NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna has insisted that police are not against protests, despite extending a ban on rallies.
“It’s just time to bring that community tension down. Just to understand that our job, whilst about public safety, is also about public cohesion,” McKenna said.
Police were given the power to refuse to authorise protests in key Sydney areas after the Bondi terror attack last month. Despite the ban being deployed and extended until 20 January, protests have been held since and more are set to take place.
Palestine Action Group has organised a rally on Friday in front of Sydney’s Town Hall against the anti-protest laws, and another is expected on Sunday to mark 10 years since David Dungay Jr died in custody.
The NSW ban on protest authorisation can be imposed after a declared terrorist attack and extended fortnightly for up to three months. The measure remains widely criticised by activists and civil liberties groups.
“The protest tomorrow night has no plan to march, but we reject the NSW Government’s undemocratic, anti-protest laws and the ludicrous, baseless justifications for them,” Palestine Action Group representative Josh Lees said in a statement.
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