Crowd safety concerns raised after pro-Palestinian march in Sydney
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A pro-Palestinian protest across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday has been described as a ‘wake up call’ for Australian politicians, with the crowd size far exceeding even the organiser’s expectations.
A New South Wales Supreme Court ruling on Saturday meant the so-called ‘March for Humanity’ was able to go ahead, after overturning the New South Wales Government’s decision to deny approval for the protest.
New South Wales Police estimate that some 90,000 people braved the rainy conditions to join the demonstration -vhowever the organisers estimate the number to be closer to 300,000.
The march was the first time the iconic Harbour Bridge has been closed for an anti-war protest.
Politicians have reacted to the call, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it was a peaceful display.
“In a democracy it’s a good thing that people peacefully express their views and yesterday’s march was peaceful and was an opportunity for people to express their concern about what is happening in Gaza and the images that we’ve seen. It’s not surprising that so many Australians have been affected in order to want to show their concern.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the march made a powerful statement.
“Australians are rightly appalled by the tragedy that they see unfolding on their screens playing out in Gaza. It’s a tragedy that we all want to see stop. It’s why the government has been calling for a ceasefire for a very long period of time. It’s also why we have been increasing our humanitarian assistance.”
Today the federal government announced aid for Gaza will be increased by an extra $20 million.
The Assistant Minister on Foreign Affairs and Trade also says the Prime Minister is seeking a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News the matter is being escalated.
Former Labor frontbencher Ed Husic told the ABC the march has been a wake-up call for Australian politicians.
“Just as some underestimated the amount of people that would turn up on the bridge, I think Australian politics has underestimate underestimated how strongly Australians feel about this issue.”
However, some MP’s have expressed reservations about the event.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley acknowledged that while Australians want to see more humanitarian support for people in Gaza, she questioned whether shutting down the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a protest was necessary.
“We can’t continue to have these protests that shut down such an important area of a major city and we know, ultimately Australians do want to see Gazans fed, and want to see Israeli hostages released, they want to see the war end. But these events are overseas, this is a shutting down of a major city.”
Safety concerns at Sunday’s march prompted police into action and New South Wales police activated an emergency text messaging system for the first time.
In the mid-afternoon, protestors received a text saying the march needed to stop due to public safety and asking them to turn around.
A circling police helicopter also broadcast messages – causing some confusion in the dense crowd.
But the event otherwise took place without any reported incidents.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says he is keen to ensure shutting down Sydney’s most recognisable landmark isn’t a regular occurrence and says his legal team will assess the Supreme Court’s ruling that allowed the protest to go ahead.
Mr Minns praised the behaviour of protestors but says he does not regret voicing opposition and safety concerns.
“Many people who were part of the protests would understand that we can’t shut down the bridge every weekend and it’s a difficult one for us to get right.”
However, organiser Josh Lees of the Palestine Action Group says the day was an inspiring display from Australians and sends a potent message to parliament.
“This was everything that we hope it would be and more. yesterday we sent an incredibly powerful message to the world — this has been broadcast all around the world. I’ve heard really moving stories from people in Gaza, kids in Gaza were watching our march live over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And of course I think it sent an unmissable message to our own government here that now they absolutely must sanction Israel.”
