Palestine Action Group launches fresh march route after NSW Supreme Court blocks Sydney Opera House protest

The organisers behind the controversial pro-Palestine Sydney Opera House march have vowed to continue protesting despite their dramatic loss at the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.

Palestine Action Group said it had arranged a new march route for Sunday following the court’s prohibition order and their movement would “not be stopped”.

“We fought to uphold our right to protest to the Opera House. Unfortunately, today we were not successful,” PAG said in a statement after the court unanimously ruled to block their planned protest at the iconic space.

“We are disappointed in this outcome, we know that courts sometimes get it wrong. However, this does not mean that we will not be protesting on Sunday.

“The genocide is continuing. Israel has not stopped bombing Gaza in spite of peace talks. Our demands to sanction Israel, end the two-way arms trade are just as urgent as ever.

“Our movement will not be stopped, join us on the streets on Sunday.”

PAG will now lead a march from Hyde Park to Belmore Park, using a route the demonstrators have adopted on multiple occasions over two years of protest following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna confirmed the police supported the new route and would facilitate the protest.

“We will facilitate that (march) and it is our job to keep people safe on Sunday,” he said.

He warned, however, that it was now illegal for protesters to assemble at the Opera House and the police would allocate resources to ensure the court’s orders were followed.

“I don’t expect people to attend the Opera House, but if people are silly enough to and want to flout the law or break the law, action will be taken,” he said.

The court blocked the march after concluding it presented “extreme” safety risks.

“The public safety risk to participants and other members of the public is extreme,” Justice Stephen Free said in his judgment on Thursday morning.

He cited the risk of a crowd crush as the marchers moved into the narrow forecourt of the Opera House and the lack of appropriate egress points.

“The extremity of that risk is only magnified if the first defendant’s estimate of participation levels is exceeded,” the judgment read.

“There is a real risk that the current estimate of 40,000 will be exceeded, particularly having regard to the timing of the march, on approximately the second anniversary of the bombing of Gaza, the iconic nature of the proposed destination of the procession and the heightened attention that will inevitably be given to the proposed procession by these proceedings.”

Rally organiser Palestine Action Group (PAG) wanted protesters to march from Hyde Park to the Opera House forecourt in staggered segments.

There are three exit points in the space: the boardwalk at Circular Quay, an exit into the Royal Botanic Gardens and a stair route into the Royal Botanic Gardens.

PAG estimated some 40,000 people would attend the protest, but the police warned the number could blow out far beyond that figure.

Justice Free said it would be “irresponsible” to allow the event to proceed regardless of its political significance.

He was not satisfied the group could mitigate the safety risks despite their experience with protests and co-operation with police.

The group have been protesting at Hyde Park nearly every week since the war broke out in 2023, following Hamas’ attack which killed 1200 people and the subsequent conflict.

“It is the exceptional risks associated with the particular route and ultimate destination of the procession, considered in the context of the likely size of the crowd and its potential movement, that give rise to the commissioner’s application and the court’s conclusions as to the unacceptable nature of those risks,” Justice Free said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns, speaking on Thursday, welcomed the court’s ruling and said anyone who breached the court’s decision could expect to face “the full force of the law”.

“Some people, will take this finding and say, well, freedom of speech is not allowed. I mean, that’s clearly untrue,” he said.

“You can go outside my electorate office, NSW parliament, any street Hyde Park, the middle of Sydney’s CBD on an average weekend, and see multiple protests taking place.

“NSW Police have worked with protest organisers for 100 weeks on routes right throughout Sydney’s CBD, including the Harbor Bridge protest that took place a couple of months ago.

“So I think that is a hyperbolic response to what is a reasonable decision from the Supreme Court that has at its heart the risk to public safety.”

The decision comes after Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna on Wednesday warned the protest was a “disaster waiting to happen”, citing concerns about trying to “funnel” protesters through limited egress routes.

“I don’t believe there are sufficient egress routes. I believe they are dangerous,” Mr McKenna said.

“I don’t think people are just going to walk in and then walk out.

“If there is an emergency situation … this scenario you’re putting to me is lovely if all the people are well behaved, if they go in 50 at a time or 100 at a time,” he said.

“I don’t know if they can achieve that, I don’t see a scenario where that can be achieved.

“The fact of the matter is, what if there is an emergency in the forecourt? What if emergency services need to get there? It gives us really significant concerns.”

PAG organiser Damian Ridgwell rejected safety concerns during a press conference outside the court on Tuesday.

“We have held over 100 demonstrations which have been peaceful and safe and have involved hundreds of thousands of people over the last two years,” Mr Ridgwell said.

“Our demonstration will be a mass peaceful gathering of people who are rejecting war and occupation, rejecting the racism and the genocide of the Israeli state and upholding the rights of the Palestinian people.”

Mr Ridgwell said the Opera House had hosted political protests over the years as well as the 1996 Crowded House concert that was estimated to have attracted more than 100,000 people.

Felicity Graham, appearing for PAG, fronted up against James Emmett SC, for the police, in Wednesday’s urgent full-day hearing before Chief Justice Andrew Bell, Justice Ian Harrison and Justice Free.

Mr Emmett had stressed the police accepted free speech and free assembly were important democratic rights, but their urgent application against the march centred on public safety.