Share and Follow
Controversial restrictions on protesting have been extended for another two weeks, but police have created an exemption that will allow ‘Invasion Day’ rallies to proceed.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon announced the decision on Tuesday, less than six weeks after the December 14 terror attack prompted fears about public cohesion and safety.
“This is about making sure we enable people to protest, enable free speech, but make sure the community remains safe,” he said.
The affected area has been significantly pared back from most of Sydney’s metropolitan area and now encompasses Darling Harbour and the northern city centre but excludes Hyde Park and the eastern suburbs.
That means protesters will be able to rally as planned on 26 January.
“We’re not here to cause any harm to the police or anyone in society,” Blak Caucus member Elizabeth Jarrett told AAP ahead of the decision.
“The police should respectfully stand aside and let us march.”
Although the declaration does not explicitly ban protests, it prevents organisers from gaining authorisation that shields them from arrest for obstructing traffic or pedestrians.
Individuals participating in static demonstrations can still face move-on directions from authorities. This measure highlights the tension between law enforcement and protesters, particularly during significant events.
The power to make these declarations was controversially given to the commissioner in laws rushed through parliament after the Bondi terror attack, when two gunmen opened fire and killed 15 people.
Jarrett, a Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung, and Dunghutti woman, had urged the state to allow First Nations people to mark their own day of grief.
“How good of a police department are you going to be if you’re going to stand against sovereign people and their allies, and threaten mass arrest on our national day of mourning that’s been held since 1938?” she said.
Protests have taken place since the restrictions were imposed, including a rally on Indigenous deaths in custody.
During the event, police issued a move-on direction as organisers suggested participants cross the road in smaller groups to ensure they did not block the streets.
Though many disagreed with the orders, the protest’s organiser urged attendees to comply for their own safety.
