Door opened to further event-based protest bans
Future controversial high-level visits could be accompanied by strengthening police powers to prevent protest after a judge announced his 11-hour ruling on the Israeli president’s contentious visit.
Protesters on Monday lost a bid to overturn claims that Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia was a “big deal.”
The declaration gave police strengthened powers to manage crowds, minimize the risk of conflict and ensure the safety of both visiting dignitaries and the public.
These and separate anti-protest powers were later used to forcibly disperse a crowd of thousands gathered outside Sydney City Hall, where Mr Herzog was holding an event near Pyrmont.
In his reasoning published Wednesday night, Supreme Court Justice Robertson Wright explained why he rejected arguments that the presidential visit was a political event and therefore could not be called a “major event.”
Instead, it found Mr Herzog’s visit was appropriately classified as cultural, given its aim to honor the victims of the Bondi terror attack and provide solace to Australian Jews.
“While there were political aspects to his visit, this is neither the dominant nor the defining nature of the visit,” Judge Wright wrote.
This conclusion is not negated by the rallies against Mr. Herzog; The judge said it could instead reinforce the need for crowd management and safety measures provided by a major event declaration.
Protesters also argued that the primary and improper purpose of the declaration was to suppress protests against the Israeli president.
Mr Herzog, who was invited by the federal government to visit Australia in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, faced scrutiny for comments about 2023 that a UN investigation found could plausibly be interpreted as inciting genocide against Palestinians.
The president denies that claim and says his comments were taken out of context.
Judge Wright found that a statement made to quell public protest could be improper, regardless of how it facilitated the conduct of the visit, but that was not the case here.
Judge Wright found that preventing protests by implementing reasonable security or crowd control measures may be consistent with facilitating the conduct of visitation.
He also noted that government leaders were trying to facilitate protests elsewhere, including arrangements for Hyde Park.
The first important decision regarding the 17-year-old law can also be applied to future official visits of controversial figures.
Despite Monday’s ruling, protesters continued their City Hall rally, which drew thousands of people.
Then the incident turned into chaos; Demonstrators, some of whom tried to leave the area, were pepper-sprayed, punched and pushed by police trying to disperse the crowd.
NSW Premier Chris Minns defended police actions in what he described as difficult circumstances.
