New South Wales police have attempted to move on a pro-Palestine protester holding a baby and a sign saying “Shame Albo” when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was speaking at the opening of a Sydney park.
The incident at Ashfield’s Lewis Herman Reserve on Monday evening was filmed by multiple people including Inner West Greens councillor Dylan Griffiths who claimed the woman chanted “Shame, Albo, shame” when Albanese began to speak.
The councillor claimed Albanese responded by asking for the event to remain peaceful. The woman responded and then stood silently with her sign, Griffiths said. The sign included a picture of a watermelon – a symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance.
According to Griffiths and another event attendee named Justin, within a minute two police officers had made their way to the woman and her baby and attempted to take her sign and move her on. Police said the woman was disrupting the event.
“Officers attempted to speak with a woman observed disrupting the event,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday. “She was spoken to and no further action will be taken.”
A short video showed one of the officers attempting to move the woman and the baby before she sat down on the grass. Griffiths said he then went over to tell the police to go away and they did.
“The cops came over and attempted to remove her – it was quite rough,” the councillor said.
“I thought it was quite high where they were attempting to grab her. That’s why I stopped filming to go and help. When I was over there, the cops still had their hands on her. I said something like ‘It’s only a sign … just leave her alone’ and then they walked off.”
Local man Justin, who filmed the encounter from another direction, said the woman had yelled out when Albanese started speaking but stopped once the prime minister acknowledged her.
“Once the PM had stopped and addressed her, she stopped speaking,” he said.
“Then the police came over and tried to grab the sign. Police came and tried to take the sign from her and she objected to that. They then had a hold of her and her kid and were trying to move her along.”
Once the police made contact with the woman she yelled that she was being “manhandled by the cops” as Albanese kept speaking.
“Where’s my respect? I am getting manhandled by the cops here,” she said in the video seen by Guardian Australia.
Griffiths said he was shocked that Albanese or other state MPs including the NSW transport minister, Joanna Haylen, the local government minister, Ron Hoenig, and local councillors in attendance didn’t ask the police to stop.
“Albo had the mic, he should have said something,” Griffiths said. “It doesn’t matter if you are being protested, it’s a sign.”
The councillor said the woman “appeared quite shaken” after the event.
State Greens MP Jenny Leong, who was not at the event, shared the short clip on social media and said: “This is not normal. This is not OK.”
Later on Monday evening, protesters gathered near Albanese’s office in Marrickville holding signs saying “Gadigal and Gaza will be free” and “Stuff the ALP – land back globally”.
Albanese’s home branch in his electorate of Grayndler has previously called for a ceasefire in Gaza and more support for Palestinian Australians.
NSW police have been accused of being too heavy-handed at rallies and the state government was criticised in the early stages of the Israel-Hamas conflict for vowing to stop pro-Palestine marches – although they have subsequently gone ahead without major incident.
The prime minister’s office declined to comment on Tuesday. Haylen and Hoenig were also contacted for comment.
