Police chiefs to plead for calm ahead of October 7 protests

Australia’s police chiefs will join forces to urge calm ahead of pro-Palestine protests around the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack as the federal government struggles to get Lebanese-Australians out of a widening war in the Middle East.

On a day the opposition accused Labor of “appeasing” anti-Western forces, Foreign Minister Penny Wong backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran, whose missile barrage earlier this week put the world on edge and intensified a debate around protests in Australia.

NSW demonstrators will proceed with a protest on Sunday and a vigil on October 7 but scrap a planned protest for the day of the anniversary in a settlement with police, while events in Melbourne will go ahead as planned despite calls from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton to avoid inflaming unrest.

Before a planned weekend meeting of Australia’s police chiefs in Darwin, state and federal commissioners will make a joint statement on Friday emphasising federal laws against displaying terror banners and urge demonstrators to be peaceful. They will attempt to soothe tensions after days of debate about flags from Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that is a designated terrorist organisation in Australia, being waved in Sydney and Melbourne.

Four federal and Victorian sources, who requested anonymity because plans were being finalised, said the police chiefs wanted to reinforce public confidence in their management of heated demonstrations. Federal police on Thursday launched a taskforce to probe nine allegations of displaying Hezbollah flags or inciting hatred at last weekend’s Melbourne demonstration, and said it would assist state police at the weekend protests.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday stepped up their calls for Australians to leave Lebanon as the situation deteriorates, with the government securing 80 seats on outbound flights for Thursday and 500 on Saturday. There are about 15,000 Australians in Lebanon but only 1700 have registered an interest in leaving and the government has stationed an Australian air force plane in Cyprus, about 240 kilometres from Beirut, as a backup.

“I also understand there are many people who call Lebanon home,” Wong said. “People feel very torn. But I again would say to people, this is really the time to leave. We are very worried about the situation escalating if Beirut Airport closes.”

She has resisted opposition demands to kick out the Hezbollah-supporting Iranian ambassador because the government values the communication channel. Lebanese authorities have declared a humanitarian crisis after 1.2 million people — approaching a quarter of its population – were displaced and 1200 killed since Israel began a series of missile and pager attacks to cripple Hezbollah two weeks ago.

Protest organisers in Sydney and Melbourne said they intended to be peaceful on October 6 and would hold a “vigil” for Palestinian suffering on October 7. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had demanded Victoria follow NSW in trying to stop the protests, which he labelled “celebrations of death”.

Asked about Dutton’s urgings, Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allan said a NSW-style permit system allowing police to apply to stop protests would create more administrative work for police. “I’ll continue to respond to what Victoria Police advise me, not... the divisive federal leader of the opposition,” Allan said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for Australians in Lebanon to get out while Beirut’s airport remains open.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

In the final minutes of a court hearing on Thursday afternoon where NSW Police were trying to block the protests in the state, citing their size and provocative nature, law enforcement came to an agreement with organisers to amend the route but allow the October 6 rally to proceed. It will now avoid the Great Synagogue in the centre of Sydney. Dutton and Albanese will attend vigils with the Jewish community on October 7.

Monday marks a year since Hamas’s attacks in Israel, where about 1200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The attack sparked an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that has since killed almost 42,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gazan health officials.

Iran, Hezbollah’s funder and top ally, was on Wednesday waiting to see how Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would react to its missile barrage earlier this week that represented just the second direct attack on Israel by Iran in decades. US president Joe Biden backed Israel in the conflict but warned it against striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Dutton castigated Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles for declining to directly endorse Israel’s thrust against its enemies in a Thursday interview on RN Breakfast, instead using general language about the nation’s right to defend itself.

Labor’s approach to the war was one of “appeasement”, Dutton said at a press conference in Melbourne. The opposition leader has avoided criticising Israel’s approach to its conflicts. But Wong said at a press conference in Geelong that “Israel has a right to defend itself against Iran’s attack.”

The group organising the Monday protest in Melbourne, told this masthead on Thursday that its event would go ahead as planned.

The Shia Muslim Council of Australia released guidelines for the weekend rallies instructing demonstrators to use English chants as much as possible and only display the national flags of Lebanon and Palestine.

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