BRIDGE PROTEST A DANGEROUS DISRUPTION- TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT FOOT THE BILL
Media Release /Opinion Piece /Paul Toole Shadow Minister for Police, Paul Toole
Sydney,04 august,2025
Yesterday’s protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge wasn’t just a traffic inconvenience, it was reckless and put public safety, police and productivity at serious risk.
People may have a right to protest, but shutting down a key transport arterial road with just several days’ notice is completely irresponsible.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge isn’t a stage for political grandstanding, it’s a vital link for emergency services, airport access and workers to get across Sydney. Closing it down throws the entire city into chaos.
The NSW Police were forced to respond to a crowd of 90,000 people, nine times the number originally flagged by organisers.
That’s a massive public safety risk. Police had to scramble to manage concerns around “crowd crush” and divert over 1,100 police officers from across the city with virtually no time to plan.
The fact no one was seriously hurt is just sheer luck. This 2 year campaign of protesting has been draining police resources for far too long and the Minns Labor Government cannot allow this to continue.
Whilst NSW already deals with over 1,500 protests a year, how long do we have to keep letting the same organisers cause mass disruptions while taxpayers continue to pick up the tab?
Shadow Minister for Police, Paul Toole said the situation was unacceptable and could have ended in tragedy:
“This protest was chaotic, dangerous, and grossly irresponsible and it’s just by miracle that a disaster didn’t occur. We had police pulled from commands right across the city to help manage a crowd that ballooned without warning and with no proper safety planning in place. The fact that Government MPs took part is disgraceful. If protesters want to shut down cities, they should pay for it, not the hardworking taxpayers of NSW.”
It’s time for change and there should be:
- No more last minute approvals given on critical infrastructure like the Harbour Bridge.
- Police should be able to charge organisers for the cost of repeated events.
“Public safety isn’t negotiable and the taxpayer shouldn’t be left picking up the pieces.”
“Enough is Enough.”
