NSW Police warn protesters not to march, consider ban extension
Police are working on contingencies for major protests planned for Australia Day if a ban on marching on Sydney’s streets is extended.
The decision may depend on what happens with the rallies planned for the CBD in the coming days.
A restriction on public gatherings came as part of the state government’s response to the Bondi Beach terror attack and was first introduced on December 24, hours after the laws came into force.
A protest on Friday will call for the repeal of anti-protest laws at City Hall, but no march is planned.
Another protest calling for a new investigation into Aboriginal deaths in custody is planned for noon on Sunday in Hyde Park in the Sydney CBD. The protest is tied to the 10th anniversary of the in-custody death of David Dungay Jr.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said the march ban was to promote calm and social harmony following the worst terrorist attack in Australian history.
“It is time to reduce the tension in society”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon first extended the restriction for a further two weeks on January 6.
An additional extension, if carried out, would include an anti-immigrant Australia March rally alongside Invasion Day rallies typically held on January 26. Neo-Nazi group soon to be disbanded was scheduled for the same day.
The declaration means police will not accept applications for mass gatherings, exempting protesters accused of blocking roads or footpaths during the march.
McKenna said community tensions and social cohesion will be re-evaluated before the commissioner decides on Tuesday whether to issue another 14-day declaration.
“We are currently working with organizers of various public gatherings on Australia Day and will have different possibilities to work with them regardless of whether there is a declaration.”
Adam Adelpour, spokesman for Stop the War on Palestine, said Friday’s rally against the state government’s anti-protest law will feature “a broad representation voicing the community’s opposition to these brutal laws and genocide.”
“We will stand against [Premier] In a statement Thursday, Adelpour blasted Chris Minn’s anti-protest laws and his shameful attempt to exploit the Bondi tragedy to silence critics of Israel’s genocide.
“Protest is like a muscle, if you want to keep it you have to keep using it.”
Meanwhile, David Dungay Jr’s nephew Paul Silva told AAP this week that he expected Sunday’s march to go ahead.
“We are not there to create any violence or conflict between the police or other members of the community,” Silva said, adding that extending the proclamation banning marches would be “disgusting.”
McKenna said Thursday that police were “negotiating” with organizers of Sunday’s rally but had not yet contacted organizers of Friday’s protest.
“Whatever happens, we send them the message that we will be there in numbers and talk to them very early in the work and make sure they understand exactly what is expected.”
McKenna said police were not opposed to the protests and assisted nearly 1000 people in the Sydney CBD last year.
“The meaning of the declaration is that we do not accept form 1. [applications] right now,” McKenna said.
“Not having Form 1 available means you can’t obstruct pedestrians, you can’t block footpaths, you can’t block roads, you can’t walk in the streets and those kinds of things.
“People can still have free speech, people can still gather in a park or somewhere without impeding people,” McKenna said.
McKenna said there have been 25 static protests since December, when the declaration restricting applications was first made.
An appeal against the laws has been filed with the Supreme Court, to be returned on January 29.
Palestine Action Group organizer Josh Lees vowed to oppose the protest ban following a court hearing last Friday.
“We reject the NSW government’s undemocratic anti-protest laws and their ridiculous, unfounded justifications,” he said in this imprint on Thursday.
Lanyon first extended the ban days after a rally held after the United States captured ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The rally was held hours after Maduro’s capture, but applications for public meetings generally must be made at least seven days in advance unless otherwise approved by the police commissioner or the Supreme Court.
Three people were arrested at the Venezuela protest, but no charges were filed.
Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
