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New South Wales (NSW) Police will extend protest restrictions in Sydney ahead of a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog as pro-Palestine groups pledged nationwide events.
Herzog was invited to Australia by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following the devastating terrorist attack at Bondi Beach which killed 15 people and injured 40 others.
“Obviously, what I fear is a large-scale public assembly with so much animosity could present a risk to community safety,” said NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.
“Today I have considered that there remains a significant risk to community safety by public assemblies and I have extended that declaration for a further 14 days,” he said, in reference to the Bondi terror attacks.
“We will make sure all practical measures are in place to keep the president safe, but my greater role is to keep the community of NSW safe,” he said.
Herzog is due to visit Sydney from Feb. 8 to 12 to express solidarity with the Jewish community.
The public assembly restriction declaration removes legal protection for protest marches in certain areas including Sydney’s CBD and the eastern suburbs area, covering the site of the massacre. Hyde Park is not included in the police map.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was a reasonable position.
“I’ll let NSW police make the determination, but I just think that a reasonable person could look at the circumstances and say, we just can’t have a riot in Sydney, you’re gonna have a lot of people that are mourning a horrible terrorist event on 14 December,” he told reporters.
What Do the Restrictions Mean?
In the wake of Bondi, the NSW Parliament rushed through laws on Christmas Eve that give the commissioner power to restrict public assemblies.
Under the restrictions, no public assemblies can be authorised under the Summary Offences Act 1988 and form one applications for a protest will not be approved.
The protest laws are currently being challenged in court by serial pro-Palestine activist Josh Lees.
Opposition
On Feb. 3, the Australian Democracy Network and 14 other civil society groups wrote to NSW Premier Chris Minns against the restrictions.
“While preventing further community harm is a necessary objective for the government, limiting protests is not the answer to meet the challenges of this moment,” the letter said.
“Restricting peaceful protests only weakens community trust and the capacity of different groups to come together and have their voices heard.”
Plan to Ban the Phrase ‘Globalise the Intifada’
The NSW Parliament is also considering banning slogans that incite hatred.
A report from the Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety suggests forbidding the phrase “globalise the intifada.”
“The committee is of the view that proscribing chants to ‘globalise the intifada’ would recognise the violent history associated with this phrase, and the way in which it may impact the perceived safety of the Jewish community in NSW,” the Committed said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns expressed support with the Liberal-National opposition yet to make a decision.
They support banning the phrase, but have a problem with the the government’s approach.
Monica O’Shea is a reporter based in Australia. She previously worked as a reporter for Motley Fool Australia, Daily Mail Australia, and Fairfax Regional Media. She can be reached at monica.o'[email protected]
