Anthony Albanese has slammed anti-immigration protesters for attending several rallies across the country in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack.
Put Australia First organised two rallies to take place at Prince Alfred Park, in Sydney, and outside Victoria’s Parliament House, in Melbourne, at 2pm on Sunday.
Both rallies drew a small turnout, with heavy rain driving away demonstrators in Melbourne and crowds appearing not to be much bigger in Sydney.
The Prime Minister delivered a blistering statement before the planned rallies, calling on demonstrators to stay home, saying today was a ‘National Day of Reflection’.
‘There are organised rallies seeking to sow division in the aftermath of last Sunday’s antisemitic terrorist attack, and they have no place in Australia,’ he said.
‘They should not go ahead and people should not attend them.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns has requested organisers to abandon their events, arguing the protests had the potential to deepen the pain felt by communities as victims continue to grieve over the dozens of dead and wounded.
The Bondi Beach attack occurred just before 7pm last Sunday, when Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, allegedly opened fire during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, killing at least 15 people and injuring 40 more.
Sajid was shot dead and Naveed taken into custody and charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder.
Anthony Albanesehas slammed anti-immigration protesters as they prepare to attend several rallies across the country in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack
Thousands of protesters are expected to storm the streets in the wake of last weekend’s deadly Bondi Beach terror attack
Independent MP Barnaby Joyce and One Nation Senator Sean Bell will also give speeches at the Sydney rally.
Minns warned anyone who plans on attending the rally: ‘Don’t do it. Don’t go ahead with it.’
The Premier stressed it was not an appropriate time to demonstrate while victims are still ‘burying their dead’.
‘Right now, people are burying their dead. They’re coming together as a community,’ he said.
‘The Jewish community are coming together to mourn the loss of so many people in their family.’
Minns said Australians should hold back and that the temperature needed to be lowered ‘in what is undeniably a combustible situation’.
No application for the city’s protest has been received or accepted by NSW Police.
Officers have warned that while protesters can gather in the park, road blockades would be unlawful and result in police intervention.
The Bondi Beach attack occurred just before 7pm on Sunday, when Naveed Akram, 24 (pictured), and his father Sajid, 50, allegedly opened fire during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, killing at least 15 people and injuring 40 more
No permit was ever filed for the Sydney protest and Minns has warned that while protesters can gather in Prince Alfred Park any road blockages will be met by police
All flags flown on Commonwealth government buildings in NSW will be at half-mast to honour the day of mourning.
The premier has arranged for Sydney’s buildings to be lit up in honour of the victims.
‘Buildings will be lit up in yellow for the evening. Lights will beam into the sky from Bondi Pavilion,’ he said.
‘The NSW government will support Jewish leaders to hold a community memorial event, and a shareable candle image will be used on social media.
‘It’s a day of reflection and a pause for the terrible events, the shocking crimes that occurred last Sunday and a show of national respect for those that have lost their lives.’
Melbourne’s planned protest has also garnered criticism from Jewish leaders as well as Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
The demonstration will take place on the steps of state parliament and leaders of Put Australia First have said they will stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
They have described the Bondi Beach attack as an affront ‘against liberal values, peace and harmony and therefore, all Australians’.
Victoria’s planned demonstration has been met with condemnation by the state’s Jewish community who have called its timing deeply offensive
Sajid (pictured) was shot dead and Naveed taken into custody and charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder
Jewish leaders have said the timing of the protest is deeply offensive.
Elyse Schachna, who is the president of Zionism Victoria, said the community’s day of reflection was ‘not an appropriate day for rallies or protest’.
‘This should be a moment of reckoning, for Australians to reflect on whether they stayed silent, looked away, or helped normalise extremism, and to consider what each of us must do to ensure the environment that led to Bondi is never allowed to take hold again,’ she told the Herald Sun.
Allan also slammed the event and echoed Minns’ warning the event could worsen division and grief.
Despite these criticisms, Put Australia First organisers have refused to postpone or cancel the event.
Some notable politicians will be speaking at the event including Libertarian MP David Limbrick and Freedom Party founder Morgan Jonas.
Organisers have insisted they have the support of ‘many’ inside the Jewish community.
‘Speakers will call for unity, respect and highlight the fact that radical Islam is totally against Australian values and everything we stand for,’ they said in a statement.
Sunday had already been designated a day of reflection as Aussies continue to grieve
Despite calls for the events to be postponed or cancelled none of the protests organisers have yielded and the events will go ahead as originally planned
The group’s previous events have descended into violence and counter-protests.
Allan said any hateful rhetoric would not be tolerated at the protest.
‘It would be deeply inappropriate for any kind of event or activity that only serves to drive division and hate and grief to take place,’ she said.
A Victorian Police spokesperson said officers would be attending Sunday’s protest and that their ‘top priority will be ensuring the safety of those attending and the broader community.’
