Sydney Community Groups Willing To Risk Arrest To Protest On Invasion Day
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Community groups and activists in Sydney have voted to defy the NSW government’s protest restrictions, saying they’re willing to risk arrest to protest on Invasion Day.
More than one hundred members from groups including the Blak Caucus, Palestine Action Group, Pride in Protest, and Stop The War On Palestine met on Monday night and agreed to march on Invasion Day if the NSW Police Commissioner chooses to extent the protest restrictions.
Created in response to the Bondi terror attack, the Minns government last year passed legislation that sees restrictions on the authorisations of protests across a specified area for 14 days and up to three months following the declaration of a terrorist incident.
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon enacted a 14-day ban on protest applications across parts of Sydney on Christmas Eve, and chose to extend the restrictions for another 14 days on January 6.
“This is a time for community to come together and to show respect and courtesy. It’s not a time for large public assemblies and division,” he said.
The matter is set to be reviewed on Wednesday, with an extension impacting annual Invasion Day protests on Monday.
“We will not accept Chris Minns stealing our most fundamental democratic rights and preventing Indigenous people marching on Invasion Day when we’ve just had the highest number of Black deaths in custody on record,” Stop The War On Palestine spokesperson Adam Adelpour told City Hub.
The groups also voted to support Pride in Protest’s upcoming Mardi Gras street rally, and to protest Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, reported to take place on 7 February.
“We will also not accept this restriction banning banning us from marching when the president of a genocidal state Israel comes to Australia. We are absolutely committed to defying these laws.”
Legislation already formally challenged by advocate groups
Protesters at a rally commemorating 10 years since the death of Dunghutti man David Dungay Jr in police custody were ordered to move on by NSW Police on Sunday, with speakers telling the 200-strong crowd at Hyde Park it was more important than ever to march on Invasion Day, regardless of the restrictions.
“The presence of attendees on that day is going to be influxed and that’s why it’s important that people revoke those laws,” said Dungay’s nephew and protest organiser, Paul Silva. “We know that we can get 20,000-plus people to have a day of mourning with First Nations people.”
Palestine Action Group, Jews Against Occupation ‘48 and the Blak Caucus last month announced their intention to formally challenge the legislation in court, arguing that premier Chris Minns is unfairly conflating the attack with the pro-Palestinian movement.
“By hiding behind ‘Jewish safety’, you are not only scapegoating millions of Australians protesting genocide, but using Jewish people as your human shields,” said Jews Against Occupation organiser, Michelle Berkon. “We will bear the resentment of the community; you are endangering us, shame on you.”
President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Timothy Roberts, condemned the restriction on protest authorisations, saying the Sydney community shouldn’t have to fear police intervention at public assemblies.
“The Police Commissioner should never have been given these powers and has demonstrated he does not have the restraint to keep them,” he said. “In using and extending the power, the NSW Police Commissioner suppresses the community’s freedom to assemble and politically communicate. This is an infringement on the people of NSW’s ability to engage in democracy and has implications at both a federal and state level.
“The people of NSW deserve a government that is genuinely interested in combating racism, not merely repressing the expression of opinions they do not agree with.”
