Organisers of a pro-Palestine protest have pledged to fight the New South Wales police in court after the force rejected an application to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge this weekend. Deputy Police Commissioner Peter McKenna cited safety risks as the reason for the decision, but said police were open to negotiating alternative routes.
The Sydney-based Palestine Action Group, which had proposed a route across the bridge to the US consulate, stated that the protest 'must go ahead'. Spokesperson Josh Lees said: 'We will see them in court.' The group had previously offered to delay the march by a week, and later by two to three weeks, but Premier Chris Minns ruled out closing the bridge under any circumstances.
Premier Minns acknowledged widespread community concern about the war in Gaza but argued that shutting the bridge would be beyond government resources. Labor MP Anthony D’Adam, sacked from his parliamentary secretary roles after criticising police tactics at a previous pro-Palestine demonstration, urged police to facilitate the protest within one to two weeks. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore also backed working with organisers, calling a bridge protest a 'powerful symbol' against starvation in Gaza.
Three unions—the Nurses Association, the Australian Services Union, and the Electrical Trades Union—along with 300 other organisations, have endorsed the march. The group had submitted a 'form one' notification to police, which if accepted would protect attendees from anti-protest laws. The Supreme Court will now have the final say on whether the protest can proceed legally.
Deputy Commissioner McKenna said closing the bridge requires months of planning and that the current proposal posed an unmanageable public safety risk. Police will have resources on standby in case the protest goes ahead without authorisation. The situation echoes the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest, where a rally was declared an authorised assembly minutes before it started.
