NSW Premier Seeks Royal Commission and Proposes Ban on Controversial Chant

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NSW Premier Chris Minns has announced his government will introduce new laws next week banning “hateful symbols” and giving police greater powers to remove face coverings during public assemblies and demonstrations.

The NSW parliament is being recalled on Monday to address legislative changes in response to Sunday’s terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, which saw 15 people killed in a shooting targeting the Jewish community.

The premier also called for a royal commission into the Bondi attack.

“It’s clear that the criminal investigation has uncovered parts of what happened, but we need a comprehensive look at this horrible terrorism event,” he said.

The government will seek to outlaw the public display of “terrorist symbols” such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group flag, and give police more powers to require someone suspected of committing an offence during a public assembly to remove their face covering.

The laws will carry penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or a $22,000 fine for any individual publicly displaying terrorist symbols. For organisations, the fine will be up to $110,000.

Under the existing legal framework, individuals are only required to remove face coverings for identity verification by police following an arrest. However, proposed new measures aim to broaden this requirement to include all suspects.

Minns said the chant ‘globalise the intifada’ would also be banned, saying “horrific recent events” had shown that the phrase “is hate speech and it encourages violence in our community”.

“The chant will be banned alongside other hateful comments and statements made in our community,” he said.

The proposed changes were welcomed by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, the peak body for Jewish organisations in the state.

“The announcement by the NSW government to introduce legislation banning provocative chants like ‘globalise the intifada’ marks a significant step in addressing the hate and incitement that have been prevalent on our streets,” stated David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

“We also welcome the proposed reforms to give police more powers to remove face coverings during public assemblies,” Ossip said in a statement provided to SBS News.

“We must not let our basic rights to free speech and assembly be distorted and used against us. Public demonstrations should not serve as a platform to intimidate or terrorize minority groups.”

Despite the tensions, historical conflicts have resulted in a significantly higher number of Palestinian casualties compared to Israeli ones.

The word ‘intifada’ and phrase ‘globalise the intifada’ have contested meanings.

Intifada is an Arabic word that refers to uprising or shaking off, and is used to refer to two periods of Palestinian resistance, including one marked by significant violence, including suicide bombings, against Israeli civilians.

No federal or state law enforcement agencies have released any evidence to the public suggesting that the alleged shooters were driven by pro-Palestinian sentiments.

Some pro-Palestinian activists say they use the phrase to call for international solidarity and protest. Many Jewish groups say it encourages violence against Jews.

“Globalising the Intifada means killing a Jew wherever you find one. It’s a call to violence and it leads to violence. In a local context, it’s comparable to calling for globalising the Bali bombings,” Ossip said.

“For those who previously doubted this, we have all now seen what the intifada looks like in reality — violent murder at Bondi Beach. No Australian can reasonably claim to be ignorant anymore of the danger of this incitement and no-one should tolerate it.”

“There is absolutely nothing inherently antisemitic about this term or the related chants,” a spokesperson commented.

In a statement to SBS News, Palestine Action Group — which has organised many recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations — said it did not use the chant at its rallies, but added that labelling it as hate speech was “ridiculous, ignorant and offensive”.

“The word literally means ‘shaking off’, and refers to the efforts of Palestinians, through mass protests and uprisings, to shake off the illegal occupation and apartheid racist policies that the state of Israel imposes on the Palestinian people,” a spokesperson said.

“There is absolutely nothing antisemitic about this word or associated chants.”

Albanese suggests he’d support royal commission

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the media a short time after Minns, providing an update on actions the government has taken in recent days.

“Yesterday, I visited the Australian Federal Police and ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] to thank those personnel who are working so hard on these issues,” he said.

He said he would reconvene National Cabinet on Monday to continue planning their response to the attack.

“Over recent days, we’ve announced new measures to eliminate the scourge of antisemitism, to stop the hate preachers, to get guns off our streets and to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the resources that they need to prevent future attacks.”

He said the government had also announced mental health and small business support for the Bondi community, and new funding for both the Bondi and North Bondi life saving clubs.

“They used up a lot of their resources in responding to the crisis that we saw last Sunday,” he said.

Asked if he would support a royal commission into the attack, Albanese said he would back whatever actions the NSW government takes.

“We are working in lockstep,” he said.

The Coalition was critical of the Labor government earlier in the week after frontbenchers Tony Burke and Jim Chalmers seemed to brush off calls for a royal commission.

He called the strikes “timely, swift and decisive” and condemned the “evil ideology” spread by the group.

‘We will not stop’: NSW attorney-general

Pointing to Friday’s announcement on tightening gun laws, NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said the government’s response to the attack would be an “iterative process”.

“So, for the hateful people in our society who intend to cause and sow division and hatred and break the law, and want to look at these new laws and think that they can get creative and find ways around them. Well, we’ll be getting creative too. We will not stop,” he said.

“If we have to keep amending laws, introducing new ones to give our police the best powers that they [have] at their disposal. That’s what we intend to do.”

He said the ban of displays of terrorist symbols would include symbols and flags linked to organisations such as Al Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IS group.

Police found a homemade IS flag in the car used by the two men alleged to have carried out the Bondi massacre, and believe they were motivated by the group’s ideology.

Daley said the NSW Opposition and crossbench had been briefed on the legislative proposals ahead of their introduction.

“We’ll be looking for the goodwill of the parliament when we return on Monday,” he said.

In a statement, Kellie Sloane, leader of the NSW Opposition, said they would carefully consider the details of proposals once received.

SBS News has sought comment from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry but, as many Jewish community leaders are currently observing the Sabbath, has not yet received a response.

Federal police response

Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Naveed Akram, the 24-year-old alleged gunman, remains hospitalised under police custody.

“The New South Wales joint counter-terrorism team continues to review evidence and information, including from search warrants conducted as recently as yesterday,” she said.

“We are leaving no stone unturned in Australia and overseas.”

She outlined three priorities for the investigation: compiling a thorough brief of evidence for prosecutors; identifying the methods, capabilities and connections of the alleged offenders to determine who they communicated with ahead of the attack; and using that information to establish the identities of others who should be under the attention of intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

“The announcement this week to lower the threshold for hate speech will give the AFP greater scope to deter and charge individuals who are injecting and directing poisonous language towards the Jewish community,” she said.