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Protesters in Sydney have vowed to return for ‘Invasion Day’ rallies on 26 January after being dispersed at a rally against Indigenous deaths in custody on Sunday.
In the lead-up to the event, demonstrators said they were planning to march in defiance of the NSW government’s controversial new protest laws.
However, moments before protesters were set to depart Hyde Park, police told event organiser Paul Silva to request that the crowd “disperse in a peaceful and orderly manner”.
Silva then instructed the crowd — comprising around 200 people, according to the Australian Associated Press — that he thought it would be “the safest option if we disperse”.
“I don’t want anyone being attacked. I don’t want anyone being attacked and, unfortunately, these laws will allow that,” Silva said.
Following the Bondi terror attack, NSW passed new legislation giving the state’s police commissioner the power to restrict protests for up to three months after a designated terrorist incident.
In such a period, groups can still gather to protest, but they do so without police authorisation — meaning they can be prosecuted for obstructing traffic or footpaths.
Under the laws, a restriction on protests must be extended every two weeks.
Despite the disagreements with protesters on Sunday, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said he was pleased with the way the situation had been handled.
Police officers gave rally organiser Paul Silva, the nephew of David Dungay Jr, a move-on order at Sunday’s demonstration against Indigenous deaths in custody. Source: AAP / Dean Sewell
“They dispersed peacefully, there were no arrests made, and overall I was very happy,” he told reporters.
Organisers had requested an exemption for the event — which marked 10 years since the death of David Dungay Jr — but it was denied.
Dungay Jr, a Dhunghuti man, died in Sydney’s Long Bay Prison in 2015, after guards rushed into his cell to stop him eating biscuits.
Security footage showed him calling out “I can’t breathe” 12 times as guards restrained him. Nobody was prosecuted over the incident.
Since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 617 First Nations people have died in custody.
In the 2024-2025 financial year, Australia recorded 33 Indigenous deaths in custody — the highest number since monitoring began in 1979.
Silva, who is Dungay Jr’s nephew, told Sunday’s crowd: “I’m here to fight for my uncle, for everyone that I’ve witnessed being taken by this system.”
Sunday’s protesters pledged to return, chanting “we’ll be back” and “see you on Invasion Day” at police.
Police say they’re now negotiating with organisers over the rallies planned for 26 January.
— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press
