An Australian public health expert says the weekend's Black Lives Matter protests should be allowed and there should not be a trade-off between coronavirus containment and anti-racism efforts.
Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin said the health of Australia's first nations people is one of the most pressing public health issues today.
"If the same commitment made by Australians and their governments to control COVID-19 was applied to eradicating racism and improving the circumstances of our first people, Australia would be an enormously advanced nation," Mr Slevin said.
"We call on governments and police to lend every support to the Black Lives Matter protesters in exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest, to forego any legal action to hinder protests, and to support protests in ways that mitigate any risk of COVID-19, for example, by providing masks to protesters."
His comments come after and .
But Mr Slevin said Australia now had "extremely low levels of community transmission" of the virus and said he saw no reason why the protests could not go ahead if participants took the proper precautions.
"We recommend that all who choose to be involved in protests wear masks, maintain physical distancing, and download the CovidSafe app," he said.
"We urge all involved – protesters, police and anyone in the vicinity – to be respectful, peaceful and non violent."
Refugee rights protests are planned for Saturday in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, while Black Lives Matter protests have been scheduled for Friday evening in Sydney and Saturday afternoon in Brisbane and Perth.
Protest organiser Raul Bassi said the Sydney event would be going ahead on Friday with precautions in place.
"We don't want a situation where people could be in some sort of danger or arrested or whatever," he told SBS News.
"You have to remind people while you can. TV is talking about it, radio is talking about it, and that helps us to keep the fire."
'A dangerous precedent'
The NSW Supreme Court's decision to block the refugee rights' rally came just a week after .
That protest went ahead, drawing more than 10,000 people into the city's CBD, with rallies in other capital cities also drawing thousands.
Black Lives Matter protesters in Sydney on 6 June, 2020. Source: AAP
Facing another weekend of planned protests, Mr Morrison on Friday afternoon urged Australians not to attend.
"The medical advice is that this is an unsafe thing to do. It puts not only your own health at risk, but it puts other people's lives at risk," he said.
"This is not about the issue that people are raising, this is about people's health and welfare and I would urging Australians to respect that by not attending those events."
Chief medical officer Dr Brendan Murphy echoed the prime minister's comments, urging people to "express your genuine concerns about issues in other ways".
But University of Sydney political scientist Sarah Cameron said stripping Australians of their right to protest peacefully was dangerous, even in the midst of a pandemic.
"If there are circumstances in which people’s democratic rights are being restricted, that sets quite a dangerous precedent," she said.
"What we’ve seen during the pandemic is a curtailment of civil liberties that’s unprecedented in recent times, and we could say these restrictions have come at a time when it’s particularly important for people to have a say in the political process - not least the government's response to the crisis."
Ms Cameron questioned suggestions that activists should voice their opinions online instead of in public during the pandemic, saying it was not as simple as "moving democracy online".
Protesters are seen a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne. Source: AAP
"We can see how the protests of the past few weeks have received huge media coverage," she said.
"Would they have received the same coverage if they were online? I doubt it."
