NSW to reintroduce protest laws amid fallout from neo-Nazi rally

The NSW government will try to reintroduce laws allowing police to disperse protesters outside places of worship as it scrambles to contain days of fallout after more than 60 neo-Nazis rallied outside parliament on Saturday.

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley will attempt to legislate police powers to move on protesters who harass or intimidate those trying to access churches, synagogues and mosques.

In question time on Tuesday dominated by Saturday’s rally, Daley condemned the “ugly and unacceptable display of hatred” outside NSW Parliament.

“I just want to be clear, this is open antisemitism,” he said. “Despite what these characters say, antisemitism is a particularly vile category of racism and, in my view, given what we have witnessed in history, sits in its own category of racial behaviour.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley acknowledged there were communication failures that meant she was not informed about Saturday’s rally.

Similar laws to those being reintroduced were struck down in the Supreme Court last month. Justice Anna Mitchelmore found the law “impermissibly burdens” the implied freedom of political expression. Daley will attempt to “balance community protections with the freedom of political expression” with the second attempt at the law.

Both Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were not told about the rally ahead of time, which Lanyon blamed on a failure of communication.

NSW Speaker Greg Piper was made aware of the plans on Friday, and said he asked parliament’s security team to have the group moved to a different location, only to be told it was not possible.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said on Monday that he had apologised to Lanyon after failing to inform him of plans by members of the National Socialist Network, which he knew about ahead of time.

The government is also seeking to expand hate speech laws and the ban on displaying Nazi symbols to include slogans, similar to laws in Germany. That would be likely to include the phrase “blood and honour”, a slogan associated with the Hitler Youth which the neo-Nazis chanted on the steps of NSW Parliament on Saturday.

In 2022, the NSW government banned the public display of Nazi symbols, while hate speech laws were changed this year to make it a crime to incite hatred against people based on their race.

Known neo-Nazi Jack Eltis submitted a Form One application to hold the rally, which NSW Police received on October 27, and determined could not be challenged after receiving legal advice.

The NSN has aspirations of launching a mainstream political party under the name White Australia and brags about the NSW parliament being its best shot at success.

Attendees at Saturday’s rally wore dark uniforms with the NSN insignia stitched into the shoulders of their jackets. While some wore hats or sunglasses, many proudly showed their faces in a sign of growing boldness by parts of the organisation.

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