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The crowd at Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night was fired up. Speeches had ended, and those there to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia – here on an invitation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following the deadly Bondi terror attack – were ready to march.
Police, given special powers by NSW Premier Chris Minns due to safety concerns, were there to stop them. Crushed up between a park bench, planter boxes on the floor and the wall of officers blocking protesters from moving towards Druitt Street, Sydney Morning Herald photographer Wolter Peeters had no way to escape when the rally descended into violence.
Police and protesters clashed after some tried to march on George Street after the rally.Wolter PeetersParamedics treat one protester as others look on.Wolter PeetersA protester with a bloodied mouth after being arrested in Sydney on Monday evening.Wolter Peeters
Police at a protest outside Sydney Town Hall on Monday night.Wolter Peeters
“I noticed one of the police officers pulling off the capsicum spray from his belt, and I wasn’t in a great position,” says Peeters. “I was trying to remove myself from that position, so I wouldn’t get directly sprayed, but I just couldn’t move.”
There is a three-minute gap in Peeters’ camera roll just after 7pm, which is when officers deployed capsicum spray. Eyes watering, he was completely overwhelmed, and it was difficult to breathe.
But Peeters was focused on recovering as quickly as possible so he – alongside reporters Jessica McSweeney and Riley Walter, and photographers Kate Geraghty and Dean Sewell – could continue documenting an event that is now being investigated by NSW Police’s watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
Protesters clashed with police near Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night during Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Sydney.Dean Sewell
A protester raises her arm in the air, making the peace sign whilst facing a line of NSW police officers during the protests at Sydney’s Town Hall against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.Kate GeraghtyMultiple people were arrested at the Town Hall protest. Peeters is in the background on the right, photographing the action.Dean SewellHundreds of people gathered to demonstrate against police brutality and the visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday.Audrey Richardson
“It’s just a matter of trying to drink as much water as I could and just clear my face … but once it’s on your skin, everything starts … you just get this tingling, burning on you,” says Peeters. He made sure not to rub his eyes, and when he got home, put all his clothes in the wash straight away.
Each week, TheSydney Morning Herald’s award-winning team of staff photographers contributors travels across the state, country and globe to document history as it happens, and hold those in power accountable.
This week, our newsroom captured the fallout from Herzog’s visit, Angus Taylor’s turfing of Sussan Ley in the Liberal Party room, and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s return to the Senate after her two-month suspension.
Then-opposition leader Sussan Ley and then-shadow minister for defence Angus Taylor arrive for Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.Alex EllinghausenOne Nation Senator Pauline Hanson returns to the Senate after she was expelled for wearing a burqa at Parliament House in Canberra.Dominic Lorrimer
But we also made sure to document the joyful way of life that parliamentarians build and threaten. At times, this power seems to be lost in the theatrics.
Trainee photographer Audrey Richardson’s portrait from the world’s toughest mountain bike race in Tasmania, and multi-Walkley winner Kate Geraghty’s cheerful snaps from a Nyngan waterslide, are some that bring it back into focus.
Read on to see this week in pictures from our team of photographers.
Ollie, 15, poses for a portrait while waiting for the Red Bull Hardline Tasmania final event at Maydena Bike Park, Tasmania. The final event was eventually cancelled due to weather and safety concerns.Audrey RichardsonMax Kennedy, 12, waves as he goes down the water slide at the War Memorial Pool in Nyngan.Kate GeraghtyBrothers Maddox Chapman (aged eight, left) and Beckham Chapman (aged nine, right) sit in the stands at the Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centre before having a swim in the early morning before school.Kate GeraghtyArtist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah is pictured here with 300 pigeons as part of his new exhibition at the Chau Chak Wing Museum.Steven Siewert
Australian navy personnel carry the coffin of Dame Marie Bashir the 37th Governor of NSW from St James Church in Sydney following her state funeral.Kate GeraghtyEarly morning recovery for racing horses is seen in Botany Bay near Kyeemagh Beach, New South Wales, on Tuesday.Sam MooySussan Ley arrives to address the media after she was ousted during a Liberal Party leadership spill on Friday morning. In her address, Ley confirmed she would be quitting politics after 25 years in federal parliament.Alex Ellinghausen
With Bronte Gossling
Hear the story behind the headlines on The Morning Edition podcast, every weekday from 5am on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform.
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