NSW Police Minister David Elliott has labelled anyone planning to attend this weekend’s Black Lives Matter and Indigenous deaths in custody protests “certifiably insane,” in another shining moment for the Government’s response to the growing global disquiet.
Elliott appeared on Macquarie Radio earlier this morning, discouraging attendance and asserting that the Black Lives Matter movement was “not my sort of cause.”
Elliott chastised the thousands upon thousands of people planning to attend the rallies, which will take place across Australia over the weekend, for protesting while the coronavirus pandemic was still active, even despite NSW in particular rolling back restrictions over recent weeks.
“Anybody who goes to a mass gathering during a pandemic is certifiably insane, they are nuts,” Elliott asserted, before inferring that if he had the power to outlaw political protest, he would.
“I have literally been up half the night talking to senior police, taking legal advice, but as the Premier said yesterday there are things in our society that are just virtually impossible to stop and the right for political freedom is one of them.”
NSW State Opposition has also openly criticised the protests, chiding the Berejiklian Government for allowing them to go ahead at all. NSW Labor spokesperson Lynda Voltz stated that public health orders should prohibit large organised gatherings, including protests.
Rally organisers are encouraging attendees to practice safe social distancing and hygiene measures for the peaceful protests, including maintaining 1.5m between people, carrying hand sanitiser, and wearing face masks.
More information on maintaining rally safety can be accessed here.
For information on when protest action against Indigenous deaths in custody is scheduled for your city, visit this link.
