Police to ramp up presence over New Year’s as gun, protest laws come into effect

Heavily armed police will patrol major events in Sydney over the Christmas and New Year period as NSW Premier Chris Minns vows to protect community safety and clamp down on hate speech in response to the Bondi terror attack.

Laws tightening gun ownership and placing restrictions on protests passed NSW parliament after a lengthy and heated debate that extended into the early hours of Christmas Eve.

The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 passed the NSW upper house around 3am on Wednesday morning with an amendment from the Greens banning someone from owning a gun if they have been investigated for terrorism-related offences, or live with someone who has been investigated for such offences.

The bill was formally passed into law in a brief sitting of the lower house later on Wednesday morning.

Speaking after the legislation passed, Minns committed to making new laws in the new year aimed at confronting hate speech and extremist views in the community.

“This isn’t the end of change,” he said. “Sydney and NSW has changed forever as a result of that terrorist activity last Sunday, [and] we know it’s our responsibility to do everything we can to keep the people of NSW safe.”

Sydney residents can expect to see more police with heavy firearms on the streets over the summer period, Minns said.

“It might be not what you’d commonly see with police officers in the street, but … we’re not going to make any apologies for that,” he said. “We will give them whatever resources they need in this heightened period.”

Asked if the new laws will be used immediately to restrict public gatherings following the Bondi attack, Minns said it was a decision for the NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

“I believe in the circumstances that that should happen, but I’m going to leave it up to him to make that call today,” he said.

Those laws may be tested if Israeli President Isaac Herzog is met with pro-Palestine protests during a planned visit to Australia following the Bondi attack, but Minns said he hoped they would not be needed.

“There’s an essential decency there that I hope kicks in. I do believe that most Australians feel that way,” he said.

Minns said the protest laws only apply to the time around when a terror event is declared and would not affect events such as “Invasion Day” rallies usually held on the Australia Day holiday.

The legislation passed this week has three key pillars: creating an offence for displaying terrorist symbols such as the IS flag; significant restrictions on firearm possession; and allowing the police commissioner to prevent protests occurring for up to three months after a terrorism incident.

Under the new laws, most license holders will be able to own a maximum of four guns. Farmers and recreational shooters will be able to own up to 10 guns. Those limits will come into effect from Wednesday, Minns said, but gun owners will not be required to hand back their firearms until the government’s buyback scheme is operating next year.

The bill was opposed by the Nationals, and faced the threat of a filibuster from Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MPs Robert Borsak and Mark Banasiak.

After beginning on Tuesday with an acknowledgement that debate would reach into the early hours of Christmas Eve, the Legislative Council debated 181 proposed amendments to the bill before it eventually passed at 2.51am.

Despite making the final amendment, Greens MPs abstained from voting. The bill passed 18 votes to eight with the support of Liberal MPs.

The bill encountered opposition from within Minns’ own ranks, with Labor MP Anthony D’Adam describing attempts to restrict certain protest chants as a “fool’s errand”.

Government MPs hugged and shook hands as the Legislative Assembly formally adopted the legislation.

Wahroonga MP Alister Henskens was the only representative on the opposition benches as Police and Counter-Terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley thanked Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, whose electorate of Vaucluse represents the Bondi area.

“She has shown true leadership, both in her community and in this house, in assisting us to achieve this result,” Catley said.

In a statement, Sloane said the Liberals supported the bill in the interests of community safety but said the legislation was rushed through without properly consulting the community. “That is not best-practice lawmaking,” she said.

Minns said on Tuesday he was confident the laws would withstand any legal challenge from activists concerned the laws restrict citizens’ rights to gather and demand change.

Catley said the government would boost funding to the NSW firearms registry to enable a crackdown. NSW will also go halves with the Commonwealth to fund the buyback of firearms in the state.

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