Australia news live: huge crowds of pro-Palestine protesters, including Julian Assange, Bob Carr and Ed Husic, begin crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge | Australia news
Protesters begin crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge
We have word from our reporter, Jordyn Beazley, that protesters have now started to cross the Sydney harbour Bridge.
Among those at the front of the crowd are MP Ed Husic, former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and five Labor MPs who defied calls from Premier Chris Minns not to march.
Key events
Josh Taylor
Melbourne protesters appear to be blocked from King Street Bridge
While in Sydney the march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge has gone ahead, pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne’s CBD, who had planned to shut down King Street Bridge, appear to have been blocked from crossing the Bridge by police
Video shared on social media by the protest organisers shows police in riot gear and shields blocking the King Street Bridge with trucks.
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Victoria police were approached to confirm the bridge had been shut down, and a spokesperson said a statement would be released at the end of the day.
“We are all Palestinians” shout marchers on Sydney Harbour Bridge
The front of the Sydney pro-Palestine march has crossed the harbour bridge, with a video from the Guardian’s Shelley Hepworth on BlueSky showing the march at a stand still with the crowd shouting “We are all Palestinians”
Here are some more images of Julian Assange attending the Palestine Action Group’s March for Humanity protest in Sydney.
Police say protesters can walk back across the bridge to avoid crowd crush
NSW police have said protesters can now walk back across the Sydney Harbour Bridge once the march has reached the northern end, in an attempt to avoid a “potential crowd crush”.
The initial plan was for protesters to walk north from the Wynyard end of the bridge, then disperse in North Sydney.
But in a statement, police said “due to the public safety risk and prevailing weather conditions”, protesters could walk back southbound across the bridge to the Sydney CBD.
Operation commander Adam Johnson said the change would be facilitated by specialist tactical police:
People who travelled from Sydney’s northern suburbs can leave the group, and North Sydney train station will remain open and operating as originally intended, but due to the risk of a potential crowd crush scenario at the train station, we will now provide the third option of allowing protesters to walk back across the Bridge and disperse in the CBD.
This means the Bridge will remain closed for a longer period than originally planned, until the operation concludes.
I urge all involved to obey directions of police – they are acting in the best interests of everyone. Our planning and intent has always been to ensure the safety of everyone.
We do not have an alternative.
Crowd size estimate
The Palestine Action Group who are organising the Sydney march were expecting about 25,000 people to turn out.
It’s difficult to say how many people are there right now, with reports and pictures of tightly packed streets.
One police officer has told a Guardian reporter on the ground that the force thought the number was about 25,000.
Protesters throng Wynyard station
Protesters continue to arrive at Wynyard station in Sydney to walk across the Harbour Bridge – braving appalling weather conditions to protest Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Caitlin Cassidy
‘Innocent babies have no colour, no religion, no language’
The crowd has begun to slowly filter down Lang Street towards the bridge.
Earlier, Nurses and Midwives 4 Palestine stood in the rain on with their umbrellas and large sign, swapping snacks and joining in chants.
They have been braving all weather conditions to attend weekly pro-Palestine rallies since 2023.
Today isn’t new for them – but what does feel different is the sheer scale of the march.
Mark Murphy, a registered nurse and member of the group, says the Palestinian people have been “voiceless”:
There’s a genocide, there’s forced starvation … Palestinians have got no rights. By us showing up here, it’s a small token … we want to make sure the rest of the world is hearing, and taking action. This is what people power’s all about.
Philomena McGoldrick, a registered nurse and midwife, has spent stints working in Gaza and has been heartbroken by images circulating of starving children. She says:
Innocent babies have no colour, no religion, no language. In this day and age … it’s heartbreaking … But it’s nice to meet people standing on the right side. The tide has changed.
Caitlin Cassidy
Crowd waits to march in Sydney during a break in the rain
The rain has briefly abated and the crowd in Sydney, packed on Lang Street in their thousands, are waiting to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Many protestors are carrying pots and utensils to draw attention to the ongoing starvation in Gaza.
Dan, who is originally from the UK, is proudly holding a sign reading “Gay Jews 4 Gaza”.
He’s in attendance over the frustration of the war in Gaza continuing for so long and the federal government “seemingly doing nothing”.
