NSW Premier Chris Minns Criticizes Protesters as 'Troll-like,' Warns of Uncontrollable Forces

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NSW Premier Chris Minns has launched a strong criticism of protesters in NSW linked to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, accusing them of acting like safety in NSW was “a big game”.

It comes as the NSW Greens and several pro-Palestinian and activist groups have announced they will launch a constitutional challenge against the Minns government, arguing proposed anti-protest laws are “unconstitutional” and undemocratic.

In a fervent response to last night’s protest in Sydney, Chris Minns expressed strong disapproval of the demonstrators’ chants of “globalise the intifada,” a controversial phrase that the New South Wales government is considering banning. His concerns centered around the disturbing imagery and messages present during the protest.

Minns questioned, “How is it possible for a protest in our state to display a swastika tattooed on a Star of David on a poster right in the heart of the city? Or to feature images of the Ayatollah, Iran’s leader? There were shirts with slogans like ‘Death to the IDF’ [Israel Defense Forces] and signs claiming ‘All Zionists are neo-Nazis’.”

While he said there needed to be a royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack, the premier also appeared to link the attack to some protests in Australia.

Amidst this heated atmosphere, Josh Lees, representing the Palestine Action Group Sydney, has voiced opposition to new protest laws, arguing they are unconstitutional. In response, three groups are preparing to legally challenge these regulations.

A man speaking outside. He is wearing a keffiyeh scarf around his neck.

Reflecting on the potential implications of such protests, Minns pondered, “Can we truly say that protests bearing such signs have no influence on our culture, societal climate, or even incite extreme actions within our community?” He further warned, “In some cases, those organizing these protests may be unleashing forces beyond their control.”

“How can we say that protests that have these signs have no bearing on either the culture, the temperature or even extreme actions within our community?”

Minns said the Bondi terror attack needed to be investigated but he was “urging lawmakers in NSW not to bury their head in the sand and say that there’s absolutely no relationship between the two.”

“In some instances, the organisers of these protests are unleashing forces that they can’t control.”

Premier condemns ‘troll-like’ response

Protesters rallied in support of Palestine at Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night, chanting the soon-to-be-banned chant “globalise the intifada”.

Minns previously said the chant was “hate speech” and “encourages violence”.

The word intifada is an Arabic word that means uprising and translates literally to “shaking off”, and is used in a historical context to refer to two periods of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.

Josh Lees from Palestine Action Group Sydney said a ban may embolden people to use it: “I’ve never chanted this in the last two years. So the fact that Chris Minns wants to ban it might make it popular.”

Minns said Lees response was “almost troll-like”.

“It’s a serious moment for New South Wales,” Minns said. “And [that is an] almost troll-like response, like it’s a big game. I don’t think it’s a big game.”

“I think that the consequences here are serious. They’re massive.”

“I do think that it leads to violence in our community. I think that it leads to disharmony.”

Greens NSW MLC Sue Higginson said her party would stand with the fundamental right to protest, warning the changes would “feed dissent”.

Premier ‘hopeful’ of new protest laws passing

After nearly 10 hours of debate, the bill — which includes changes to gun laws and new restrictions on protests — passed the first hurdle in the lower house late last night. It is expected to pass the upper house tonight.

The premier said he was “hopeful” the laws would pass in the next 24 hours and he believed they were constitutional.

A legal challenge will be brought by the Palestinian Action Group, Jews Against the Occupation and the First Nations-led Blak Caucus.

The groups say the proposed laws would have far-reaching consequences for civil liberties, including the potential to restrict protests for up to three months following a declared terrorist incident, regardless of topic or cause.

They have raised particular concerns about the impact the laws could have on Invasion Day rallies in January, which would fall within the three-month window following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.

‘Unconstitutional’ and ‘anti-democratic’, say challengers

Michelle Berkon from Jews Against the Occupation said she was “deeply concerned about the anti-democratic nature of these proposed laws”.

“It places us Jews in the crosshairs,” Berkon said on Tuesday. “These laws are not about protecting Jews … they’re not even about protecting Israel.”

“By hiding behind ‘Jewish safety’ to impose these repressive laws, you are not only scapegoating the millions of anti-racist Australians protesting genocide, but using Jewish people as your human shields.”

Nick Hanna, the criminal defence lawyer representing the groups, said while they recognised the need for law reform following the Bondi Beach attack, the proposed protest changes were “unconstitutional” and violated the right to freedom of speech.

“There is yet to be any suggestion that the two [alleged] terrorists attended a single protest, or even supported the protests,” Hanna said.

“In fact, we know that they are apparently inspired by the Islamic State, which is ideologically opposed to the Palestine protests.”

A man wearing a suit speaking in parliament.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has defended his government’s crackdown on protests, saying there was a “tinderbox” in the community and the new laws were aimed at protecting public safety. Source: AAP / Dominic Lorrimer

Josh Lees from Palestine Action Group Sydney said the antisemitic attack was being conflated with protest movements more broadly, particularly pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

“These laws, if passed, won’t just affect the Palestine movement,” Lees said.

“These laws will take away the rights of everyone in NSW to gather together as a community, to express their views, to express their opposition to whatever government policies they oppose, to demand change — all the things that have been so crucial to our democracy.”

What would the new laws change?

The proposed legislation covers two key areas following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack: gun laws and protest laws.

Protest laws

These are the provisions the Greens and activist groups plan to challenge.

The changes include restricting the authorisation of public assemblies in designated areas for three months following a terrorist incident — effectively banning them.

The laws would also ban the public display of symbols and flags linked to proscribed terrorist organisations, including the phrase “globalise the intifada”.

Police would be given new powers to demand a person remove their face covering at a public assembly if they believe the person has committed an offence.

Gun laws

The bill would introduce a cap of four firearms for most gun owners, while primary producers and sports shooters could hold up to 10.

It would also impose a complete ban on firearms capable of using belt-fed magazines, restrict access to certain firearms to primary producers only, and strengthen firearms licence checks and accountability.

Under the changes, police would also be able to reject a firearms licence if intelligence agencies believe an individual poses a security risk.

The Nationals and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party opposed the gun law changes, citing concerns about limits on the number of firearms individuals could own.

Labor and the Liberals voted to pass the bill.