Sydney police told organisers of a pro-Palestine rally planned for this weekend they had safety concerns over the expected crowd size and potential hazards at Town Hall including “the recent addition of over a dozen planter boxes”.
But protest organisers have said the move to block events from going ahead was “a political attack on our right to protest” – and said pointing to the planter boxes was an “obvious red herring”.
The New South Wales police said on Tuesday they would apply to the state’s supreme court to prevent two events from going ahead on 6 and 7 October, prompting criticism that their decision was “oppressive” and an “attempt to stifle dissent”.
In a letter to organisers on Monday – seen by Guardian Australia – NSW police said there was a potential impact of the Sunday rally on other users of the precinct including light rail commuters and visitors to the nearby St Andrew’s Cathedral.
NSW police did not mention the potential presence of prohibited images such as the Hezbollah flag which was allegedly displayed at last Sunday’s protest in Sydney’s CBD.
After a subsequent meeting on Tuesday morning with organisers, police said they were “not satisfied that the protest could proceed safely”. They signalled they would apply to the NSW supreme court to have Sunday’s protest banned – along with another event scheduled for Monday.
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said on Wednesday the move to ban this weekend’s Town Hall protests was “oppressive”.
“It is a harsh and oppressive move by the NSW police force to attempt to prohibit the peaceful, uninterrupted weekly assembly where people have been expressing their collective grief and support of the Palestinian people suffering the most horrific genocide,” she said in a statement.
“To learn that the reason for this undemocratic intolerance of the people’s right to protest is [partly] due to a few planter boxes on the street is cruel, callous and frankly dangerous.”
Amal Naser, a spokesperson for the Palestine Action Group, said raising the planter boxes was an “obvious red herring” and the move to ban the rallies was “a political attack on our right to protest”.
“The police could just push council to remove these temporary boxes if they were such a hazard,” she said.
Naser also argued the Town Hall precinct extended to George Street and there was “sufficient space for protesters to fit safely as has been done before”. Organisers said the rallies would go ahead even if banned by NSW police.
Pro-Palestine, climate and BLM protests had previously been organised for Town Hall and approved by police, she said.
A majority of the weekly pro-Palestine protests in Sydney over the past year have been held in Hyde Park.
NSW police suggested at Tuesday’s meeting with organisers that this weekend’s protests be moved to Hyde Park, sources say. But there was no indication police could move to ban the rallies at Town Hall.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told ABC radio a pro-Palestine rally on Monday 7 October – the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel – would be “seen as incredibly provocative”.
He said he was “worried about social cohesion”.
“We shouldn’t bring conflict here. It would not advance any cause, it would cause a great deal of stress,” Albanese said.
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The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said at a press conference on Wednesday that he “completely supports” the police decision to block the protests.
He cited it being the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on 7 October, despite police making no mention of that timing in their letter to the protest organisers.
“I want to make it clear we completely support police’s decision in relation to that application,” Minns said. “The reasons are, it’s the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel. Obviously, community anger and concern on the streets is heightened as a result of that anniversary.
“We didn’t believe, and the police don’t believe, that can be done safely with the acceptance of a form one application this coming weekend.”
Victoria police said on Wednesday they had no powers to halt a pro-Palestine rally planned for Melbourne this weekend. The state’s premier, Jacinta Allan, said people should not be protesting on 7 October, adding: “This is a very traumatic anniversary for all those involved in the conflict.”
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president, Nasser Mashni, said the protests were essential “expressions of solidarity” for communities in Australia looking to oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon.
He said people had a democratic right to protest and demand greater action from the Albanese government.
“Banning these peaceful demonstrations is a blatant attempt to stifle dissent and undermine our fundamental right to free expression and only perpetuates the cycle of violence and oppression faced by Palestinians and those struggling for justice,” Mashni said on Wednesday.
The Human Rights Law Centre’s David Mejia-Canales said: “Restricting and prohibiting protests should only ever be a measure of last resort. NSW police must prioritise less intrusive measures and consider allowing the protest to go ahead. If there is poor behaviour by individuals, then this should be dealt with accordingly, while allowing everyone else to peacefully protest.”
Labor Friends of Palestine NSW wrote to the state’s police minister, Yasmin Catley, urging the Labor government to find a compromise to allow the weekend protests to proceed.
In the letter, the group said “rank and file ALP branch members have demonstrated consistent support for the Palestinian people through branch and conference resolutions, fundraising for humanitarian aid, and through participation in the weekly rallies” and that Labor Friends of Palestine members had “participated in every Sydney rally for the last 51 weeks”.