Yesterday, organisers lost an appeal against a court ruling that had seen the rally banned. The group behind the protest has insisted it can take place safely despite coronavirus restrictions and have moved it from outside Sydney Town Hall to the Domain where there is more space.
“We lost in the Court of Appeal. But the fight for justice must continue,” the Justice For David Dungay Jnr Facebook page wrote on Monday afternoon.
The rally is being held to protest Indigenous deaths in custody with the focus on the death of Aboriginal man David Dungay in a Sydney prison in 2015. He died after saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times as he was restrained by prison staff.
NSW Police has warned attendees they could be arrested and officers “will not hesitate to take the appropriate action, if required”.
“If you turn up, just expect that you could find yourself incarcerated for six months,” NSW Police Minister David Elliott said.
“Regardless of whatever new plans are being put forward, this particular protest on Tuesday will be considered an illegal gathering and the police response will be accordingly.”
This morning one of the organisers said if the government allowed people to swarm in indoor shopping centres, they should be allowed to protest outside.
“I think it is completely unfair that we are being told that we are somehow responsible for deaths when you are not dragging the proprietor of Westfield to condemn them for continuing their operations,” Paddy Gibson said on Today.
“This is a politically-motivated thing.”
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Health Minister Greg Hunt has issued a grim warning to protesters ahead of today's Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, saying going to the event could result in more COVID-19 deaths.
"Don’t. You could be taking somebody’s life," Mr Hunt said on Sky News.
The health minister reiterated his warning not to attend the event when speaking with the ABC this morning.
He said attending a protest during a pandemic was "inappropriate and dangerous".
“No matter the absolute nobility of the cause, the means of meeting at this moment in our history, with a pandemic afoot, is inappropriate and dangerous,” Mr Hunt said.
“I could not be clearer. Please, do not go. Express your views on social media, a silent vigil outside your place of residence, whatever other means, but not gathering in large groups.”
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing also called for people not to attend the rally, saying anyone that does go could risk being arrested.
"This is not about the right to protest, we support the right to protest, this is about doing it in a pandemic, and at the moment we just can’t take that risk," he told 2GB.
"We don’t want to have to go down the road of arrests but we are quite prepared to if we have to.
"At the end of the day, we want people to stay away from this particular protest, find another time, find another way to express your views."
One of the organisers of the Black Lives Matter protest set to go ahead in Sydney today has said the push back against the rally is "completely unfair" and politically motivated.
Speaking on Today, organiser Paddy Gibson said it wasn't right that the protest has been deemed illegal while venues like shopping centres are still open and many other events can still go ahead.
"While the marketplace is open in this city, while thousands of people can congregate for commercial purposes, the public square must also be open," he said.
"I think it is completely unfair that we are being told that we are somehow responsible for deaths when you are not dragging the proprietor of Westfield to condemn them for continuing their operations.
"This is a politically-motivated thing."
Picture: Damian Shaw/NCA NewsWire
Mr Gibson noted that Premier Gladys Berejiklian has continually said large indoor gatherings are a higher risk for spreading the virus.
"Why is her government giving exemptions to commercial operations to allow thousands of people to gathering indoors including the major shopping centres," he said.
"But they won't work cooperatively with protest organisers who put forward a plan more than a month ago to the NSW Government saying we want to carry this out in a socially distancing safe way."
Mr Gibson said the organisers put forward an alternative plan to the police to have the protest in The Domain to allow for social distancing.
He said a rule would be in place saying more than 20 people couldn't group together in order to abide by current gathering restrictions.
But police reportedly told them that if there were more than 20 people spaced out at the park "it could be construed as a gathering in breach of a regulation and we can face fines and arrest".
Mr Gibson said these actions were working to "demonise" the BLM movement.
The organisers of a Black Lives Matter protest have vowed to go ahead with the rally in Sydney today, despite it being deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.
Speaking on Today, Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged those planning to attend the protest to think about the health of their loved ones.
"If you are not worried about yourself think about your loved ones you could be infecting and causing enormous harm to," she told the morning show.
"We are appealing to people conscientious and the ethical standards say that you should not be out there."
The premier urged people to find a different way to express their views on the issue at hand, adding the state was not under "normal" circumstances.
"In NSW we are in a very, very critical point. If we get through the next couple of weeks managing to control the spread, our prospects of having a very positive experience in the next little while are much greater," she said.
"It only takes a few cases for this thing to go out of control. We have seen that in Victoria. We don't want it to happen in NSW.
"I am just appealing to everybody think about another way to express your views."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9uc3ctYWN0L25ld3MvYmxhY2stbGl2ZXMtbWF0dGVyLXN5ZG5leS1wcm90ZXN0LWxpdmUtdXBkYXRlcy9saXZlLWNvdmVyYWdlLzBhMzdmMGRlNDgxMzVlODc0ZTk3NmFhYjFmMDVlYzgz0gGPAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL25zdy1hY3QvbmV3cy9ibGFjay1saXZlcy1tYXR0ZXItc3lkbmV5LXByb3Rlc3QtbGl2ZS11cGRhdGVzL2xpdmUtY292ZXJhZ2UvMGEzN2YwZGU0ODEzNWU4NzRlOTc2YWFiMWYwNWVjODMvYW1w?oc=5
2020-07-28 00:47:14Z
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