Sydney protest ban extended days after three arrested at unauthorised rally

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has extended the 14-day protest ban on Sydney’s streets by another fortnight, days after 250 people descended on Town Hall in an unauthorised rally over the US raid on Venezuela, at which three people were arrested.

The tough protest powers were included in an omnibus bill introduced by the NSW government after the Bondi shooting, which killed 15 people and injured 40 others.

Lanyon extended the declaration on Tuesday after finding public assemblies in the next fortnight presented the potential to “cause fear and public safety issues”.

“It’s about saying the time is not now for any retribution,” Lanyon said. “It’s about saying we want the community to feel confident, to move around safely.”

Lanyon imposed the first public assembly restriction declaration on December 24, hours after the legislation was given assent following its passage through NSW parliament.

The declaration prevented demonstrations on streets across the Sydney metropolitan region for two weeks and was to end on Tuesday.

Under the new anti-protest laws, stationary gatherings are allowed, but police may issue move-on directions for people causing obstructions or behaving in an intimidatory or harassing manner, or to people who might cause or be likely to cause fear in another person.

The latest declaration will last until January 20. Lanyon is free to continue the declaration for up to three months, meaning protests could be restricted until March.

A third consecutive declaration would extend the ban through to February, which would prohibit the annual Invasion Day march staged through the Sydney CBD on January 26.

Lanyon refused to be drawn on the “premature” prospect of another declaration, signalling instead that he would monitor the “current environment” before making another decision.

“We’ll certainly look at the behaviour over the next 14 days,” he said.

On Sunday, Town Hall was inundated with protesters following the US capture of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, mirroring rallies staged across the country after the Trump administration’s extraordinary strikes in Caracas.

Among the three arrested was a 53-year-old woman who wore “a shirt displaying offensive messaging”, which government sources said was the slogan “globalise the intifada”, which Premier Chris Minns wants to outlaw.

Lanyon said the woman had been arrested because her item of clothing was deemed “offensive”, adding that investigations into the rally were ongoing.

Two men, aged 26 and 34, were arrested for breaching the peace. All three arrested were released without charge.

Another 40 counter-protesters, believed to be aligned with the Palestine Action Group, were also at the rally on Sunday night.

Police Minister Yasmin Catley, whom Lanyon consulted before extending the declaration, said she “unequivocally supports” the decision.

“This extension reflects the commissioner’s ongoing focus on community safety and on reducing the risk of heightened tension following the Bondi terror attack,” she said.

A NSW parliamentary inquiry will this month examine the prospect of banning hateful slogans, such as “globalise the intifada”, ahead of new legislation set to be introduced next month.

A coalition of activists, including the Palestine Activist Group and Jews Against the Occupation, has signalled a constitutional challenge against the legislation restricting public assemblies.

Minns has said he is “alive” to the threat of a constitutional challenge, but said he was “confident” of the laws passed last month.

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