NSW spent almost $500,000 on court cases they lost against pro-Palestine protest groups | New South Wales politics

The New South Wales government and police spent almost half a million dollars in legal fees on cases they lost against pro-Palestinian groups; these include unsuccessfully defending constitutional challenges to protest laws that were expected to be struck down.

The costs outlined in documents obtained by Guardian Australia through freedom of information legislation include $117,455.50 paid by taxpayers in a single challenge to controversial public gathering restriction declaration (Pard) laws. These laws were introduced after the bondi beach terrorist attack and were in effect during a rally against Israeli president Isaac Herzog in February.

The state’s appeals court struck down the laws in April after finding they imposed an impermissible burden on the constitutional right to freedom of political communication. The court ordered the costs to be awarded to the plaintiffs, the three activist groups, and the total bill to taxpayers will increase once finalized.

It was the second time in six months that anti-protest legislation passed by the Minns government was found unconstitutional by a court, after the NSW supreme court struck down an earlier law giving police expanded powers to prevent protests near places of worship. The documents reveal that the government spent almost $96,400 on attorneys and attorney fees in that case.

On Friday, the Palestine Action Group confirmed that the government had paid $184,584 in costs to the group’s lawyers following the lawsuit.

The law, which was re-introduced with some changes last year, caused friction in the Labor Party’s caucus when it was first enacted.

Upper House Labor MP Anthony D’Adam had tabled a motion to redesign the bill to be limited to protests against places of worship; colleagues Stephen Lawrence and Cameron Murphy warned that the current language could be found unconstitutional. Prime Minister Chris Minns said in March 2025 that the government believed the laws were “constitutionally sound”.

Guardian Australia also picked up the costs of two cases in which NSW police opposed “form 1” applications to allow pro-Palestinian protests at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House last year.

In the first case, which police lost, police spent more than $91,600 on outside attorneys and attorneys to fight the application. Unlike the NSW government’s costs, the police figures provided to Guardian Australia do not include the cost of employing in-house legal staff.

In response to questions, a spokesperson for NSW police referred Guardian Australia to a statement made following an August 2025 protest, which occurred without major incident and was attended by Minns government ministers.

The statement said, “The biggest concern of the police during the operation was that the crowd would be crushed due to the large number of participants. The police managed this situation in line with public safety.”

Police spent nearly $59,500 on legal fees against a planned pro-Palestinian march to the Sydney Opera House last October, before the appeal court sided with the police against the Palestine Action Group over “excessive” security concerns.

In total, the NSW government and police spent at least $490,000 on cases they lost against pro-Palestinian groups in NSW’s highest courts (the supreme court and the court of appeal) and $87,099.29 on cases they successfully contested.

Josh Lees, an organizer with Palestine Action Group, which is a party to all five cases, said: “This massive waste of money shows how desperate steps Chris Minns is prepared to take to usurp our democratic rights.”

The government hastily passed the Pard laws to give the police commissioner the power to issue a proclamation banning protests in a particular area following a suspected terrorist attack.

While legal experts and civil liberties groups have raised concerns, Anne Twomey, emeritus professor of constitutional law at the University of Sydney, warned: “History shows us that anti-protest legislation rushed through parliament often ends up unhappy in the courts.”

Responding to questions, a government spokesman said Labor had “acted to protect the community, maintain social cohesion and make people feel safe” following the Bondi terror attack.

“These laws played a key role in ensuring there were no clashes on the streets of Sydney, including Bondi and the CBD surrounding area, during the visit of a global head of state,” they said.

“Some of the challenges to these laws have been successful, while others have not,” the spokesman said, including challenging the government’s decision to declare a major incident during Herzog’s visit.

The government also spent $27,600 on an administrative appeal filed by protesters for the use of a major events declaration before the protest against Herzog, and won the case. Activist groups said they planned to appeal the decision if necessary to drop the charges against the protesters.