Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Strawmanning in the chat at the July SRC Council
    • Folk Reimagined, East In Symphony at the Sydney Opera House
    • Graeme Turner’s ‘Broken’ assesses our ailing university sector
    • MAPW addresses USyd’s retreat from “obligation to promote peace” in open letter
    • 2025–26 State Budget Unpacked
    • Antisemitism review puts universities, festivals, and cultural centres under threat
    • Macquarie University axes Sociology, cuts more jobs & courses
    • UTS elects new Chancellor
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Tuesday, July 15
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»News

    National Day of Action education rally shut down by police, several fines issued

    This is the second education rally in the last month to have been shut down by police on campus.
    By Chuyi WangAugust 28, 2020 News 4 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Over seventy police, including a large number of police horses and riot police, have shut down the National Day of Action rally this afternoon called in conjunction by several education activist groups, including the University of Sydney SRC, the UNSW Education Collective and Macquarie Uni Students Against Uni Cuts. 

    The rally was called in response to a number of cuts by both the Morrison government and various University administrations to staff jobs and the quality of Australian tertiary education.

    The rally was planned for 1pm outside Fisher Library. However, in the hour prior, several police vehicles had already arrived outside the library, and at least twenty police officers were standing along the length of Eastern Avenue. 

    At 1pm, before the rally could begin, police issued a formal move-on order, determining that protesters had gathered in a group larger than twenty “for a common purpose”. They also threatened all attendees with fines up to $1000. This echoed the justification used by police to shut down a similar education rally late last month.

    Police then began clearing the outside of Fisher Library, as well as pushing a contingent made up of Solidarity faction members towards the library from the F23 Administration Building. During this time, Jack Mansell, one of the SRC Education Officers, was apprehended and fined.

    Police have issued move-on orders at the No Fee Hikes No Uni Cuts protest at Fisher library. There is heavy police presence all over Eastern Avenue. One protester has already been issued a fine. pic.twitter.com/tH9NRMUeFW

    — Honi Soit (@honi_soit) August 28, 2020

    Others who were peacefully protesting and chanting were also indiscriminately apprehended and given a fine. Vinil Kumar, SRC Mature Age Officer, was seized almost a minute after delivering a speech. SRC Environment Officer Sofie Nicolson was also apprehended whilst trying to walk away from police. Around 10 attendees in total have been issued fines.

    Another protestor appears to have been arrested as they walk away pic.twitter.com/sFJI9xl7BJ

    — Honi Soit (@honi_soit) August 28, 2020

    Honi understands that no formal arrests were made. However, police officers were heard telling those that they apprehended that they were being ‘placed under arrest’. It was also heard that police were targeting a specific list of people, including organisers from various political factions and activist collectives. 

    David Brophy, a history lecturer at USyd, stated: “Yesterday I had 20+ students in a room for a tutorial. But today, Michael Spence call[ed] the riot squad onto campus to shut down a rally against fee hikes, on the grounds that it exceeded the 20 person limit. “Let’s pick ’em off one by one” was what I heard one of the cops say.”

    At around 1:20pm, riot police arrived alongside several police horses. The horses were employed to disperse the remaining protesters onto Parramatta Road through the Footbridge entrance. 

    Horses have now blocked off most entrances to the University. Here’s a whole farm outside Footbridge Theatre. pic.twitter.com/rUjhPCfuVB

    — Honi Soit (@honi_soit) August 28, 2020

    SRC President Liam Donohoe told Honi: “The SRC condemns the police brutality at today’s intended National Day of Action. We express solidarity to all attendees, particularly those still detained and dealing with fines. The SRC will contribute to bails and fines however we can. We won’t be deterred by police actions, and we fully intend to continue protesting regardless of how violent and brutal they are.”

    Honi reached out to a USyd spokesperson for comment, who said: “While we were aware of plans for a protest on campus, we did not try to prevent it from taking place.”

    “This year, we’ve engaged with our student representatives to support the development of COVID safe plans for events in line with NSW Health advice. We’ve also emphasised the current 20-person limit on public outdoor gatherings, under the NSW government’s COVID-19 public health orders.”

    “The event was publicly promoted, and NSW Police makes its own decisions under the Public Health Order.”

    As for why classes exceeding 20 people can gather indoors and not an outdoor protest, the spokesperson said: “The University is considered an essential service alongside many others such as schools and supermarkets and is generally exempt from the 4 square metre requirements, however we’re continuing to encourage physical distancing wherever possible.”

    More to come.

    education cuts police on campus protest

    Keep Reading

    Strawmanning in the chat at the July SRC Council

    MAPW addresses USyd’s retreat from “obligation to promote peace” in open letter

    Antisemitism review puts universities, festivals, and cultural centres under threat

    Macquarie University axes Sociology, cuts more jobs & courses

    UTS elects new Chancellor

    Jason Clare seeks replacement for ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop after $790,000 expense report

    Just In

    Strawmanning in the chat at the July SRC Council

    July 14, 2025

    Folk Reimagined, East In Symphony at the Sydney Opera House

    July 14, 2025

    Graeme Turner’s ‘Broken’ assesses our ailing university sector

    July 13, 2025

    MAPW addresses USyd’s retreat from “obligation to promote peace” in open letter

    July 13, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    Part One: The Tale of the Corporate University

    May 28, 2025

    “Thank you Conspiracy!” says Capitalism, as it survives another day

    May 21, 2025

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.