Pro-Palestine activists vow court action over march on Sydney Harbour Bridge

Pro-Palestine activists have vowed to stage a legal challenge against any effort to prevent a planned march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, saying they are committed to the demonstration despite Premier Chris Minns saying he would not allow the city to “descend into chaos”.

Palestine Action Group applied to NSW Police to march over what it described as “Australia’s most iconic symbol” on Sunday afternoon as part of a demonstration against the starvation in Gaza. Minns on Monday rejected the call for the government to facilitate the rally, saying police would work with protest organisers to find an alternative route.

Pro-Palestine and pro-Iran protesters marching through Sydney in June.Credit: Max Mason-Hubers

The group’s spokesperson, Josh Lees, said organisers had not been contacted by NSW Police and insisted the group would contest any effort to challenge their application through the courts.

“We are committed to a mass March for Humanity across our Sydney Harbour Bridge to save Gaza. If the police take us to court to try to stop the people of NSW from marching then we will contest that. We need urgent global action to stop the genocide in Gaza,” Lees said.

Minns said earlier his government would not support a “protest of this scale” taking place on the Harbour Bridge with only 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. Unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns,” he said.

About 250,000 people marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000 in support of reconciliation.Credit: SMH

“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.”

Lees had previously said “there is nothing chaotic about people marching for peace, to stop mass starvation” and asked the premier, if the organisers’ short notice was the primary issue, whether he would accept a march one week later.

A spokeswoman for NSW Police said the Form 1 application had been received by Sydney City Police Area Command and officers were consulting the relevant stakeholders.

If NSW Police oppose the Form 1 application – a submission advising police of protesters’ intention to undertake a moving rally – they would need to apply to the Supreme Court for an order prohibiting the demonstration. This happened in October after Palestine Action Group announced it would hold two rallies, including one on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel.

In a social media post on Sunday night, the Palestine Action Group noted the Harbour Bridge had been closed during World Pride in March 2023, as well as being shut down from 3am to 10am to shoot a scene for the Ryan Gosling film The Fall Guy earlier that year.

“As Australia’s most iconic symbol, a mass march across the Harbour Bridge will send a powerful message to the world, to Gaza, to Israel, and to our own government, that we are determined to stand up for humanity,” the group wrote on Instagram.

“We call on the NSW authorities, and the NSW government, to facilitate this March for Humanity.”

On Sunday, Anthony Albanese resisted calls to recognise a Palestinian state, but accused Israel of breaching international law by blocking aid into Gaza and warned President Benjamin Netanyahu his government was “losing support” globally.

In October, Minns said NSW Police should be able to prevent weekly pro-Palestinian protests from occurring because of the “huge drain on the public purse”.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said there were “plenty of other venues where the protesters can march” and they “absolutely should not be taking over the Harbour Bridge”.

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