A massive pro-Palestine protest is set to block the Sydney Harbour Bridge after the Supreme Court threw out cops’ failed bid to stop the march.
Tens of thousands of protesters are set to gather in Lang Park, in the city’s CBD, at 1pm on Sunday and begin the march to block the iconic bridge.
Despite rainy conditions forecast for the demonstration, Palestine Action Group expect as many as 50,000 people to participate.
Protesters are scheduled to begin marching through York and Grosvenor streets at 1.30pm before heading across the bridge and finishing in Bradfield Park, on the bridge’s northern end.
The Harbour Bridge will be closed to traffic from 11.30am.
Authorities expect the march will last three hours and are set to re-open the bridge at 4pm.
Transport for NSW said that ‘extensive’ queues are expected at the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
Motorists were urged to avoid the area and consider alternative routes.
Bus services will not cross the bridge during the demonstration.
Buses on the south side of the bridge will terminate in the CBD while those on the northern side will end at North Sydney and St Leonards.
Trains will continue operating across the bridge throughout the protest but are expected to suffer significant delays due to increased commuter volume.
Metro services are also experiencing operation issues.
The Metro will not be available between Tallawong and Sydenham due to track work.
Buses will replace Metro services between Tallawong and Chatswood.
Police on Saturday implored those planning to take part to act peacefully and respectfully, warning them they would be closely monitored.
‘We are there to keep everyone safe … we will have police right along the route and we’ll be making sure this is done as safely and peacefully as possible,’ Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said.
‘Anyone who thinks they’re going to come along and hijack this protest or do the wrong thing, police will take swift action.’
Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg earlier rejected an application on behalf of the NSW police commissioner to shut down the march on public safety grounds.
The protest has garnered support from activists nationwide, human rights and civil liberties groups as well as several MPs and public figures, including former Socceroo Craig Foster.
Justice Rigg said in her judgment that arguments the rally would cause disruption were not sufficient to bar the protest.
‘It is in the very nature of the entitlement to peaceful protest that disruption will be caused to others,’ she said.
She noted there was significant support for the march from hundreds of organisations including Amnesty International, various churches, the Jewish Council of , the nurses and midwives association and other trade unions.
Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees, the public face of Palestine Action Group, called the court ruling a ‘huge victory for the Palestine movement in this country’.
More to come…