Following a last minute prohibited assembly order lodged by the NSW Police Commissioner to block Keep Sydney Open's scheduled rally last Saturday night, the anti-lockout group has refused to back down and have announced a 'bigger, louder and stronger' rally in February than the one originally scheduled.
The Supreme Court ruled that "a crowd of 7,000 people would be too dangerous to accommodate", but Keep Sydney Open's Tyson Koh says, "The decision has huge implications for the future of political assembly in NSW.
"It has never been incumbent on protest groups to provide public toilets, evacuation plans, risk management assessments, traffic management plans or police officers. These have always been the responsibility of police when public assembly protocols are triggered. Yesterday's decision now puts that in doubt."
With new NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced today following Mike Baird's retirement last week, Koh says the anti-lockout body's new February 18 rally comes at a crucial time.
"We need to send a message that this issue is not going anywhere. Our campaign will continue to be the thorn in the side of any government who continues to devastate the communities of our city with draconian, anti-business, anti-culture lockout laws."
"This time we’re not just protesting to draw attention to the lockouts, but we’re fighting for our very right as citizens of NSW to gather on the streets and express ourselves politically."
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