allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight armed with a shotgun. The identities of foreigners the 17-year-old may have spoken to before the incident have been suppressed by the Children's Court of Victoria.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Divisive debate has no place in Australia, Tony Burke says
A day after tens of thousands of people marched in support of Gaza across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and in the Melbourne CBD, Burke countered claims from pro-Palestine activists that Labor had been weak on the Netanyahu government. 'We've taken sanctions against two members of their cabinet, so it's no light touch,' Burke said of the June decision to sanction far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. 'That's a big deal. When I knocked back [a visa application from former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked ], the huge thing was that this is a former minister. We've since then taken sanctions against current ministers.' Burke spoke to this masthead on Friday in his office at Parliament House, the same office occupied by Peter Dutton when he was home affairs minister. Unlike previous governments, Burke said that Labor wanted people to feel safe but without compromising security. 'The Coalition approach on this portfolio is they want people to be safe and feel afraid. The Labor approach is you want people to be safe and feel safe,' Burke said. 'Language that's been used right back to Tony Abbott and before, had a direct impact on Muslims being abused in the street. Scott Morrison's language had a direct impact on the Chinese community.' In 2017, Dutton become the first minister in charge of the Home Affairs mega-department that takes in police, immigration and spy agencies. It was split up by Labor last term due to concerns about handing power to one minister and worries about maintaining proper checks on intelligence agencies. Mark Dreyfus, the former attorney-general and barrister, was a key voice inside Labor arguing against Dutton's super-sized portfolio. In Labor's first term, Dreyfus was handed ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. But after the election, Dreyfus was unceremoniously pushed out of the cabinet and Burke's department was turned back into the all-encompassing portfolio. Dreyfus was contacted for comment. Burke, the member for Watson in western Sydney, is one of the prime minister's most trusted strategists on the right of the party and is considered a rival to Treasurer Jim Chalmers to one day lead Labor. Loading Speaking about his expanded portfolio, Burke said the security environment described by ASIO chief Mike Burgess, characterised by online-fuelled grievances mixing rapidly to create lone-wolf actors, had strengthened the case for a central point of accountability for security inside the government. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously cited the Dural caravan incident, about which he was not briefed for days after the discovery of what turned out to be a planted bomb in a caravan, as justification for returning security agencies to the Home Affairs department. 'Pace is much more of an issue' in the modern era of radicalisation, Burke said, and by streamlining the department, 'you get much quicker access to a full range of risks, well before they start to be confirmed'. Burke said the attempted hijacking at Avalon airport in Victoria in March was an example. 'The simplest example that really struck me was Avalon,' he said. 'The pace between someone coming into our orbit and action is truncated from what used to be months or years to, you know, potentially days.' In the Avalon case, a teenager was detained by flight attendants after he allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight armed with a shotgun. The identities of foreigners the 17-year-old may have spoken to before the incident have been suppressed by the Children's Court of Victoria.
