Gaza protest does not mean ‘open season on the bridge’, NSW premier says
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he does not regret voicing his opposition to the Sydney Harbour Bridge protest, but said he respected Australians’ right to protest. Minns said during a press conference a moment ago that it was his job to “be on the side of public safety”, saying the government was in a difficult position balancing that need with the right to demonstrate. He said:
Firstly it was a massive crowd, over 100,000 people. If the weather wasn’t appalling I think it would’ve been even bigger than that, maybe even double the size.
I accept that there’s a huge groundswell … It’s a difficult one for the government. We have to balance public safety and the public’s right to protest … alongside running a big city like Sydney. Ultimately my job is to be on the side of public safety.
Minns went on to say: “No one should believe that it’s open season on the bridge”:
We can’t knock out the bridge every weekend. There can be a demonstration every weekend. But I need to weigh up public order, community safety with the public’s right to protest …
We’re not going to have a situation where the anti-vaxxer group has it one Saturday … and then the weekend after that an environmental cause … A big city like Sydney couldn’t cope with that.
Key events
Jordyn Beazley
NSW police minister says ‘nobody is being stopped’ from protesting
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, was asked about the protest across the Sydney Harbour Bridge a short time ago.
Asked if she recognised the need for a symbolic protest given the situation in Gaza, Catley said:
Police have facilitated more than 100 marches by this organisation in the past 20 months, so nobody is being stopped.
Let’s be clear about that, but each of those applications that are put forward will be assessed for their risk, and that’s exactly what we want the police to be doing.
Asked if she would consider legislation to “ban bridge protests”, she said that’s a “hypothetical”.
She then said:
The police will make these decisions. The Court made the decision to allow yesterday to go ahead. We absolutely respect that decision. But people are allowed to protest in this state, but they have to do it lawfully, peacefully and take the direction of police.
Tom McIlroy
Ed Husic says some protest signs shouldn’t detract from march
Labor MP Ed Husic says a protester at the huge Sydney Harbour Bridge march on Sunday with a sign depicting Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should not detract from calls for an end to the war in Gaza.
Husic was one of the high profile marchers who crossed the bridge, part of the crowd of at least 90,000 people. He said the image of the Iranian dictator was not in the spirit of the event, telling Sky News this morning:
I’m obviously here as a member of parliament, not the chair of the Australian chant regulator authority.
There are, when you have so many people present, you won’t agree with everyone, and clearly people will pick out some things that were objectionable to other people, and I completely understand that.
That’s democracy, but I just think, I would hate for it to detract from the images of that aerial view of the Harbour Bridge, with so many people on it, that just want the hostilities to end, and particularly impact on kids.
Minns adamant state will not ‘water down’ gun laws amid proposal to enshrine right to hunt in NSW
NSW premier Chris Minns was adamant the state would not “water down” gun laws amid concern the Labor government will pass a bill to enshrine the right to hunt in state forests and on crown lands.
Walter Mikac, whose family was killed in the Port Arthur massacre, wrote a letter to Minns urging the premier to abandon the plans. Mikac told the Daily Telegraph the proposal was “pretty scary” in a recent interview.
Minns was asked about that letter earlier today, saying he planned to respond to it and that he would be happy to meet with Mikac. Minns said:
I just want to make the point that we will not be voting to water down gun laws in New South Wales. That’s very important that they stay consistent following the horror of the Port Arthur massacre. I’ve got a hung parliament, individuals, parties are entitled to put their legislation, and we’ll review it, but we are not going to water down gun laws in this state.
Natasha May
Health minister says tool will recognise parents know their children best
If parents or caregivers indicate they believe their child is getting worse, it will trigger a review by a senior healthcare worker.
The new program will be implemented in all NSW public hospitals by October 2025 and will be extended into maternity and adult wards in early 2026.
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said:
When you bring your child into our hospitals, we know that you know them best. Parents and carers can recognise small changes in a child’s condition sometimes before healthcare workers can observe changes in things like heart rate or breathing.
Feedback from parents and carers is critical in capturing information about a child who is becoming seriously unwell. When your doctor or nurse asks: “Are you worried they’re getting worse?” we need you to tell us even if it is something small, because if you’re worried, we’re worried.
Natasha May
NSW launches new ‘Worried they are getting worse?’ patient escalation tool
The NSW health minister is launching a new tool today to support parents to raise concerns about their child’s condition if they feel it is getting worse.
Healthcare workers will be required to regularly ask families the question – “Are you worried they are getting worse?” – in paediatric and neonatal observation charts in emergency departments and inpatient units across the state.
The new tool, which will be introduced in addition to the Reach program already available, follows the case of toddler Joe Massa, who died after waiting hours at Northern Beaches hospital emergency department with his parents’ concerns not being followed up.
The “worried they’re getting worse” tool is based on research from Monash University which found parental intuition better at spotting child illness than vital signs.
