NSW Police have reached an 11th-hour agreement with organizers of a pro-Palestinian event in Sydney's CBD, following continued negotiations on the back of a Supreme Court hearing.
Thousands of people are expected to rally in the city this weekend to mark the first anniversary of the Israel-Gaza conflict, but organizers have also filed paperwork with New South Wales Police to hold a vigil on Monday.
At a hearing before Judge Jeremy Kirk on Thursday afternoon, organizers withdrew their application to police to make Monday's vigil a sanctioned event.
People demonstrated outside the New South Wales Supreme Court during the hearing. (ABC News: Kiana Norton)
Outside court, organizer Amal Nasser said no documents had been requested for the static vigil and the event would continue to be held.
During the process, the Palestinian Action Group confirmed plans to hold a vigil on Monday night.
The Palestinian Action Group also called for a revision to Sunday's plans, which were originally scheduled to begin at City Hall, and proposed instead starting in Hyde Park before the march.
But at issue is the newly proposed march route, which would take protesters near the Great Synagogue on their way back to Hyde Park, which police said was “provocative”. They have expressed concern that this may result.
Barrister Arjun Chhabra, representing the organizers, was making his submissions towards the end of the hearing when news of the breakthrough reached the court.
Acting NSW Police Commissioner Lachlan Giles SC said the parties had been able to “settle the case” and sought an order for each party to pay its own costs.
Mr Justice Kirk said the Commissioner, the defendants and the defendants' organizations had worked in good faith throughout 51 weeks of protests during “difficult times”.
The process sought to “manage the balance between the right to peaceably assemble, on the one hand, and legitimate concerns for public safety, on the other,” the judge said.
“It is to the parties' credit that they have done so, and today's resolution of this dispute is a further statement of what appears to me, based on the available evidence, to be good faith on both sides. .”
Outside court, Nasser said police had chosen to withdraw the application to ban the protests.
Another organizer, Josh Leeds, said Sunday's rally would follow a route the group has taken many times before, denying it was held in close proximity to the synagogue.
“What happened today is that the police and the government, under political pressure, tried to effectively ban our protests or make it very difficult for us to protest. . We have resisted it.”
Organizers say demonstration is likely to be one of the 'largest' protests yet
Earlier, Assistant Chief Justice Peter McKenna told the court that the new proposed route would include “very close proximity” to the Great Synagogue as participants re-entered Hyde Park after the march. He said that it would be possible.
He said this would be “provocative”.
The deputy chief said there had recently been a “significant number” of Lebanese community members among the protest groups.
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said “significant numbers” of the Lebanese community took part in the protests. (ABC News: Kiana Norton)
“The ongoing issues overseas are having an impact here. We're seeing crowds gather when something happens in an overseas environment.”
Deputy Commissioner McKenna said police understood the right to assembly but needed to take into account wider community concerns.
“A lot of times it just takes one or two people saying the wrong thing and it can become a tinderbox and it can be something really important that we have to deal with. ”
He also spoke of a “different tone” at recent meetings, saying it doesn't take much to put local residents and police in a “very volatile situation” that is “totally avoidable”.
In cross-examination, the witness could neither confirm nor deny that it was NSW Police who had come up with the alternative route as part of negotiations with the organizers.
Assistant Secretary of State Peter McKenna said he would not be surprised to see Hezbollah flags at demonstrations this weekend. (New South Wales Police)
He acknowledged the reduction in police powers, including the power to order movement, was a concern.
“Police will be able to intervene in the interest of public safety if necessary.”
Mr Lees gave evidence that security officers tried to “de-escalate” tensions at rallies when participants encountered people who disagreed with their cause.
He agreed in cross-examination that the planned rally had received considerable publicity, and that was due to the topical nature of the event, as well as how large a crowd his group expected to be in such circumstances. I was asked if this meant that there was no need to estimate whether the
Josh Lees (left), from the Palestinian Action Group, told the court that organizers had called on participants not to bring banned or illegal flags to the demonstration. (ABC News: Andrew Whittington)
“No, I don't think that's true,” Lees replied.
“We have dealt with a series of extremely emotional and devastating moments over the last year.”
Mr Lees agreed that this was likely to be the “largest scale” protest in recent months and that the numbers could be higher than expected.
He said court organizers are asking attendees via social media not to bring prohibited or illegal flags.
NSW Police cites safety as reason for concern
The judicial proceedings began on Tuesday night, with New South Wales Police confirming they are applying to the Supreme Court to have two events organized by the Palestinian Action Group, both scheduled for the long weekend, banned.
These events are a demonstration on Sunday, October 6th and a candlelight vigil on October 7th.
NSW Police said in a statement the decision was based on safety concerns.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the size of recent pro-Palestinian rallies raised security concerns. (ABC News: Kiana Norton)
The Palestinian Action Group has been demonstrating in Sydney for 51 consecutive weeks with limited police intervention.
Mr Giles said in his submission that the right to assembly is an important democratic right for all Australians.
But that must be balanced with the equally important right of all citizens not to have their security endangered by breaches of the peace, he said.
Mr Giles said the gathering planned for Sunday raised “objective and reasonable concerns about public order and safety”, which meant police retained their enforcement powers following a court injunction regarding the event. Said it means should.
