Police say Harbour Bridge protest could end in crowd crush

3 months ago 26

Activists say they are willing to delay this weekend’s march over the Harbour Bridge if police agree to support the protest, as NSW Police fight to prohibit the demonstration in court.

An urgent hearing in the NSW Supreme Court heard up to 50,000 protesters could descend on the bridge on Sunday, which police argue cannot be accommodated safely in such a short timeframe.

Josh Lees from the Palestine Action Group speaks to media outside the Supreme Court.

The protesters plan to march from Lang Park near Wynyard to the US consulate in North Sydney at 1pm on Sunday.

“Fifty thousand people at Lang Park, whether authorised or unauthorised, has significant public safety risk, crowd crush. I’m personally concerned about that,” acting assistant police commissioner Adam Johnson said under cross-examination.

Palestine Action Group protester Josh Lees, who earlier described the protest as “unstoppable”, said ahead of the court hearing that he would be willing to delay the protest by three weeks if police supported the route over the bridge. However, he said marching on Sunday was still “plan A”.

“Are the police really saying that they are going to storm in and arrest children, disabled people who are on our march, elders who are coming for the first march that they’ve ever been on, members of the Jewish community here who are against the genocide that we see in Gaza, trade union leaders, church leaders, state members of parliament?” Lees said.

“Is that the option really that we want to go down on Sunday?”

Lees said protesters were happy to negotiate with police and would commit to keeping some lanes of the bridge open for buses and emergency vehicles.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna told 2GB the protest was, in fact, “stoppable”, and accused protesters of communicating mixed messages about whether the protest would go ahead regardless of the court outcome.

The protest has revealed unrest within Premier Chris Minns’ party, with five Labor MPs joining The Greens and independent crossbenchers to sign a letter supporting the march, after Minns declared it should not go ahead.

Labor’s Sarah Kaine, Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D’Adam, Cameron Murphy and Linda Voltz all pledged to join Sunday’s protest, along with independents Alex Greenwich, Jacqui Scruby and Libertarian John Ruddick.

The letter detailed “in strong terms our disapproval of the ongoing starvation of the Palestinian people” and called on the government to work with protest organisers to facilitate a safe march.

Kaine said she would march with her elderly parents and her children, who told her they intended to turn up regardless of the court outcome.