Minns stresses protest organisers worked with police, but march was ‘logistically difficult’
Minns said he would not criticise protesters’ right to demonstrate, but again said it was a difficult, abbreviated timeline to organise. He said:
It’s just that it’s a logistically difficult thing to navigate because you’ve got a confined space and an overwhelming number of people. And when that happens at the football stadium or Homebush, it’s pretty straightforward, it happens every week.
When police have got a couple of days to organise it on the Harbour Bridge, usually a seven-lane highway, it’s tough, it’s difficult.
Gaza protest does not mean ‘open season on the bridge’, NSW premier says
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he does not regret voicing his opposition to the Sydney Harbour Bridge protest, but said he respected Australians’ right to protest. Minns said during a press conference a moment ago that it was his job to “be on the side of public safety”, saying the government was in a difficult position balancing that need with the right to demonstrate. He said:
Firstly it was a massive crowd, over 100,000 people. If the weather wasn’t appalling I think it would’ve been even bigger than that, maybe even double the size.
I accept that there’s a huge groundswell … It’s a difficult one for the government. We have to balance public safety and the public’s right to protest … alongside running a big city like Sydney. Ultimately my job is to be on the side of public safety.
Minns went on to say: “No one should believe that it’s open season on the bridge”:
We can’t knock out the bridge every weekend. There can be a demonstration every weekend. But I need to weigh up public order, community safety with the public’s right to protest …
We’re not going to have a situation where the anti-vaxxer group has it one Saturday … and then the weekend after that an environmental cause … A big city like Sydney couldn’t cope with that.
Plibersek says Australians want to send a message there’s been ‘too much death’ in Gaza
Tanya Plibersek, the minister for social services, said Australians understand the importance of protest in a healthy democracy, but said people wouldn’t want to see “the Harbour Bridge shut down every weekend” akin to yesterday’s mass march in support of Palestinians.
She told Sunrise this morning:
At the end of the day, I think Australians do want to send a message that there has been too much death, too many people have lost their lives and we want to see the hostages return, we want to see humanitarian access to Gaza, we particularly don’t want to see children starving to death as a result of this conflict …
I don’t think this is something that should happen every day. But within reason, we have a peaceful right to protest in this country and if protest organisers arrange things with police with sufficient warning, if the crowd behaves well … It’s part of our democracy.
Josh Taylor
Government handed report on age assurance technology trial
The federal government has been handed the final report of the age assurance technology trial that will inform the government on the types of technologies used to implement the under-16 social media ban from December.
In a note on the trial’s website on Friday, the trial reported the 10-volume report had been submitted to government, and the timing of the publication was a matter for the government.
The trial said the final report builds on the interim conclusions released earlier and says the final findings “are supported by further analysis of the extensive data collected” in the trial.
NSW SES says 200 cars trapped in snow over the weekend mostly free, but black ice remains a concern
Approximately 200 cars were trapped in snow this weekend after heavy falls blanketed the northern tablelands. The NSW SES said most of those cars have since been able to escape from that event as conditions eased, and the snow is no longer a major concern.
But black ice may be dangerous in the area around the region as the snow melts.
Emergency officials are urging drivers to travel carefully and be aware of changing road conditions. The NSW SES said:
If you do need to be on the roads, use the brakes gently and drive slowly.
Man wearing Scream mask allegedly graffitis Melbourne synagogue
Victoria police are investigating multiple incidents of graffiti at a Melbourne synagogue after a man allegedly caused criminal damage to the building multiple times over the last six months.
Police said an unknown man arrived to the Torah Road synagogue at least five times between March and July on a black e-scooter before allegedly spray-painting offensive phrases on the building. During two incidents in July, officials said the man was wearing a “ghostface” mask from the Scream films that completely covered his face.
The man is thought to be of Caucasian appearance, bald and of medium build and bald. Police have appealed for information about the incident and released video footage from the synagogue, saying:
There is absolutely no place at all in our society for hate-based behaviour.
Albanese seeking call with Netanyahu as soon as possible after Sydney march
Tom McIlroy
The prime minister is seeking to press his Israeli counterpart about the devastation in Gaza in an upcoming phone call.
Anthony Albanese is seeking a call with Benjamin Netanyahu as soon as possible after at least 100,000 people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to protest bloodshed and suffering in the conflict.
Guardian Australia has been told Albanese hopes to speak to Netanyahu as soon as a phone call can be locked in.
Separately, the assistant minister for immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite, told Sky News this morning a conversation between Albanese and Netanyahu is “being pursued” this week.
Albanese has said publicly more humanitarian aid was badly needed, amid international outrage about starvation.
Australia has been criticised by Netanyahu in recent months, including over government responses to high-profile antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Albanese said last week:
We have a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there, and Australia is willing to play our part there.
That is indeed something that is bringing, I think, legitimate criticism of the actions of the Netanyahu government. Too many innocent lives have been lost.
