Albanese demands explanation from NSW police after chaotic scenes
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese demanded an explanation from NSW police after officers disrupted Muslim prayers at a chaotic protest in Sydney, and also blasted far-left activists for defying laws designed to keep protests peaceful and Australian Jews safe.
Violent clashes broke out between demonstrators and police at a protest in Sydney on Monday against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, which has been criticized by pro-Palestinian Labor Party supporters, the Greens and some independent MPs.
They said Albanese should not have invited a head of state who represents a country accused of war crimes and whose visit would endanger social harmony.
In an interview about this imprint Inside Politics In the podcast, Albanese took a harsher stance against police actions during the protest than NSW Premier Chris Minns, who has repeatedly defended the police. Approximately 30 people were detained and 10 were arrested. The police watchdog will investigate the officers’ actions. The footage showed kneeling worshipers being pulled to their feet and then thrown to the ground.
“I am concerned about the great pain felt by the Muslim community over the disruption of prayers,” Albanese said. “I think this is something that needs full disclosure. I know it’s causing a lot of distress.”
The prime minister was condemned by a handful of independents this week for allowing Herzog’s visit, in what has become the latest flashpoint in more than two years of domestic fighting over the conflict in Gaza. The Jewish community wanted the head of the Jewish state to visit Bondi to mourn one of the deadliest attacks on Jews outside Israel in modern history.
The heat surrounding Herzog’s visit prompted NSW to use emergency powers to ban protests from the Sydney CBD to the eastern suburbs, where Sydney’s Jewish community is located. The rules give police more powers to remove people, close down certain areas and conduct searches.
Protesters were offered a venue near Hyde Park, but Palestine Action Group organizer Josh Lees said that was inadequate because City Hall was the most visible location. “We won’t be guided to a secluded, out-of-mind park on a dark weeknight,” he said this week.
Albanese described Lees as “far left” and sought to distinguish the activists from many mainstream protesters who were peaceful and had genuine concerns. Albanese said harder-line activists had repeatedly ignored social cohesion since October 7, 2023, including picketing outside his office in Marrickville and forcing him to move.
“The organizers had met with the police. They chose not to agree or find a logical way to hold the meeting in Hyde Park and then leave on foot to Belmore Park. I cannot understand why this suggestion would not be considered by the New South Wales Police,” Albanese said.
“They need to understand that sometimes actions don’t actually advance a cause, they undermine it, and that’s what happens.
“You may have a strong position on the Middle East and justice for the Palestinians. I also support a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, and my government is the first government to recognize Palestine. That doesn’t mean you can’t understand and empathize with what the Jewish community in Australia is really suffering.”
Albanese, who has also been criticized by conservatives for his recognition of the Palestinian state and his response to the massacre, fiercely defended his decision to invite Herzog. During Bondi’s reaction, she was compared unfavorably to Minns. While NSW Labor is thought to have moved faster and with more direct rhetoric, Albanese denies this accusation.
Herzog has no role in the military chain of command, despite speaking out in favor of the war effort, which a United Nations report found constituted genocide.
Albanese said Herzog was a centre-left politician in Israel and “not a member of Netanyahu’s government”, making him “the equivalent of Governor General Sam Mostyn”.
“That doesn’t mean, you know, that I endorse all of the views or anything else. That wasn’t the point. I would say overwhelmingly that President Herzog and Mrs. Herzog also comforted the grieving women. It was… very moving,” she said.
“Can you imagine the message this would send to the world, frankly, that we had refused the opportunity for the President of Israel to come and mourn with them, especially at the invitation of the families in Bondi?”
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Paul Sakkal is the chief political correspondent. It has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect with: X or email.
