Police in New South Wales have won a Supreme Court bid to prohibit a Black Lives Matter march in Sydney and have warned people not to attend.
More than 4,000 people had indicated they would attend the gathering at Town Hall on Tuesday afternoon. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller took rally organisers to the Supreme Court over concerns the demonstration would breach public health orders aimed at quelling the spread of coronavirus. Supreme Court Justice Mark Ierace referred to the increased risk of COVID-19 transmission in NSW due to the resurgence in Victoria as one of his reasons for the decision. “That current assessment of the level of risk, in spite of relatively low numbers of community transmission, is consistent with New South Wales presently being on the knife edge of a further escalation in community transmission of the virus,” he said.
NSW Police issued a media statement, saying the protest is now unauthorised and people thinking of attending should reconsider. “While the NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals to exercise their right to free speech, large-scale events, such as these, are currently subject to restrictions under the Public Health Act,” the media statement said. “As such, police will not hesitate to take the appropriate action, if required.”
