PM’s plea to Black Lives Matter protesters

The Prime Minister has pleaded with tens of thousands of Australians to stay away from Black Lives Matter protests on the weekend.

The Prime Minister has told tens of thousands of Australians they shouldn’t take to the streets over the death of George Floyd this weekend.

“It’s not a good idea to go,” he said. “It is important for people to have their right to protest ... but with those liberties come great responsibility.”

More than 26,000 people say they are planning to attend a “Rally and Vigil for George Floyd” protest in Sydney on Saturday.

But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed NSW Police have applied in the Supreme Court to have the protest intended for tomorrow “deemed illegal”.

“The New South Wales Government would never ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders,” she said.

“That never was and never will be our intention. Let me make it very, very clear that all of us have given up so much and worked so hard in order to make sure we get on top of the virus.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said organisers are required to submit certain documentation to ensure the protest is lawful, “which did occur”.

However, he said this particular protest “has grown in numbers”.

“As of this morning, that had escalated to a potential 10,000 protesters turning up.

“I spoke to the Premier this morning and said on the basis of that, the only option was for the protesters to cease their wish to protest, or for us to take the matter to the Supreme Court.”

PM Scott Morrison said Australians should not attend protests tomorrow.

“For all of those Australians who couldn’t attend the funeral of a family member or couldn’t see a loved one in a nursing home or a veteran who couldn’t remember their fallen colleagues by attending a war memorial service on Anzac Day, I say to them don’t go,” said Mr Morrison.

“We all found a way on Anzac Day ... we stood on the end of our driveways and we held up a light”.

He said people should “find a better way” to protest. “I encourage people not to attend for those reasons, and those reasons only.”

His comments come after NSW Police Minister David Elliott said those planning to head out were “not of sound mind”.

He said anyone seeking to gather during a global pandemic was “certifiably insane” and “nuts”.

“If you attend a mass gathering and then expose any disease to a loved one, someone who is vulnerable, the elderly, you’ve acted completely inappropriately,” Mr Elliott told 2GB Radio this morning.

“I don’t think anyone who goes out during a pandemic and joins a mass gathering is of sound mind.”

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The NSW Police Minister David Elliott has criticised the planned protests. Picture: Richard Dobson

However, he admitted it was impossible to stop the rally, which is being hosted by three local activist groups at Town Hall at 3pm, and has been authorised by the NSW Police.

Up to 20,000 people are also expected at the march in Melbourne. However, police won’t be arresting or fining people for breaking social distancing rules, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.

Organisers are recommending face masks should be worn, and even suggesting attendees self-isolate for two weeks after the rally.

Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton today said he understood how strongly people feel about the death of George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis on May 25.

“Here’s where it gets difficult. In the middle of this pandemic, 20,000 people are expected to turn out in … Melbourne and that puts at risk everything we’ve been working so hard to achieve in terms of COVID-19,” Mr Dutton told the Nine Network.

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“I … would encourage everybody that’s thinking about the protests to do it from home.”

In NSW, Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said the Sydney event will require a major policing operation over the busy weekend.

“With the amount of people that are gathering together, it is a chance to take away all the good work we’ve done so far with COVID. Coming into the long weekend, my concentration particularly is around the road toll, and saving lives on our roads,” he told Today.

He said enforcing social distancing at the protest will be “very difficult” for officers.

The state’s opposition has challenged the government over its decision to allow Saturday’s Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney to go ahead while gatherings for weddings and funerals remain restricted.

While Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged participants to maintain social distancing, her critics within NSW Labor are questioning the decision to let the march take place.

Protesters in support of Black Lives Matter gathered in Perth earlier this week. Picture: AAP Image/Supplied by Simon Stevens

“Is (Premier Berejiklian) really giving her approval for a mass rally with potentially thousands of participants, when the maximum number of people allowed to visit a private home remains just five?” Opposition Leader Jodi McKay said to The Daily Telegraph on Friday.

Under restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, up to 20 people can attend weddings and up to 50 can go to funerals, places of worship, restaurants, pubs and cafes.

Householders are allowed up to five visitors and outdoor gatherings are restricted to 10 people.

Saturday’s rally in Sydney’s Hyde Park is being held to protest the deaths of Aboriginal people in custody and in solidarity with the US protests for George Floyd.

A vigil will later be held in Chippendale for Aboriginal man David Dungay and Mr Floyd.

The Government on Thursday urged NSW residents to be cautious and observe social distancing this June long weekend after intrastate travel was this week permitted.

“We’re probably doing better than we anticipated at this stage of the pandemic, however, we have to be cautious, we have to be vigilant, we have to be safe to make sure that even the mildest symptom means we get tested,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Originally published as PM’s plea to Black Lives Matter protesters