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The New South Wales premier risks going down in history as the most conservative premier of the modern era.

Renowned for his political nous, slick media management, urbane delivery and ability to tamp down controversy, Chris Minns is perennially attuned to the loud voices of the shock jocks on Sydney radio and in the Murdoch media.

But his decision to oppose the march for Palestine across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday was a critical error of judgment – and the 100,000 or more people who braved torrential rain and wind to walk for those in Gaza told him so.

There were women in hijabs, men in Palestinian scarves, families with children, older couples, unionists and tens of thousands of young people from all parts of Sydney. Muslims, Jews and Christians declared their faith with placards.

The turnout, and its diversity, suggest people have had a gutful of the images of starving children, of desperate people risking their lives in a scramble for food at aid stations, of bombed-out buildings as far as the eye can see.

They’re prepared to put aside their reservations about being associated with one side of the Israel-Palestinian conflict in the interests of humanity.

If it’s not genocide, what’s taking place in Gaza is a mass displacement, because it’s hard to see how anyone, let alone children, can live in what is left of it.

Along with the horror at what’s happening in Gaza, there was also a palpable sense of anger towards Minns and, to a lesser extent, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, over Australia’s fence-sitting.

“Hey, Chris Minns – whose bridge? Our bridge!” protesters shouted as they marched.

A placard carried on to the bridge also called out the premier: “Hey Minns. Walking on a bridge won’t starve us, but blocking aid starves Palestinians. We will survive, they won’t.”

Another said: “Public safety concerns YES! The Palestinian public are not safe being starved and bombed.”

Chants rippled through the crowd calling for Albanese to act.

The legal right to protest is fundamental to the proper functioning of our democracy. Sometimes the institutions of government lag far behind public opinion – or fail to recognise the need for change.

Just ask the suffragettes, the activists who campaigned for the right of First Nations peoples to vote, for marriage equality for LGBTQ+ people, or the union movement, which fought using protest for the eight-hour workday.

In the face of an unfolding tragedy such as Gaza, people feel understandably powerless. Turning up and marching in a place that can accommodate huge numbers while garnering international attention is a legal and effective option to tell politicians they are tone deaf.

Minns’ overtly pro-Israel stance and his natural reflex toward the conservative on this and other issues, such as pill testing, drug reform and the right to protest, are now rattling his own team.

Among the state Labor MPs who defied the premier and joined the march on Sunday were Penny Sharpe, Jihad Dib, Lynda Voltz and Stephen Lawrence, alongside the federal MPs Ed Husic, Alison Byrne and Tony Sheldon.

Asked why he walked, Lawrence said: “It’s time for the world to act. It’s time for Australia to sanction Israel. The people have spoken today. They want more action from the Australian government to stop the genocide in Palestine.”

Privately, some inside state Labor are querying why Minns didn’t leave it to the police and the courts. The premier instead weighed in against the protest early, egged on by conservative pro-Israel commentators.

The result was a potential shambles. The Metro was closed for maintenance as was the eastern suburbs train line. There had been too little thought given to how 100,000 or more people might return from North Sydney, leading the police to turn around the massive crowd and walk them back to the city using geolocated texts and speakers on low-flying helicopters.

It all went as well as it could, thanks to the goodwill of the crowd, the organisers and NSW police.

But members of the Labor party, with its long heritage of progressive politics, human rights advocacy and embrace of direct action, want a serious rethink.

“It’s time for fundamental change of position in the Labor party on the right to protest, and our approach to this question of Palestinian protests,” Lawrence said.

“The last few days have shown we cannot take away the right of people to protest. Inconvenience occurs. It should be minimised, but public safety is the key thing, and that is a key reason why the right to protest must be protected.”

ROME: Pope Leo XIV presided over a final mass in Rome for over one million young people on Sunday, the culmination of a youth pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world.

The week-long event ending Sunday, a highlight of the Jubilee holy year, was an enormous undertaking for the Vatican, with a half a million young pilgrims in Rome for most of the week.

On Saturday night, before a twilight vigil led by the pope, organizers had confirmed the attendance of 800,000 people in the vast, open-air space on Rome’s eastern outskirts, and on Sunday the Vatican said that number had grown to one million people.

Most of those attending slept on the ground in tents, in sleeping bags or or mats, awaiting Sunday’s mass under sunny skies.

To music from a choir, green-robed bishops began filling an enormous stage covered with a golden arch and a massive cross before Leo, who arrived by helicopter, began mass.

The Vatican said 450 bishops and around 700 priests participated in the final event for the youth, who have filled Rome’s streets since Monday.

The festive atmosphere reached its peak Saturday ahead of an evening vigil presided over by Leo, with Italian broadcaster Rai dubbing it a Catholic “Woodstock.”

Hundreds of thousands of youths camped out at the dusty venue, strumming guitars or singing, others snoozing, as music blasted from the stage where a series of religious bands entertained the crowds.

Leo was greeted with deafening screams and applause after his arrival by helicopter Saturday as he toured the grounds in his popemobile, with many people running to catch a better glimpse of the new American pope.

At over 500,000 square meters (125 acres), the grounds were the size of around 70 football fields.

British student Andy Hewellyn had parked himself in front of a huge video screen — a prime spot, as he could not even see the stage far away.

“I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” he told AFP.

“The main thing is that we’re all together.”

The youth pilgrimage came about three months after the start of Leo’s papacy and 25 years after former pope John Paul II organized the last such youth gathering in Rome.

The Church planned a series of events for the young pilgrims over the course of the week, including turning the Circus Maximus – where chariot races were held in ancient Rome – into an open-air confessional.

CAIRO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Sunday that two fuel trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel restricted the entry of goods and aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Gaza’s health ministry has said fuel shortages were hindering the operation of hospitals, adding that doctors had to prioritise services at some of their facilities. There was no immediate confirmation whether the trucks had entered Gaza.

Fuel entry has been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid and goods into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it took in its October 2023 assault on Israel.

Dozens have died of malnutrition in Gaza in recent weeks, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday.

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

U.N. agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said 35 trucks have entered Gaza since June, nearly all of them in July.

More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the enclave in January and February during the ceasefire, before Israel resumed its major offensive in March.

The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha, Nidal Al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Maayan Lubell; Editing by William Mallard and Toby Chopra)