Around ‘90,000 people’ attended pro-Palestine rally, NSW Police say
NSW Police are holding a press conference in Sydney after a march across Sydney Harbour Bridge was stopped due to safety concerns.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said police estimate 90,000 people took part in the protest.
“At points today we were really concerned about a crowd crush,” McKenna said, noting the number of attended was larger than the 50,000 that organisers estimated would be in attendance in yesterday’s successful NSW supreme court bid.
“We could not get those people, the number, the significant size of that crowd off that northern egress route without risking crowd crush. We could not allow those numbers to then egress into the northern side, into those train stations without again, that real risk of crowd crush.”
Key events
Victoria police release statement on thwarted Melbourne protest
Thousands of Melburnians marched in solidarity with Sydney protesters today but were swiftly met with a firm police presence.
In a statement, Victoria police said about 3,000 protesters gathered at the State Library on Sunday for a protest into the CBD.
“The group marched from that location and despite repeated requests from police, they marched to King St,” the statement read.
As a result of this, Victoria Police closed the King Street Bridge and diversions were put in place.
Police established a line across King Street Bridge and protestors did not access the bridge.
No arrests were made during the protest and the King Street Bridge has since been re-opened.
Police added that they were making enquiries into an incident where an egg was allegedly thrown and struck a person.
Sydneysiders commended for avoiding non-essential travel
Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson hands over to Craig Moran from Transport for NSW, who starts by thanking the people of Sydney who avoided non-essential travel.
Moran also commended the decision to turn protesters around at the north end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Yes, there was quite a bit of congestion, particularly on the road network and the Anzac Bridge when the initial closure was put in place, we saw massive crowds that we had to work with police to manage.
With those crowds that were on the Harbour Bridge, we equally had concerns about how we could safely accommodate those numbers, particularly at North Sydney station, and really supported the need to get them back towards the CBD, where we had more options to help get them home.
Protesters were ‘well behaved’ but day was ‘perilous’
Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna confirms that there were no reported injuries among civilians or police but describes the day as “perilous” at times.
“Gee whizz, I wouldn’t like to try and do this every Sunday at that short notice,” the police officer says.
There’s a reason we need time to plan these things out, and I think going forward into the future, that has to be taken into consideration. We’re very lucky today that the crowd was well behaved.
McKenna handed over to acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson, who echoed McKenna in saying he had never seen a more “perilous” situation.
I can honestly say in my 35 years of policing, that was a perilous situation. I’ve never seen a more perilous situation.
I was honestly worried that we were going to have a major incident with potential loss of life.
Around ‘90,000 people’ attended pro-Palestine rally, NSW Police say
NSW Police are holding a press conference in Sydney after a march across Sydney Harbour Bridge was stopped due to safety concerns.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said police estimate 90,000 people took part in the protest.
“At points today we were really concerned about a crowd crush,” McKenna said, noting the number of attended was larger than the 50,000 that organisers estimated would be in attendance in yesterday’s successful NSW supreme court bid.
“We could not get those people, the number, the significant size of that crowd off that northern egress route without risking crowd crush. We could not allow those numbers to then egress into the northern side, into those train stations without again, that real risk of crowd crush.”
A view from a train shows the scale of the Sydney Harbour Bridge protest.
From earlier, here’s a clip of pro-Palestine protesters chanting as they reached the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Caitlin Cassidy
‘This is history in the making’, Sydney protester says
It was striking how many children were in attendance at today’s march across the Sydney Harbour bridge, with many carrying handmade signs and leading chants.
Aaliyah, 8, sat on her father’s shoulders calling out “Free Palestine”, her face painted with the Palestinian flag.
Her parents, Ali and Hanan, said it was “the injustice” that had brought them out today.
“It’s 2025, how can we witness this,” Ali said. “This is a big moment. This is history in the making. The people shut down the harbour bridge – the people did it.”
To Hanan, having her daughter there was special, representing something “bigger than us”.
“It’s very important to teach our children you stand up for what’s right. When something is unjust, you stand up for those who don’t have a voice.”
Protest plan to block Melbourne bridge blocked by Victoria police
In Melbourne, pro-Palestine protesters marching for the 93rd time since 7 October 2023 were met by riot police at King Street Bridge.
Their plan to block the bridge was stopped by police who were blocking the bridge. According to reports most of the protest crowd dispersed with a few dozen remaining on the bridge.
A Victoria police spokesperson has said a statement will be issued at the end of the day.
From earlier, here we can see from aerial shots the vast number of pro-Palestine protesters marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Luca Ittimani
Sydney Harbour Bridge now empty after protesters depart
Trains are now running across the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the north to the south. The bridge is empty of protesters but police are standing in a line across the bridge near the south pylons.
