Sydney pro-Palestinian protest organisers deny police fears of 'perilous situation' on harbour bridge

RNZ News

03-08-2025

By
Paulina Vidal
and
Luke Royes
, ABC News
Amal Naser says police wasted time going to court instead of planning for the march.
Photo:
ABC News / Jack Fisher
A safe end to the pro-Palestinian protest in which an estimated 90,000 people crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge has not allayed concerns about separate mass demonstrations across the world-famous landmark, senior NSW Police say.
The number of protesters that attended Sunday's March for Humanity from the CBD to North Sydney, calling for an end to the war in Gaza, far exceeded what organisers had submitted in their forms to gain approval.
Palestine Action Group's organiser, Joshua Lees, said there were "no plans" for another pro-Palestine protest over the bridge and took aim at NSW Premier Chris Minns's concerns last week it would cause chaos.
"There was nothing of the sort, there was a beautiful, peaceful mass protest without any incidents," he said.
Lees acknowledged the scale of the march was bigger than expected and the route needed to change to manage the crowd.
"The protest was so big that yes we had to manage how people dispersed at the end but this was done in a very safe and happy way," he said.
"Everyone left in a calm fashion, feeling proud of what they've done today, emboldened to keep fighting for Palestine, that's what today was."
The potential for the bridge to be used for differing protests in the future though remains a safety concern for police.
Organisers say weekly rallies will continue.
Photo:
ABC News / Jack Fisher
As Sunday's event progressed, authorities feared there was a "real risk of crowd crush" as protesters gathered on the north side, creating a choke point.
It was a safety risk raised by police in the lead-up to the event, along with the short timeframe for planning, that prompted them to seek a prohibition order.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson described the situation on the bridge as "intense", and one of the "most perilous" he has been involved in.
"I can honestly say in my 35 years of policing, that was a perilous situation," Assistant Commissioner Johnson said at a press conference following the march.
"I was honestly worried that we were going to have a major incident with potential loss of life."
He said officers were overwhelmed and decisions had to be made on the run.
One of the major changes put in place about 3pm stopped the march, with protesters told to stop where they were, turn around and walk back towards the CBD.
It created confusion and frustration as people tried to move in both directions, but police have credited the move with averting a potential incident and ensuring people's safety.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said there were times when they were worried that both groups would come together.
"We could not get those people, the number, the significant size of that crowd off that northern egress route without risking crowd crush," Acting Deputy Commissioner McKenna said.
"We could not allow those numbers to then egress into the northern side."
Pro-Palestine protest in Sydney, August 2025.
Photo:
ABC News / Jack Fisher
He credits officers' hard work and the good behaviour of protesters for the fact no one was injured.
"This operation, from our point of view, was a success in that no one was hurt, no police were hurt," McKenna said.
"But gee whiz, I wouldn't like to try and do this every Sunday at that short notice."
He reiterated what police had been saying, that "there's a reason we said we like to have time to plan for these protests".
"I think going forward into the future, that has to be taken into consideration," he said.
"Thankfully we've had an operation, whilst perilous at times, turned out that everyone has gone home safe."
Johnson added that police were not anti-protests, saying they oversee more than 1500 a year, and had for a while been working with the organisers of Sunday's event.
The Palestine Action Group has been regularly holding marches in the CBD for nearly two years.
He said it was all about public safety.
"Our whole issue today was never about the fact that they are protesting something that is so significant, and we understand it's significant in a lot of people's minds and hearts right around the world.
"Quite clearly today showed us that we had to scramble … We had to really think about how we could get people safely out of that confined space and back into the city safely.
"It came very close to us having almost a catastrophic situation."
In response, Amal Naser, one of the organisers from the Palestine Action Group, called the senior officer's comments a "poor attempt" to "undermine the Supreme Court's decision".
"The reality is that police had eight days to logistically prepare for this protest," Naser told the media a short time after the event.
"They wasted their resources on going to court and trying to crush the right to protest.
"It should be a reflection on them and not us that they spent one day in planning for this event."
Naser called the march "successful" and a "monumental and historical moment in anti-war protest history".
Lees said while the turnout had exceeded their expectations, weekly rallies would continue.
"Today was unprecedented, and we thought that a bold step would inspire people to come out," Lees said.
"Because they knew it would be such a powerful symbol and they were right."
The Palestine Action Group is working towards a national day of action scheduled for 24 August.
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ABC News