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The School Strike 4 Climate protest on March 3 brought lots of students back onto the streets. It also bought long-term supporters, including Stephen Langford.

As I was chatting to Langford before the rally started, NSW Police surrounded us and arrested him. His offence? An alleged breach of bail conditions.

Langford had been charged on February 2 for the “offence” of blue tacking Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s words onto his statue in Hyde Park. The police imposed honourous bail conditions — including that Langford not be allowed into the CBD.

Langford was in the process of challenging these bail conditions.

Rachel Evans, who was also at the rally, told �鶹��ý that Langford should have a right to show solidarity with the students. “NSW is fast becoming a police state,” the activist.

Evans, who is running for , said that it was getting ridiculous. “The NSW anti-protest laws have emboldened the police to make arbitrary arrests and impose draconian conditions.

“We need to all parties running for office to commit to repeal the anti-protest laws, and do what Unions NSW and the NSW Civil Liberties Council are asking for. These laws have no place in a so-called democracy.”

The Sydney Knitting Nannas, with placards calling for #ProtectProtest, also attended the climate protest.

[March 4 update: Langford challenged his detention and bail conditions. The bail condition preventing him from being in the CBD was overtuned.]

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Sydney Knitting Nannas at the climate protest. Photo: Pip Hinman