This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/01/labor-mps-pro-palestine-march-gaza-protest-sydney-harbour-bridge
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Five Labor MPs defy NSW premier and vow to attend pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge | Five Labor MPs defy NSW premier and vow to attend pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| ALP MLC Stephen Lawrence criticises ‘slow and steady demonisation of protest’ in NSW | ALP MLC Stephen Lawrence criticises ‘slow and steady demonisation of protest’ in NSW |
| Australian activists allege they were ‘brutalised psychologically’ after Israeli military detained Gaza aid boat | Australian activists allege they were ‘brutalised psychologically’ after Israeli military detained Gaza aid boat |
| Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates | Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates |
| Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast | Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast |
| Several New South Wales Labor MPs have defied their premier, Chris Minns, by vowing to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza this weekend as police attempt to challenge the protest in court. | Several New South Wales Labor MPs have defied their premier, Chris Minns, by vowing to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza this weekend as police attempt to challenge the protest in court. |
| Labor’s Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D’Adam, Linda Voltz, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine were among 15 NSW politicians who signed an open letter on Thursday evening calling on the government to facilitate “a safe and orderly event” on Sunday. | Labor’s Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D’Adam, Linda Voltz, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine were among 15 NSW politicians who signed an open letter on Thursday evening calling on the government to facilitate “a safe and orderly event” on Sunday. |
| Police were due to oppose the protest in the NSW supreme court on Friday afternoon. If successful, that move would strip protesters of certain legal protections and leave them vulnerable to arrest if they decided to proceed with a so-called “unauthorised” march. | Police were due to oppose the protest in the NSW supreme court on Friday afternoon. If successful, that move would strip protesters of certain legal protections and leave them vulnerable to arrest if they decided to proceed with a so-called “unauthorised” march. |
| Sign up: AU Breaking News email | |
| Lawrence said the state’s “slow and steady demonisation of protest” risked repeating the events which led to Sydney’s first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras march in 1978 being met with police violence. | Lawrence said the state’s “slow and steady demonisation of protest” risked repeating the events which led to Sydney’s first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras march in 1978 being met with police violence. |
| In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, Lawrence criticised “the passage of laws that allow police to be used to end protests the government doesn’t like”. | In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, Lawrence criticised “the passage of laws that allow police to be used to end protests the government doesn’t like”. |
| “We have seen in these respects one long, unprincipled capitulation to reactionary politics and it is dangerous,” the Labor MLC said. | “We have seen in these respects one long, unprincipled capitulation to reactionary politics and it is dangerous,” the Labor MLC said. |
| “I am a member of the Labor party, not the Liberal party. Our party is founded on protest and collective action. Attending is my way of sending a message that, in my view, we need to change course.” | “I am a member of the Labor party, not the Liberal party. Our party is founded on protest and collective action. Attending is my way of sending a message that, in my view, we need to change course.” |
| Lawrence said while the circumstances of the protest were “not ideal”, the event had become “absolutely inevitable”, which he said was “largely because of the way it has been mishandled”. | |
| He said he wanted to attend Sunday’s march to express his “utter revulsion” at Israel’s actions – which he said other countries, including Australia, had provided cover for. | He said he wanted to attend Sunday’s march to express his “utter revulsion” at Israel’s actions – which he said other countries, including Australia, had provided cover for. |
| The other NSW parliamentarians who signed the letter calling on the government to allow the march over the Harbour Bridge were independents Alex Greenwich and Jacqui Scruby and the Greens’ Jenny Leong, Tamara Smith, Kobi Shetty, Sue Higginson, Cate Faehrmann, Abigail Boyd and Amanda Cohn. Libertarian John Ruddick was also on the list. | The other NSW parliamentarians who signed the letter calling on the government to allow the march over the Harbour Bridge were independents Alex Greenwich and Jacqui Scruby and the Greens’ Jenny Leong, Tamara Smith, Kobi Shetty, Sue Higginson, Cate Faehrmann, Abigail Boyd and Amanda Cohn. Libertarian John Ruddick was also on the list. |
| Greenwich, the state MP for Sydney, said he shared the “widespread community horror” over what was happening in Gaza and said marching across the bridge would send a powerful message of solidarity. | Greenwich, the state MP for Sydney, said he shared the “widespread community horror” over what was happening in Gaza and said marching across the bridge would send a powerful message of solidarity. |
| “Having successfully lobbied the previous Coalition government to allow a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of LGBTQ equality during Sydney WorldPride, I know it can be done,” he said in a statement. | “Having successfully lobbied the previous Coalition government to allow a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of LGBTQ equality during Sydney WorldPride, I know it can be done,” he said in a statement. |
| On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner Peter McKenna announced the force had rejected an application from the protest organisers proposing a route across the Harbour Bridge to the US consulate, citing safety risks as the reason. | On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner Peter McKenna announced the force had rejected an application from the protest organisers proposing a route across the Harbour Bridge to the US consulate, citing safety risks as the reason. |
| He said police were open to negotiating alternative routes. | He said police were open to negotiating alternative routes. |
| However, the protest organisers, the Sydney-based Palestine Action Group, said in a statement that the protest “must go ahead” and vowed to fight in court for their right to stage a protected protest. | |
| The premier on Friday morning said he expected “everybody in NSW to respect the outcome of the court’s decision”. | |
| Sign up to Morning Mail | Sign up to Morning Mail |
| Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters | Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters |
| after newsletter promotion | after newsletter promotion |
| “I acknowledge there’s a lot of people in Sydney, in NSW, that want to be part of a protest,” Minns told reporters. “They’re very concerned about what’s happening in Gaza to Palestinians and they want to be heard.” | “I acknowledge there’s a lot of people in Sydney, in NSW, that want to be part of a protest,” Minns told reporters. “They’re very concerned about what’s happening in Gaza to Palestinians and they want to be heard.” |
| Minns said people who were planning to participate in the protest would still have “every opportunity to be heard” even with an alternative route. Earlier in the week, he suggested a march over the bridge would cause the city to “descend into chaos”. | Minns said people who were planning to participate in the protest would still have “every opportunity to be heard” even with an alternative route. Earlier in the week, he suggested a march over the bridge would cause the city to “descend into chaos”. |
| The acting police commissioner, Peter Thurtell, said the protest organisers were “well aware” the force did not support their plans. | |
| “They know that we are an organisation that they can trust and that we will facilitate their marches, but it just won’t be going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” he said on Friday. | |
| “We’re obviously assessing what happens after the supreme court hearing, in terms of the number of police that we will utilise.” | |
| Thurtell said if the bridge was cut off, more than 40,000 vehicles would be stopped, resulting in a disruption lasting more than six hours. | |
| “There are lots of things that need to go into place in order for us to facilitate what the organisers have said is a one-hour operation,” he told reporters. “There is no way it’s a one-hour operation for the police.” | |
| Sydney’s weekly pro-Palestine rallies have typically involved marches through the CBD. | Sydney’s weekly pro-Palestine rallies have typically involved marches through the CBD. |
| A march across the Harbour Bridge could still go ahead on Sunday if the court sides with police but protesters could face being arrested under anti-protest laws if they obstructed traffic, for example. | A march across the Harbour Bridge could still go ahead on Sunday if the court sides with police but protesters could face being arrested under anti-protest laws if they obstructed traffic, for example. |
| There is a pedestrian footpath across the bridge on its eastern side. | There is a pedestrian footpath across the bridge on its eastern side. |