Sydney Harbour Bridge protest: How serial pest Josh Lees - who has never found a fringe protest movement he didn't support (including HARSHER Covid lockdowns!) - is behind push to shut down landmark for Palestine

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

A pro-Palestine demonstration that would shut down the Sydney Harbour Bridge is being led by a serial protester whose obsession with public rallies has spanned more than 20 years and earned him the reputation of a 'full-time pain in the a**'.
Josh Lees wants to lead Australians in marching over the city's most famous landmark at a week's notice this Sunday in a 'Pro-Palestine March for Humanity' - a move opposed by Premier Chris Minns and the NSW Police Force.
Since October 7, 2023 - when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, taking ore than 250 hostages and killing 1,200 people - Mr Lees, 43, has spearheaded weekly protests in Sydney, where he often addresses the crowd in a keffiyeh - a traditional form of scarf and headwear which has become a symbol of support for Palestine.
Mr Lees has been adamant that Sunday's march will go ahead - boasting that the proposed rally has garnered the support of more than 150 organisations - despite police blocking the plan, citing public safety risks and major traffic disruption.
Mr Lees has a long history of activism and was once branded by 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham as a 'full-time pain in the a**' who had 'a finger in as many protest pies as he can handle'.
He has spent more than two decades protesting for a myriad of causes ranging from supporting refugees and LGBTQ rights, opposing the Iraq War and backing stricter Covid lockdowns.
He first made headlines in Green Left Weekly as a university tutor charged with resisting arrest at a voluntary student unionism protest.
In the early 2000s, he took to the streets to protest the Iraq War and then-prime minister John Howard's refugee policies.
He was one of dozens of protesters arrested for camping out in Martin Place in 2011 for the Occupy Sydney movement which rallied against economic inequality. That protest push was inspired by Occupy Wall Street - but quickly petered out.
That same year, he led refugee advocates during a rally outside Immigration Department offices after legislation to implement offshore processing of asylum seekers passed federal parliament.
'These are outrageous policies which are going to take us back, not even just to the dark days of the Howard years, these policies are even more cruel than the Howard Pacific Solution,' Mr Lees told ABC at the time.
More recently, Mr Lees was a spokesman for the Lockdown to Zero group, which campaigned for the NSW government to toughen its policies during the Covid pandemic to keep zero community transmission of the virus.
Confusingly, he was also part of a Black Lives Matter protest during lockdowns in 2020 that defied Covid laws at the time preventing such gatherings.
Mr Lees is also an activist for LGBTQ rights, climate change, anti-racism and recently took part in the National Day of Action Against Trump.
He also writes for Red Flag, the newsletter of Socialist Alternative, a group that identifies as Australia's largest Marxist organisation.
His most recent article was published on July 6, slamming Israel for portraying itself as the victim of its war with Gaza.
'The mainstream media and politicians' constant attempts to spin the story that Israel is the victim, the underdog, the state 'defending itself', are so out of touch with reality that they are becoming increasingly desperate and farcical,' he wrote.
Mr Lees was hailed by Greens MP Sue Higginson to the Sydney Morning Herald as a justice warrior, while the city's Lord Mayor Clover Moore has described this Sunday's march as a 'powerful symbol'.
But one man who definitely isn't part of the fan club is NSW Premier Chris Minns.
He revealed last October that Lees had made applications to NSW Police every week for the past year to march through Sydney's CBD to protest Israel's bombing of Gaza.
The police presence for the protests had cost taxpayers more than $5.4million in 2024 alone, according to Minns.
In addition to overtime, the figure was estimated to be closer to $10million.
Minns this week reignited his war of words with Mr Lees when he slammed this Sunday's proposed march.
'The NSW Government cannot support a protest of this scale and nature taking place on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially with one week's notice,' the premier said.
'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.
'We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos.'
Mr Lees hit back by accusing Minns of interfering in police operations.
He pointed out that the bridge is often shut down for major events, including a World Pride march, filming of Hollywood movies and the upcoming Sydney Marathon.
'Compare the pair,' Mr Lees captioned maps showing the street closures the August 31 marathon and Sunday's march would each cause.
He has hinted at a court challenge after NSW Police blocked the bridge protest from going ahead on Wednesday.
'The process now is if the police or the government want to stop us from doing it, they have to take us to the Supreme Court and if they do that, we'll fight that in court,' Mr Lees said.
'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.
'We will see them in court.'