Overview

• After an urgent hearing, a three‑judge bench unanimously granted NSW Police a prohibition order on the planned march to the Sydney Opera House.
• The court found an extreme risk of crowd crush due to limited exits, route pinch points and a forecourt capacity of about 6,000 versus an expected crowd of roughly 40,000.
• Judges noted that likely security screening at the Opera House would delay movement and compound the safety risk.
• Organisers proposed staggered arrivals and volunteer marshals and advanced arguments about the urgency of protesting Gaza, but the court deemed these measures insufficient.
• Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna warned the plan had “disaster written all over it,” and Premier Chris Minns publicly supported police in opposing the route.