New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has described pro-Palestine protest organisers as “a pack of communists” during budget estimates on Thursday, as he defended police actions during violent clashes at a demonstration against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Sydney last month. Minns faced questions over advice given to Labor MPs who attended the 9 February rally, which resulted in multiple arrests and an investigation into alleged police brutality.
“Those protests are organised by a pack of communists that are just intent on having a confrontation with police,” Minns said, referring to the Palestine Action Group (PAG). He claimed the group’s protests “have resulted in violent behaviour, terrorist symbols, hate speech on Sydney streets”, but acknowledged many attendees do not share those intentions.
Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence, who attended the Herzog protest, rejected Minns’s characterisation, stating protesters were “all generally united by concern about the erasure of the Palestinians”. He noted the coalition included “Labor people, unionists, Greens, even some pretty conservative people”. Lawrence has backed an independent review of police actions at the rally.
PAG organiser Josh Lees, a member of the newly registered NSW Socialists, compared Minns to US Senator Joseph McCarthy, saying the premier “already tries to censor authors and academics and plans to ban phrases critical of Israel”. Lees insisted “it is the police who attacked protesters and worshippers on 9 February, not the other way around”.
Minns refused to apologise for police moving on a group of Muslim protesters praying during the rally, claiming police were left in an “impossible situation”. The confrontation has sparked ongoing legal challenges and calls for accountability, with several protesters planning civil cases against the police.
