A number of New South Wales Labor MPs have publicly broken ranks with Premier Chris Minns, vowing to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza this weekend, despite a looming legal challenge by police to block the demonstration.
Labor upper house MPs Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D’Adam, Linda Voltz, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine were among 15 New South Wales parliamentarians who signed an open letter on Thursday evening calling on the government to facilitate “a safe and orderly event” on Sunday.
The NSW Police are seeking a supreme court order to block the protest, which, if granted, would strip the event of legal protections under the state’s protest laws. Participants could then be arrested under anti-protest legislation for unauthorised assembly or obstruction.
Lawrence, a barrister and long-time civil liberties advocate, likened the situation to the police crackdown on Sydney’s first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978. He warned of the dangers of the “slow and steady demonisation of protest”.
In a statement posted on social media on Friday, Lawrence said: “We have seen in these respects one long, unprincipled capitulation to reactionary politics, and it is dangerous. I am a member of the Labor Party, not the Liberal Party. Our party is founded on protest and collective action. Attending is my way of sending a message that, in my view, we need to change course.”
While acknowledging that the protest’s circumstances were “not ideal”, Lawrence insisted the march had become “absolutely inevitable”, citing the government’s mishandling of the situation as a catalyst.
He said he wished to express his “utter revulsion” at Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing countries like Australia of providing diplomatic cover for ongoing atrocities.
The open letter was also signed by independents Alex Greenwich and Jacqui Scruby; Greens MPs Jenny Leong, Tamara Smith, Kobi Shetty, Sue Higginson, Cate Faehrmann, Abigail Boyd and Amanda Cohn; and libertarian MLC John Ruddick.
Greenwich, the MP for Sydney, said the protest aimed to send a powerful message of solidarity.
“Having successfully lobbied the previous Coalition government to allow a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of LGBTQ equality during Sydney WorldPride, I know it can be done,” he said.
On Tuesday, Deputy Police Commissioner Peter McKenna announced that NSW Police had rejected the protest organisers’ proposed route over the Harbour Bridge to the US Consulate, citing safety concerns.
Police said they were open to negotiating alternative routes. However, the Sydney-based Palestine Action Group, which is organising the protest, responded by stating the march “must go ahead” and vowed to challenge the police decision in court.
Premier Chris Minns on Friday urged people to respect the outcome of the court’s ruling.
“I acknowledge there’s a lot of people in Sydney, in NSW, who want to be part of a protest,” Minns said. “They’re very concerned about what’s happening in Gaza to Palestinians, and they want to be heard.”
Minns argued that demonstrators could still make their voices heard without causing disruption, insisting that marching across the bridge would plunge the city into “chaos”.
Acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell supported the premier’s stance, saying organisers were well aware their proposed route was not supported.
“They know that we are an organisation that they can trust and that we will facilitate their marches, but it just won’t be going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” he said.
Thurtell warned that closing the bridge would disrupt more than 40,000 vehicles and cause at least six hours of city-wide delays.
“There is no way it’s a one-hour operation for the police,” he said.
Sydney’s weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations have largely taken place within the CBD, but organisers believe a symbolic march over the bridge will amplify the urgency of their message.
If the court sides with police, the protest could still proceed, but participants risk arrest if they block traffic or otherwise breach protest laws. However, the bridge’s pedestrian walkway on the eastern side remains accessible.
