‘Can’t waltz in’: Western Sydney mayor says ‘no’ to Burney Voice event with no permit

It was a hard “no” from a Sydney council after it discovered organsiers of a Yes campaign pro-Voice rally featuring Linda Burney hadn’t filed for the relevant permits.

A Western Sydney council has said “no” to the Yes campaign after discovering the ALP had organised a large pro-Voice rally featuring Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney without filling out the required paperwork.

The event, billed as a “Cabramatta Rally with Linda Burney”, was to take place at midday on Thursday at Cabramatta’s Cabravale Memorial Park with the minister as well as local Labor politicians scheduled to attend.

However, Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone said that he contacted organisers to tell them the event could not go forward because the relevant permissions had not been filed, saying “ they should not expect to waltz in from North Sydney and take over our parks.”

“The land is public land and the safety of our community comes first … approvals need to apply to everyone, no matter what the event, who is behind the event, or who is coming to the event.”

“We value democratic free speech and the right of people to express their views, but it doesn’t matter if it is a Yes or a No rally, the rules apply to everyone and council and policy approval is required for any large event in public spaces.”

Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone. Picture: AAP

The Daily Telegraph understands a local Labor member had concerns about the planned event, which they learned about in an email from the ALP, and reported it to authorities.

Normally organisers of events such as political rallies need to file a Local Activity Approval Application, show proof of public liability insurance and notify police.

Linda Burney on a door stop interview as she promotes the Yes23 campaign, in Kalamunda. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE/Philip Gostelow

The knock-back is the latest embarrassment for the pro-Voice camp, which has been pinged twice this week by the Australian Electoral Commission over misleading campaign signage and material.

Earlier this week the official Yes23 campaign was told by the AEC that purple “Vote Yes” signs at pre-poll booths styled to look like official AEC signage were misleading.

On Wednesday, the AEC also asked the Yes campaign to delete a tweet which suggested that an X would be a legitimate “no” vote, when in fact it would spoil a ballot.

The Yes23 campaign said it was not involved with organising the Cabravale event.

Ms Burney’s office said they were trying to find a new venue for the rally.

Originally published as ‘Can’t waltz in’: Western Sydney mayor says ‘no’ to Burney Voice event with no permit