Pro-Palestine demonstration across Sydney Harbour Bridge to be blocked
Palestine Action Group applied to NSW Police to march over what it described as 'Australia's most iconic symbol' on Sunday afternoon as part of a demonstration against starvation in Gaza.
In a statement on Monday, Minns said his government would not support a 'protest of this scale' taking place on the Harbour Bridge with only one week's notice.
'The bridge is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in our city – used every day by thousands of people. Unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns,' he said.
'We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos. NSW Police are in discussions with organisers about other routes they can take and are working to ensure community safety is upheld.'
PAG spokesperson Josh Lees said: 'The premier warns of chaos, but there is nothing chaotic about people marching for peace, to stop mass starvation. We call on the NSW authorities to work with us to plan this event and stand on the right side of history.
'If the premier says we need more time to plan such an event, then would he agree to support the March for Humanity a week later?'
A spokeswoman for NSW Police said the Form 1 application had been received by Sydney City Police Area Command and officers were consulting the relevant stakeholders.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
Failing to recognise Palestinian state 'rewards' Israel
Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests over the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and both Students for Palestine and the National Union of Students have called for students to walk out of class on Thursday as part of a demonstration.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Failing to recognise Palestinian state 'rewards' Israel
Failing to recognise a Palestinian state would reward the Israeli government for its "campaign of genocidal violence", a former ambassador to Israel has warned, as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations on the issue as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Though the federal government has said recognition is a matter of "when, not if", it has been hesitant to commit to a deadline and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical", noting there were "nasty people" on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC radio on Thursday. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank. "We need to be very careful of pointing the finger in one direction and forgetting what's going on, on the other side." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter, but Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous" and his government has repeatedly claimed it only targets Hamas and not civilians. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas played no role in the future nation, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong has repeatedly emphasised the Palestinian Authority has condemned and sought to distance themselves from the terrorist group. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is currently "pretty useless", Mr Rodgers said, but recognition could provide an avenue for change. "There is an opportunity to work with other Palestinians, to work towards reforming the Palestinian Authority ... giving it meaningful power," he said. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, when he reiterated Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist, before discussing the two-state solution with French President Emmanuel Macron. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. "We want to see commitments from the Palestinian Authority - commitments of their governance (and) reforms." More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which is being circulated on social media, calling on Australia to urgently recognise a state of Palestine. More than 140 of the 193 UN member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie has taken issue with pro-Palestine protests. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests over the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and both Students for Palestine and the National Union of Students have called for students to walk out of class on Thursday as part of a demonstration. Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie has taken issue with domestic protests. "This is Australia. Not the Middle East," he said in an interview with Sky News posted on his social media.
Sky News AU
5 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Prime Minster Anthony Albanese's Palestine call with French President Emmanuel Macron branded 'performative politics'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of "performative politics" over a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Mr Albanese spoke with the French leader following a huge protest in Sydney, which saw about 90,000 people march across the Harbour Bridge in support of Palestine. The French President is set to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September and will be joined in the gesture by United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Commenting on the call, The Australian's Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan said the Albanese government was demonstrating "really low-grade stuff" in relation to Palestine and the Middle East conflict. "They are not making any contribution to the Middle East at all. This is all about gesture and performative politics for their base in Australia and for managing the politics of the left in Australia," he told Sky News host Steve Price. "To recognise a Palestinian state without substantial negotiation with Israel, to recognise the Palestinian state as a direct result of the barbaric, unbelievable, epoch-marking, savage terrorism of October 7, is just futile and counterproductive. "It's a great reward for Hamas." Sheridan said he had been "quite critical" about Israel's conduct in Gaza in recent months, describing it as "futile" and having cost a "great deal internationally", but continued his rebuke of Mr Albanese for making "no useful contribution" to solving the humanitarian crisis. The journalist, though, said Mr Albanese had a "spasm of common sense" several weeks ago when he assigned conditions to any recognition of Palestine. "If those conditions are met, that's great, but if those conditions are not met the Albanese government says it's still going to recognise a Palestinian state anyway, because it says it is 'when, not if,'and its obviously doing it in concert with these other nations," Sheridan said, referring to remarks from Treasurer Jim Chlamers last week. "Now those conditions won't be met. The terrorist groups will still be attacking Israel, there won't an eradication of Hamas and all the rest of it. There won't be democratic reform... you can just bank on that. "This is all about gesture politics and the management of the left in Marrickville and Glebe and Richmond and what have you. It's got nothing at all to do with making any positive contribution in the Middle East and it is morally vacuous." Mr Chalmers' remarks came after Canada joined France and the UK in declaring their intention to recognise a Palestinian state, provided key conditions are met, including the exclusion of Hamas from any future leadership and the release of Israeli hostages. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Canada would proceed with recognition by September, conditional on agreements from the West Bank's governing authority. Mr Chalmers welcomed the international developments and said the Albanese government was in ongoing talks with global counterparts to chart Australia's next steps. 'The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister will respond in due course, but I welcome this momentum and this progress in the international community,' Mr Chalmers told Sky News. 'From an Australian point of view the recognition of the state of Palestine is a matter of when not if."
