Thirteen people have been arrested after an allegedly violent confrontation between New South Wales police and protesters outside a state government-sponsored defence conference in Sydney.
Both police officers and protesters were allegedly injured at Palestine Action Group’s demonstration on Tuesday outside the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Darling Harbour, amid criticism that Israel’s largest weapons companies were attending the event.
Police said they were creating an exclusion area when they were “set upon” by protesters, prompting police to use measures including pepper spray to drive demonstrators back to a cordoned off area. Sydney city area police commander, Supt Paul Dunstan, said two officers were injured during the protest, with one suffering lacerations to the face, while another had to have paint flushed out of his eye after protesters allegedly threw it at officers.
But Josh Lees, organiser for Palestine Action Group, rejected Dunstan’s account of the initial confrontation, saying protesters were “set upon as soon as we arrived”.
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“The police attacked us from all different angles … immediately started pepper spraying people, attacking people, riding horses into people.”
Lees said about 50 protesters, including himself, had been “severely pepper sprayed” during the protest.
Amy Baran, 28, said she fractured her knee as she tried to avoid other protesters falling on her as the police drove the crowd back during the initial confrontation. “The crowd went one way and my leg went the other.”
She was driven to St Vincent’s hospital, where an X-ray and CT scan confirmed the injury.
NSW police said it had not received any reports of injuries to protesters. A spokesperson for NSW ambulance said it was on the scene and treated patients from the protest for minor injuries, although they could not say how many.
The Palestine Action Group had publicised its plans to blockade the conference, but dozens of uniformed and mounted officers surrounded the ICC on Tuesday morning to prevent the event from being disrupted.
Dunstan said a group of between 50 and 100 people marched in the direction of police, “straight into our line”.
“We were set upon,” he said on Tuesday afternoon. “Police did not go out with an attempt to use force … we were required to use an amount of force commensurate with what was forced upon them by us.”
Another group, the Anti-Aukus Coalition, had been told to assemble in Tumbalong Park by police, after their form 1 application to march directly on the convention was rejected. Dunstan said this group was not involved in confrontations with police.
Lees alleged protesters were “just walking towards … our advertised assembly point for our demonstration” when they were “attacked”.
Later, police used pepper spray again and made several arrests after protesters began picking up a section of metal barricade in Tumbalong Park.
At least two of the 13 protesters arrested were later released without charge. Those still in custody had not yet been charged as of Tuesday afternoon, although Dunstan said charges would include assaulting police officers and resisting arrest.
Hannah Thomas, the former Greens candidate who was seriously injured during a protest in June, briefly spoke to the crowd in Tumbalong Park. Chants of “shame”, “long live Gaza” and “hands off the West Bank” rang out.
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Thomas, who has undergone multiple rounds of surgery, told Guardian Australia the defence conference warranted the protest. “That event is fucked,” she said.
Dunstan said police would continue to maintain “a strong presence” around the conference, which finishes on Thursday. Lees said he did not know if Palestine Action Group would stage further protests at the event.
“This is a convention that brought together some of the major weapons companies, which have carried out genocide in Gaza for the past two years,” he said.
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An Australian subsidiary of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, and the state-owned company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, are showcasing weapons to buyers in Sydney.
Before the expo, Chris Sidoti, a former member of the UN commission of inquiry that found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, alleged the two companies were “key enablers” of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people. He criticised the Australian defence department’s involvement with the expo as a “key stakeholder”.
When asked on Tuesday about Rafael’s presence at the expo, given its links to alleged war crimes by Israel’s military in Gaza, a company spokesperson said: “We don’t deal with politics.
“We’re here to talk about how to help Australia, how to help New Zealand, how to help our other allies increase their security. We have a lot of meetings scheduled today.”
Elbit Systems was contacted for comment.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, defended the state government’s sponsorship of the conference.
Speaking on ABC radio on Tuesday morning, Minns said the maritime sector was a “massive part” of the NSW economy, which he said would remain important as regions including the Hunter moved away from coal extraction.
Asked if he was comfortable with the attendance of Elbit Systems and Rafael, he said: “I’m not responsible for the invitations.”
“That’s not me running away from … who’s invited to this particular summit.
“I have got little to no exposure or decision-making in relation to Australia’s relationship with foreign countries and foreign arms manufacturers in relation to where it’s used.”
A weapons expo in Melbourne in September 2024 sparked major protests, with thousands converging on the event and more than 110 people arrested.
The Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition attracted hundreds of defence personnel from around the world, with more than 800 domestic and international companies involved.
