Anti-protest laws contain ‘extraordinary powers’, NSW premier says when linking Gaza rallies to Bondi terror attack | Australian police and policing

The New South Wales premier wants parliament to give his government “extraordinary powers” to effectively ban protests for three months; Chris Minns claims the “consequences” of pro-Palestinian rallies can be seen in the weekend Bondi terror attack that left 15 people dead.

The Prime Minister said on Friday that when the definition of terrorism is applied, police, with the minister’s approval, can “declare a specific area where public gatherings are restricted for a certain period of time”.

“This could be any part of the state or the entire state. No public gatherings will be allowed in a designated area, including the courthouse,” Minns told reporters.

“These are clearly extraordinary powers and have never been seen before in any jurisdiction in the country.”

The protest restriction will last up to three months and any control of the judiciary will be eliminated.

“When you see people marching and displaying violent, bloody images, images of death and destruction, it unleashes something in our society that the organizers of the protest cannot contain,” Minns said.

“The reality is that we cannot risk another mass demonstration of this scale in NSW. In my view the consequences of that can be seen on Sunday.”

The Prime Minister and the Palestine Action Group said there were no plans to protest.

Minns’ deputy Penny Sharpe and other state Labor MPs were among an estimated 225,000 to 300,000 people who marched to the Sydney Harbor Bridge in August to protest killings in Gaza. Among the crowd was Federal Labor Party MP Ed Husic, who was expelled from the Albanian cabinet in May.

Police claimed Bondi beach gunmen, Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, were “inspired by ISIS”. Asio and police confirmed they had some information about Naveed, with the investigation continuing for six months from October 2019.

“[Naveed Akram] Anthony Albanese said this week: “The assessment was that there was no ongoing threat or indication of a threat of violence against him.”

15 people lost their lives as a result of the targeting of the Hanukkah festival event held in Archer park on Sunday evening.

Guardian Australia understands the anti-protest laws would fall under the terrorism and other legislation amendment bill and would include a “declaration of restriction of public gatherings” or “Pard” power.

If a public gathering “causes harassment, intimidation, or fear of violence, or poses a risk to public safety,” Pard can be issued for a designated area within 14 days of being designated as terrorism.

This would give police the ability to issue follow-up instructions regarding “certain types of behaviour”. A regulation was to be made for “industrial disputes”.

Combining protest with attack in Minns labeled ‘outrageous’

Minns said the change was not directed at any group, but when asked about the bridge protest, he said: “I opposed it, the police opposed it.” [and] I made it clear that this was not consistent with community harmony.

Jillian Segal, the federal government’s ambassador on antisemitism, said this week: “This did not come without warning. In Australia, it started at the Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023. We then watched a march across the Sydney Harbor Bridge waving terrorist flags and glorifying extremist leaders. Now death has reached Bondi Beach.”

“For two years people have been on our streets and in our universities calling for the globalization of the intifada, a slogan that means kill Jews wherever you find them,” David Ossip, chairman of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, said on Monday.

“Last night the intifada went global and came to Bondi. We saw a logical progression. The rhetorical demonization of Jews slowly turns into acts of violence, and then into acts of violence that took lives last night.”

The initial announcement on Wednesday about a crackdown on protests sparked a fierce reaction from two Jewish groups that are strong supporters of the pro-Palestinian movement.

Jesse McNicoll, a member of Jewish Voices in Inner Sydney, said it was “outrageous” that his community’s pain was being used to stop a movement “opposing genocide”, adding that “the protests have nothing to do with the attacks”.

Max Kaiser, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, questioned the focus on the pro-Palestinian movement “when there are very real sources of antisemitism on the far right, including neo-Nazis”.

Palestine Action Group spokesman Josh Lees accused Minns of “completely unfounded and divisive accusations”, claiming the prime minister was “trying to blame the horrific Bondi attack on the mass movement for what the United Nations has confirmed is genocide in Gaza”.

“This movement has always opposed antisemitism, has organized with Jewish groups from the beginning, and remains devastated and mourns the terrible loss of life at Bondi,” Lees said.

“To be clear, Palestine Action Group does not have any protests planned for the current period.”

Minns was asked on Friday whether it was “wrong” for members of his own cabinet and “well-intentioned Sydneysiders” to take part in a march on the harbor bridge in August.

State Labor MPs attending the march included Sharpe, fellow minister Jihad Dib, Lynda Voltz, Sarah Kaine and Stephen Lawrence, as well as federal MPs Husic, Alison Byrne and Tony Sheldon.

Minns said on Friday: “I understand that people have real concerns about issues going on around the world, they have deep and passionate interests about human rights or issues in other jurisdictions. But my concern right now is Sydney.”

NSW Civil Liberties Council President Tim Roberts said on Friday the proposed changes were extraordinary.

“These are very broad powers of the police commissioner,” he said. “Banning protests will not stop antisemitism and the prime minister is wrong to shamefully link years of peaceful protests to such a horrific and unrelated incident.”

“Anyone who says something like ‘globalized intifada’ is making hate speech,” NSW treasurer Daniel Moohkey told reporters on Thursday.

“Personally, I think any reasonable person would see what the consequences of this would be on Sunday night.”

Lees said Friday that he did not remember the group chanting “Globalize the Intifada” but said it was “ignorant” to label the phrase hate speech.

“This word literally means ‘to shake’ and refers to the Palestinians’ efforts, through mass protests and uprisings, to dismantle the illegal occupation and apartheid racist policies imposed by the state of Israel on the Palestinian people,” he said.

“There is absolutely nothing antisemitic in this word or related hymns. Banning it in Australia is tantamount to banning expressions of solidarity with the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.”