Pro-Palestine protesters gather outside NSW Premier Chris Minns’ Kogarah office
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Chris Minns’ election office on Sunday afternoon, and the demonstration was followed by a heavy police presence.
Activists from the Sydney Palestine Action Group and members of the Greens gathered along the footpath outside the Prime Minister’s office at the Rail Parade in Kogarah.
Many protesters carried Palestinian flags, while a small platform was set up for speakers who addressed the crowd throughout the afternoon.
The banners carried by the demonstrators included messages such as “Protect your right to protest” and “Justice for women is now” as well as the flags of the Green party.
Police officers were stationed along the road near the meeting but remained off the footpath where protesters had gathered. The demonstration appeared to continue peacefully.
At one point the group marched along the Railway Parade in Kogarah, with police walking alongside them as they advanced through the area.
The protest comes amid an ongoing legal and political dispute over new anti-protest laws introduced by the NSW government.
Palestine Action Group Sydney is currently leading a constitutional challenge in the NSW Supreme Court against legislation allowing the police commissioner to issue public gathering restriction declarations, suspending the traditional permit system for protests.
The group argued that the laws imposed an undue burden on the implied constitutional freedom of political communication, while the state government said the measures were necessary to protect public order.
The dispute follows months of major demonstrations in Sydney linked to the war in Gaza and tensions between activists and police over the right to march on the city’s streets.