Some protesters continue to exit from the north end of the bridge after police asked the crowd to stop moving. Thousands turned around and marched south.
Sydney pro-Palestine crowd could be as large as 300,000, organisers say
Earlier today, the NSW police said the crowd crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the pro-Palestinian protest numbered was about 25,000, but the Palestine Action Group (PAG) had yesterday estimated it would be about 50,000.
PAG now says police have said the crowd numbered about 100,000 people but, although the group has not yet analysed aerial photos to get an estimate, it says it could be as many as 300,000 people.
We will bring you more information on the crowd size if we get more word on it. The crowd was certainly large enough to force police to stop the march and have people leave the bridge in stages.
People are now heading back to the city, but there have been delays on the trains, and the Metro isn’t running due to planned maintenence.
Caitlin Cassidy
Sydney pro-Palestinian protesters return home
Thousands of very soggy protesters, this journalist included, are slowly making their way back to Sydney’s CBD after being directed by police to turn around while on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
There was a lot of confusion when NSW Police started texting people at about 3pm, with some people in the crowd uncertain whether to stay put and await further instructions or turn around as crowds were still moving to the northern end of the bridge.
Helicopters continue to fly overhead, although amid the chants and traffic, it is difficult to hear the messages they are making via loudspeakers. But marchers’ spirits remain high, and calls of “Free Palestine” are continuing.
What we know so far about the protests
If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know so far about the pro-Palestinian marches in Sydney and Melbourne:
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed at 11.30am with tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marching in the rain across the bridge from 1.30pm after speeches from Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, Indigenous actor Meyne Wyatt and former Socceroo and Australian of the Year Craig Foster.
Those in the protest included WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, former foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, and federal Labor MP Ed Husic. Shouts of “We are all Palestinian” could be heard from the front of the march.
Text messages from NSW Police told people to stop walking across the bridge, and police say they will work with protester organisers to get people off the bridge in a staged manner.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne were met by Victoria police in riot gear, trucks and a barricade as police blocked the plan for the protesters to block the Kings Street Bridge.
Jordyn Beazley
‘A peaceful assembly and a powerful one’, Labor MP Ed Husic says
Ed Husic was among the many state and federal Labor MPs who marched at the head of the protest across the bridge.
He told Guardian Australia moments after walking off the bridge that it was time for the government to sanction Israel and recognise Palestinian statehood.
Husic says:
Where the Netanyahu government won’t listen to international concern about the treatment of innocent civilians, then sanctions are the appropriate way to respond. I genuinely believe that us standing with our friends in France, UK and Canada, is important. I just think it makes blazingly clear sense for us to work with really reliable, solid partners, as we’ve seen in the last week, [to] come out and call for recognition of Palestine.
Asked if he thinks the march today shows that this is also what the country wants, he said:
People power has come out, I think, largely because they just cannot abide the treatment that has been seen of little kids. They want the starvation to end. They want the killing to end. And that, I think, has propelled people on to the streets, rightly so, when the treatment of children that we’ve seen not only offends international humanitarian law, it offends our values as a people.
This is been a peaceful assembly and a powerful one.
NSW Police want marchers to leave Sydney Harbour Bridge in ‘staged manner’
NSW police have issued a third geo-located text message to protesters on the Sydney Harbour Bridge advising police will be working with the protesters to get everyone off the bridge safely, but in a staged manner.
They advised protesters to remain calm and follow directions by police.
This is Graham Readfearn handing over to my colleague Josh Taylor to keep our live blog rolling. The day is a long way from over.
Thanks for continuing to stay with us.
Residents in parts of Gunnedah advised to evacuate as major flood level looms
People living in two areas of the NSW town of Gunnedah have been advised to evacuate before 4pm as the Namoi river continues to rise after heavy rainfall.
The NSW SES has issued emergency warnings for people in the Talibah Flats and Wolseley Park areas of the town, in north central NSW.
The river is likely to reach a major flood level of 7.9 metres this evening and could rise to 8.2 metres by Monday morning, the warning from the SES says.
There are 15 “Watch and Act” warnings in place across the state.
Police ask Sydney marchers to turn around
Another text message is now asking people to stop walking north, while a helicopter flying above the bridge with a loudspeaker is asking the crowd to turn around and head back to the CBD.
The text message says:
Update from NSW Police: After consultation with protest organisers, we are asking that everyone stops walking north. As soon as the march has stopped, we will look at turning everyone around, back towards the city. BUT it needs to be done in a controlled way in stages to keep everyone safe.
