Sydney Black Lives Matter rally ends with COVID dispersal order
One of the organisers of a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney today has labelled the police force “hysterical” and vowed to keep fighting.
A 16-year-old boy filmed being led away by police in Sydney on Sunday afternoon after allegedly throwing a bottle at an officer during a Black Lives Matter protest will not be charged for doing so.
NSW police said he would instead be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act, which can involve measures such as a caution.
He was filmed being led away by police from Hyde Park, and was taken to Day Street Police Station.
The teenager was one of two people who were removed from the protest. The other was a 48-year-old man who was removed from The Domain following complaints from protesters.
It’s believed he had been antagonising another man wearing an Aboriginal flag.
A few thousand people are estimated to have attended.
Police issued “a COVID direction to disperse” at Hyde Park but said no infringement notices were issued under the Public Health Act.
Most, if not all police present at The Domain were seen wearing masks.
“NSWPF Employees wear face masks dependent upon circumstances,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“Masks are advised to be worn if police employees are interacting with a known, probable, or suspect case of COVID-19 and the interaction would fall within the definition of ‘close contact.’”
NSW Police said “all police operations assisting with the facilitation of protests in NSW have concluded”.
“High-visibility policing operations were launched to minimise the impacts of a number of rallies across NSW Sunday, and ensure the safety of participants, as well as the community and local businesses.”
Another group that marched along George Street to City Road were moved into Victoria Park shortly after 5pm, where police watched them disperse after around 20 minutes.
A social media account set up to provide updates on the protests said that a Long Range Acoustic Device (colliqually known as a sound cannon) was being set up in Victoria Park at 5:14pm, shortly after the crowd arrived and not long before it left.
A police spokesperson said they “believe an officer may have had a megaphone”.
They said if such a device was set up then it wasn’t used.
5.14pm - [VICTORIA PARK] Long Range Acoustic Device (sound cannon) being set up in Victoria Park right now
— Sydney Protest Updates (@sydcarefront) July 5, 2020
The protest was part of a national campaign of action that began on Friday, with protests in Kempsey, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle and Sydney.
It has now been more than 13 years since the start of the NT Intervention, and the restrictions it brought in are currently set to extend until at least 2022 (after being repealed and replaced in 2012).
Their immediate end is one of several outcomes protesters hope to see.
Others include reducing the funding of police and using that money to invest in communities and health and welfare services, such as hiring more social workers to do some of the work police are being asked to do now.
Shutting youth prisons is another goal, as well as the implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Organisers for the Sydney protest include a group seeking justice for David Dungay Jr, who died in Long Bay jail in 2015.
“I’m protesting to get justice for the murder of my son,” his mother Leetona Dungay said. “Like George Floyd, David pleaded for his life, screaming ‘I can’t breathe’ 12 times to Long Bay correctional officers, yet they still held him down.
“My son, and everyone else who has died at the hands of officers inside and outside of prisons in Australia and worldwide deserve justice, and I will continue to fight until we get it,” Ms Dungay added.
The Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) and the Sydney branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) were among other organisers.
“We were asked by Gadigal elders to assist in the event so it could proceed safely,” MUA Sydney branch secretary Paul McAleer told news.com.au.
“The mood was obviously sombre given we were talking about deaths in custody.
“Multiple families that have experienced that trauma spoke at length about the ongoing impact that has on family.
“The mood was also one of strength and courage and the willingness to continue fighting an unjust system.”
Mr McAleer added it was important for the union to support the movement.
“There’s been other protests basically demolished by a hysterical police force and a government that is absolutely intent on silencing those who have been traumatised.
“We’ve got numerous resolutions at the union’s highest decision making body in the national conference in defence of Indigenous justice and we will forever be engaged in the community with those who are vulnerable, marginalised, and oppressed,” he added, saying that any time these people need defending, you could count on seeing the MUA flag.
Mr McAleer said the protests were made necessary by a persistent lack of political action from both major parties and that systemic reform was needed.
“There’s no ability in this country to democratically fight for our rights.
“We have the ballot box but we have a choice between two parties that have enacted similar legislation since federation.
“There’s nothing to be had about respecting the institutions that currently exist to address these problems,” Mr McAleer added.
“The community and the working class in particular are going to fight back, socially, politically and industrially.”
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