Organisers of pro-Palestine events planned for Sydney’s long weekend have agreed to cancel a controversial vigil scheduled for Monday 7 October but are pushing ahead with plans to rally on Sunday.
New South Wales police this week launched a supreme court action to have both events deemed unlawful, citing concerns over expected crowd size and potential hazards including “planter boxes” at Town Hall.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said a pro-Palestine event on 7 October – the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel – would be “seen as incredibly provocative”. He said he was “worried about social cohesion”.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said on Thursday that he feared the vigil could turn into a major protest and “that would cause huge harm to social harmony in NSW and it’s reasonable for the government and the police to try and prevent [that]”.
It was revealed in the supreme court on Thursday afternoon that organisers had dropped plans to hold the vigil on Monday.
Justice Jeremy Kirk said protest organisers had also proposed a solution to address police concerns about Sunday’s protest.
Kirk said an email sent by the Palestine Action Group to police on Tuesday evening suggested they could move the Sunday rally to start in Hyde Park – where most of the weekly protests have been held over the past 12 months.
Assistant commissioner Peter McKenna told the court the police were worried about the planned march route the protesters would take on Sunday after leaving Hyde Park. It would pass Sydney’s Great Synagogue.
McKenna said the force was concerned there was a “more aggressive feeling” at last weekend’s rally in Sydney following the expansion of the Middle East conflict and Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
“We are concerned there will be a much larger crowd 1727935683,” he said in court. The assistant commissioner alleged Sunday’s rally saw people carrying “prohibited items” – namely Hezbollah flags – and he said police had deployed capsicum spray when surrounded by a group of men. McKenna disputed the person pepper-sprayed was 13-years-old.
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Arjun Chhabra, representing the protest organisers, subsequently told the court the proposed route was suggested by NSW police on Tuesday night.
Joshua Lees from the Palestine Action Group told the court there had been “a big spike” in protest numbers last Sunday and he expected a similar number this weekend. He said a realistic estimate was 5,000 people – but there had been much larger rallies over the past year.
The supreme court hearing continues.
