NSW Police will take the organisers of a protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon to the Supreme Court, after its expected numbers swelled in the time since being given approval.
While NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday said she never wanted to “take away the right of people to demonstrate their ability to protest,” by Friday afternoon she had deemed the rally “illegal”.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses the media on Friday afternoon. Credit:Rhett Wyman
On Friday, Ms Berejiklian said it "never was and never will be" the state's intention to allow thousands of people to be "flagrantly disregarding the [state's] health orders".
Ms Berejiklian denied she "gave the green light" to the protest but said that when the organisers first presented their event to NSW Police it seemed much smaller, and closer in size to Tuesday night's protest.
"As of this morning, that had escalated to a potential 10,000 protesters turning up and the organiser, himself, admitted that he couldn't ensure that the protesters could adhere to [social distancing]," said NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.
Commissioner Fuller said after initially approving the protest, the only legal method for the state to stop the protest was Supreme Court action. The matter will be heard at 3.30pm on Friday.
Thousands of people had been expected to take to Sydney’s Town Hall on Saturday as part of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of African American man George Floyd last month.
The 46-year-old died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was handcuffed face down on the street.
The alleged murder has sparked protests over systemic inequality worldwide, and prompted protests over Aboriginal deaths in custody across Australia this week.
Indigenous Social Justice Association secretary Raul Bassi, one of the three groups organising Saturday’s protest, said he received three calls from police on Friday morning.
In the first call, he was told the force was considering whether the protest would go ahead, then he was told protesters would be limited to 500, before being informed police were taking the matter to court.
Mr Bassi said concerns over the number of people protesting had not been raised earlier, with police only contacting them on Friday morning.
“Instead of using guns to stop us, like in the US, they use the laws to stop us,” he said. “We will put forward our case this afternoon and see what happens.”
Commissioner Fuller admitted people may still turn up to the event, but they will be penalised if their behaviour is unlawful. He warned that anyone caught breaching the orders could be arrested or fined at Saturday’s protest if numbers ticked above 500.
A Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney earlier this week, in solidarity with the protests in the US over the police killing of George Floyd.Credit:James Brickwood
“If hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people turn up, then they're in breach of the health order and, if they haven't complied with the Supreme Court, then obviously all of the police powers available to us can be used,” he said.
Ms Berejiklian has said she has "empathy for people who feel strongly about the issue at [the] heart" of Saturday's planned Sydney protest, but the event presents a public health issue.
The Premier said she would not comment about the death of George Floyd in the US and local Indigenous deaths in custody because she "knows passions are high".
"But notwithstanding how people feel about an issue, you cannot disregard the health orders," she said.
"That is why we are saying to people, express your views, bring your views to the attention of people you want to bring that to but in a responsible and safe way. Not through breaching the health orders. That is not acceptable.
"Today, NSW has been very successful only because all of us have taken the hard yards, of making those difficult decisions," she said.
"We've not visited family or attended events, we've not done what we normally to do keep the community safe."
The announcement came just hours after two NSW Ministers criticised their own government’s decision to initially allow the protest to go ahead.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said on Friday morning the fact it was going ahead was “indefensible” and “ridiculous”.
“When people are making enormous sacrifices right now, I think situations like this and protests like this on the weekend clearly shouldn’t go ahead,” Mr Perrottet told 2GB.
“You can’t defend the indefensible, I think it’s ridiculous.”
Police Minister David Elliott also voiced his concern over the protest, and warned that anyone who “plays up” during the planned rally would face the “full force” of the law.
“Not all politicians approve of it but there’s nothing we can do to oppose it,” he said.
“These sort of people that [sic] are going to protest during pandemics don’t think like you and I, they’re not normal.”
with Laura Chung
Mary Ward is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Tom Rabe is Transport Reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-06-05 03:45:54Z
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