NSW Labor backbenchers to protest Israel president Isaac Herzog’s visit in defiance of premier | New South Wales
Supporters of the NSW Labor Party have vowed to join a protest in Sydney against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog; one of them stated that he participated because Australia should not welcome the head of a state engaging in “ongoing genocide”.
Another member of the government said that although the prime minister opposed any rallies, he attended to show that “Bondi is not the cause of such protests”.
Labour’s upper house MLCs Cameron Murphy, Stephen Lawrence and Sarah Kaine said they would attend a rally organized by the Palestine Action Group on Monday evening as part of the nationwide protest. But it was not yet clear whether they would march from City Hall to the state legislature despite an effective ban.
Chris Minns’ push to ban marches in designated areas following the Bondi terror attack continues after NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon extended the restriction for a fourth time on Tuesday.
Lanyon said Herzog’s visit influenced his decision. The restriction prevents protests from being permitted under the form 1 system; This means that marching protesters, for example, risk being arrested for obstructing traffic.
Organizers of the Sydney protest said they planned to march from City Hall to Macquarie Street, despite it being within the restriction zone. They called on NSW police to help facilitate this peacefully.
Murphy said he would attend the rally because “we should not welcome the president of a state involved in ongoing genocide into Australia.” He told Guardian Australia: Herzog had created a bomb and “as an active supporter of illegal settlements, he had no respect for international law”.
Lawrence said he would go to the rally at City Hall but would decide Monday whether to march. He said he would comply with the law.
“I will attend the rally because I want to make clear but important points that peaceful protests are legal in this country, that Bondi was not caused by such protests and that inviting the head of a state whose head of government is under ICC indictment shows that we are not taking the proceedings seriously,” he told Guardian Australia.
On Tuesday evening, Lawrence said of the police decision to extend a ban on marches in certain areas: “I’m not sure that continually extending this ban to include the visit of the Israeli president is going to make us safer.”
“This could be creating a flashpoint and that worries me,” he told ABC radio.
The current protest ban faces a constitutional challenge. Lawrence, who is also a lawyer, expressed serious concerns about the hearing being postponed.
He noted that the state agreed that the case would be heard on January 16, but “after the duty judge spoke to the chief justice, the case was not listed until the end of February.”
“Those who wanted to protest did not have the opportunity for the court to decide on this issue,” Lawrence said.
Kaine said he will attend the PAG rally where he is scheduled to speak. Asked if he would march if he passed through the restricted area, he said: “My plans at the moment are to participate in a legal protest.”
“We all have to be aware that what is legal is nuanced,” Kaine told Guardian Australia, adding that he would attend on Monday evening and object to Herzog’s visit “in light of the ongoing discussions surrounding the protests.”
“I don’t think we should welcome into this country someone who is so involved in actions that resulted in the deaths of 75,000 innocent Gazans.”
Palestine Action Group spokesman Josh Lees said Tuesday that there have been no security problems at pro-Palestinian rallies, which have been held almost weekly for the past two years. “We can’t have riots in Sydney,” Minns said on Tuesday.
Minns said Wednesday that Herzog had not spoken to lawmakers who planned to attend rallies during his visit. The prime minister said police were negotiating with the Palestine Action Group over the location of the protests.
Asked if the government was divided over Herzog’s visit, Minns said: “Look, the cabinet is definitely not.” He acknowledged there was division in the party as a whole “and even among Labor MPs” and that had been the case for a long time.
Minns was asked on Wednesday about the possibility of Labor politicians being arrested under legislation passed by parliament in December. The Prime Minister replied: “I don’t think that will necessarily happen.”
State Green Party MP for Newtown Jenny Leong said on Wednesday: “If there’s a march, I’ll march.”
“Neither the prime minister nor the police commissioner will stop me and the thousands of others who know genocide is wrong, and we have the right to protest.”
In September 2025, a UN commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. The commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, said Herzog, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant “instigated the genocide commission.”
Israeli foreign ministry rejected He claimed that the commission report was “distorted and inaccurate” and “based entirely on Hamas’ lies.”
Herzog, the genocide case filed against Israel in the international court of justice “a form of blood libel” and in 2023, he withdrew criticism of his statement that “an entire nation was responsible” for the October 7 attacks on Israel.
He claimed that he had been taken out of context and noted that the same media had said that Israel would respect international law and that there was no excuse for the killing of innocent civilians. The ICJ has not yet announced its final decision.
