Harbour Bridge protest in limbo after police argue crowd crush threat

A decision on the fate of a pro-Palestine march across the Harbour Bridge will be made on Saturday after police argued it would bring too great a risk to public safety, in part because of threats of a counter-protest in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel which has since been cancelled.

NSW Police is seeking a prohibition order in the Supreme Court against a planned march across the bridge by the Palestine Action Group on Sunday.

A last-minute application to police by fringe pro-Israel group Never Again is Now was lodged on Friday, and threatened to block the tunnel in recognition of hostages held in tunnels by Hamas, NSW Police’s barrister Lachlan Gyles, SC, told the court.

The competing protests could lead to clashes and hostility, as well as risks to safety if the bridge needed to be closed, he argued. A police spokesperson confirmed that the counter-protest was withdrawn on Friday evening.

About 100 supporters tried to enter the packed court on Friday afternoon, which had to briefly pause as activists pushed in and sat on the floor.

The court heard up to 100,000 protesters could descend on the bridge on Sunday, which police argue cannot be accommodated safely in such a short time frame.

“This is really unprecedented … in terms of scale, level of risk, lack of time to prepare, and of course location, which is one of the main arteries in one of the largest cities in the world,” Gyles said.

Gyles argued if “there are violent scenes” or if ambulances were blocked from accessing patients, “the court has to be concerned about being seen to condone that”.

Activists say they are willing to delay this weekend’s march over the Harbour Bridge if police agree to support the protest.

The protesters plan to march from Lang Park near Wynyard to the US consulate in North Sydney at 1pm on Sunday.

“Fifty thousand people at Lang Park, whether authorised or unauthorised, has significant public safety risk, crowd crush. I’m personally concerned about that,” acting Assistant Police Commissioner Adam Johnson said under cross-examination.

Palestine Action Group protester Josh Lees, who earlier described the protest as “unstoppable”, told the court he believed that closing the appropriate roads and allowing people to protest on the bridge would in fact be safer.

He argued that the short amount of planning time was necessary because a protest needed to happen immediately to have maximum effect as the world grappled with images of starving children in Gaza. Lees said police had appropriate powers to adequately protect the public from risks of counterprotests.

The prohibition order would not ban the protest, but would revoke certain protections, including for blocking roads.

On behalf of the Palestinian Action Group, barrister Felicity Graham argued having crowds between 50,000 to 100,000 was a foregone conclusion for this Sunday, and being able to safely march on the roads without the threat of arrest would be a far safer outcome for the public.

“It would create a very fluid, dangerous and unstable situation if the court grants this application. It’s unclear exactly what would unfold, but it’s clear police wish to have powers to arrest people simply for being on a road,” she said.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna earlier told 2GB the protest was “stoppable” and accused protesters of communicating mixed messages about whether the protest would go ahead regardless of the court outcome.

The protest has revealed unrest within Premier Chris Minns’ party, with five Labor MPs joining the Greens and independent crossbenchers to sign a letter supporting the march, after Minns declared it should not go ahead.

Labor’s Sarah Kaine, Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D’Adam, Cameron Murphy and Lynda Voltz all pledged to join Sunday’s protest, along with independents Alex Greenwich, Jacqui Scruby and Libertarian John Ruddick.

The letter detailed “in strong terms our disapproval of the ongoing starvation of the Palestinian people” and called on the government to work with protest organisers to facilitate a safe march.

Kaine said she would march with her elderly parents and her children, who told her they intended to turn up regardless of the court outcome.

“This issue is too important to be postponed,” she said.

Minns previously said the protest would cause Sydney to descend into chaos.

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