Sydney Harbour Bridge protest showdown looms after Chris Minns’ intervention

Chris Minns has blocked a planned march but defiant activists say ‘it’s not just up to the Premier to decide’, as ECAJ co-chair Alex Ryvchin says the protest would be ‘sullying another icon’.

Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin has compared the planned bridge march to the widely condemned Opera House protest staged on October 9, 2023. Picture: Jane Dempster

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Pro-Palestine activists barred from marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge by Premier Chris Minns plan to defy any orders should negotiations with the state government and NSW police fall through.

Mr Minns said on Monday that he would block and divert any planned protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge after the Palestine Action Group announced it had requested the state government divert traffic to allow the “March for Humanity” on Sunday, August 3, in protest against “the horrific suffering in Gaza”.

Mr Minns said the NSW government “cannot support a protest of this scale and nature taking place on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially with one week’s notice”.

“The bridge is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in our city – used every day by thousands of people,” he said.

“Unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns. We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos.

“NSW police are in discussions with organisers about other routes they can take and are working to ensure community safety is upheld.”

But Palestine Action Group spokesman Josh Lees told The Australian the march would seek to go ahead regardless, although he did not want to pre-empt negotiations with police.

“Thankfully, it’s not all up to the Premier to decide if the people of NSW can protest,” he said.

Asked if protesters would march if negotiations failed, he said: “Yes, but it’s premature to discuss that. We still haven’t heard from the police.”

The Palestine Action Group plans to march on Sunday. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chair Alex Ryvchin said the protest would be “sullying another Australian icon” and urged the state government to stand firm.

“These very sorts of protests brought such shame and disgrace to our city at the foot of one of our other iconic landmarks not so long ago,” Mr Ryvchin said. “These protesters disgraced our country at the Opera House and dealt a blow to Australian decency from which we’re still reeling. The Premier is right to stop them from sullying another Australian icon.

“The last thing we need is another spectacle like that.

“We’ve seen the tenor, the mood, the slogans of these protests become progressively more aggressive, more vitriolic, more hateful and more unlawful in many cases. So, with this plan to take place here on our Harbour Bridge, there’s every chance that things will escalate further.

“This is one of our most iconic landmarks. It’s the beating heart of our city. We don’t need it sullied with this extremism that’s been ripping our society apart.

“Australians are sick of the cost, the disruptions and the extremism that come from these protests. This is the time to enforce our laws and ensure our city is open to everyone.”

Mr Lees said in an earlier statement that the Harbour Bridge was Australia’s “most iconic symbol” and allowing marchers to cross it would “send a powerful message to the world, to Gaza, and to Israel, that we are determined to stand up for humanity”.

He invited Anthony Albanese to participate. Following Mr Minns’ intervention, Mr Lees questioned whether safety was falsely being cited as a reason to block the protest.

“The Premier warns of chaos, but there is nothing chaotic about people marching for peace, to stop mass starvation. We call on the NSW authorities to work with us to plan this event and stand on the right side of history,” he said.

Palestine Action Group spokesman Joshua Lees has also led a constitutional challenge against the state government’s anti-protest laws. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“The horrific suffering in Gaza is urgent and unprecedented, demanding an unprecedented response from the international community. That is why we have called for an urgent March for Humanity, to save Gaza, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge this Sunday.

“If the Premier says we need more time to plan such an event, then would he agree to support the March for Humanity a week later? Or is this a disingenuous concern?”

He argued past closures such as one for a World Pride march in 2023 bolstered their case for a protest, pointing to an exemptions given to Universal Studios for filming of its Sydney-based feature film Fall Guy as precedent.

Mr Lees is leading a constitutional challenge against the state’s anti-protest laws passed in February, which gave police broader powers to block protests held near places of worship.

The protest comes after the Prime Minister gave his strongest rebuke of Israel to date, albeit while backing away from recognising Palestine statehood in the “immediate future”. Mr Albanese on Sunday accused Israel of breaching international law by standing in the way of aid supplies being delivered to Palestinians.

NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson came out in support of the march, saying her party would “do everything we can to protect this protest from Labor Premier Chris Minns and any attempts by the NSW Police Force to stop it”.

Independent MP Mark Latham said he “might just walk across the bridge” if able and argued it was “a march for free speech” following the introduction of the anti-protest laws.

“Bob Carr saw it first: the dictatorial suppression of free speech, fairness and humanity by the Jewish lobby,” he said on social media.

“From the start I said people should not bring their Middle Eastern grievances to Australia.

“But after Chris Minns sucked up to the powerful Jewish lobby and legislated under false pretences – Dural caravan – to stop protests, this march is in large part a march for free speech.”

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman backed in Mr Minns, saying it was “absolutely the right call” to divert the protest.

“The Harbour Bridge belongs to everyone,” Mr Speakman said. “I can understand people have sincere and passionate views about what is happening in the Middle East. Whichever way you look at it, it is a tragedy. The failure to release the hostages is a tragedy. The initial terrorist attack is a tragedy, and what is happening to innocent people in Gaza is a tragedy.

“But that said, there are plenty of other ways you can protest, including public protests. There are plenty of other venues where the protesters can march, can have stationary protests. That’s what they should be doing.

“Absolutely they should not be taking over the Harbour Bridge.”