I grew up in a north London Jewish community, and I think there’s a widespread Zionism that exists within the Jewish community that is difficult to separate from religion … I think it’s important for people within the community to stand up and raise their voice against the state of Israel because they’re not representative of the Jewish community as a whole.
Asked if this feels like a turning point, Dan says:
I hope so … it’s gone on long enough without action.
Protesters begin crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge
We have word from our reporter, Jordyn Beazley, that protesters have now started to cross the Sydney harbour Bridge.
Among those at the front of the crowd are MP Ed Husic, former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and five Labor MPs who defied calls from Premier Chris Minns not to march.
Hundreds of children among Sydney pro-Palestine marchers
Caitlin Cassidy
Hundreds of children and infants are in the crowd at Sydney’s Lang Park today, wearing ponchos and keffiyehs.
Experts have warned that children, elderly people and those with pre-existing health conditions are most at risk of famine in Gaza, amid well-documented evidence of growing and worsening famine under conditions of Israeli restrictions on aid.
Laura, a protester, has brought her baby Miro to the Sydney march. She’s attended pro-Palestinian rallies in the past, but this is the first time she has brought her child with her. She tells Guardian Australia:
How could you not be here today?
It’s impossible not to be heartbroken by the pictures – why is it OK? It wouldn’t be okay if it was happening here.
Shani, in year five, who has come with her parents and her brother Hau, has attended pro-Palestinian rallies since 2023. She says she imagines she will describe today’s thousands-strong crowd to her own children one day.
I’m speaking out for the Palestinian kids like me, and for all of Palestine because of the war that’s been going on right now. It’s just really important … it feels really nice that other people stand beside me, and stand up for what I stand up to.
Photographer Matthew Abbott is at the march in Sydney today taking images for Guardian Australia:
Here’s an incredible scene sent to us of the George St exit of Wynyard station in Sydney.
Wet afternoon forecast for Sydney protesters
Sydney pro-Palestine protesters look as if they’re in for a wet and cold afternoon as they march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s forecast suggests the temperature will “feel like” 12C for most of the afternoon with persistent showers.
The bureau’s rain radar is suggesting the heavier falls may have passed, but behind it is plenty of lighter rain for the next couple of hours moving in off the coast.
‘Thank you for defying Chris Minns’, says Greens senator Faruqi
Jordyn Beazley
Greens senator, Mehreen Faruqi, is speaking at the protest now, taking a swipe at the NSW premier, Chris Minns, for not supporting the protest. She said:
Thank you for defying Chris Minns. This is a man who wants you to stay home and be silent in the face of a genocide.
It was never about logistics. It was never about traffic. It was never about communications or anything else. It was always about stopping us and silencing us. It was always about protecting Israel and the Labor government from accountability.
We’ve got to keep building this momentum because we don’t want rhetoric or words or signatures or gestures. We want the harshest sanctions on Israel.
We are united and we are stronger and louder and more powerful together. Today we will make history.
Caitlin Cassidy
Thousands of Palestinian supporters arrive at Sydney’s Lang Park
Thousands of people are arriving at Lang Park before today’s pro-Palestine march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Protesters are braving heavy rain and mud, carrying umbrellas and donning rain jackets, and many people are carrying signs and Palestinian flags.
The Palestine Action Group estimated that tens of thousands of people would be taking part in the march, protesting against Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the reported starvation of children.
“Watch and do nothing, what have you become?”, one sign reads, while another says: “ceasefire now”.
Here’s the scene on one Sydney street as pro-Palestine marchers prepare to set off for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Julian Assange and Bob Carr are at the Sydney Pro-Palestine march
What we know so far about the Pro-Palestine marches
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The Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed at 11.30am as pro-Palestine supporters gathered at Lang Park for the start of the march, which is expected to take three hours.
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March scheduled to start at 1.30pm from the corner of York and Grosvenor streets, then heading north west on to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Marchers turn left on to Alfred St and then go south to Bradfield Park.
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The Sydney march organiser is Palestine Action Group Sydney. There will be eight speakers, including Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, indigenous actor Meyne Wyatt and former Socceroo and Australian of the Year Craig Foster.
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Transport for NSW has asked people to avoid non-essential travel around the CBD and northern Sydney, warning there will be long delays. Bus services will be affected and travellers are being asked to check for updates.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters are also gathering in Melbourne ready to block the King Street bridge, this afternoon.
