A rally was held outside New South Wales Parliament on March 18 to oppose Labor’s latest crackdown on the right to protest.
The new laws give NSW Police broad powers to restrict protests in or near places of worship, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
This includes popular protest locations such as Sydney Town Hall, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electoral office, Hyde Park, Parramatta Square Broadway and NSW Parliament, which are all near places of worship.
Premier Chris Minns used the fabricated caravan terror plot to rush through the new laws under the guise of tackling antisemitism.
Josh Lees, spokesperson for Palestine Action Group (PAG), said Albanese, Minns and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had weaponised antisemitism to attack the Palestine solidarity movement. He said the new laws were unconstitutional.
Lees said the major parties were using claims of antisemtism to silence criticism of Israel, including at the recent Sky News Australia antisemitism summit, which was attended by Dutton, Minns and other prominent members of both major parties.
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties said the laws were “undemocratic”.
Community journalist Wendy Bacon spoke, highlighting the infiltration of Labor by right-wing Zionists Sophie Calland and Ofir Birenbaum.
Calland is a key organiser for Better Australia, a right wing group which aims to reduce support for the Greens and has defend Israel from criticism.
Birenbaum has close ties to the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), a far-right lobby group known for doxxing and harassing people who express pro-Palestinian sentiments.
AJA president David Adler has amassed $14 million to attack progressive candidates in the upcoming election. The AJA has consistently labeled the Greens as antisemitic on social media.
PAG launched a legal challenge against the anti-protest laws in the Supreme Court.