NSW government to reintroduce laws to stop acts outside places of worship

The NSW government will reintroduce legislation empowering police to move on groups harassing, blocking, or intimidating people attending places of worship. It comes after an earlier suite of measures were found to be unconstitutional following a Supreme Court challenge by Palestine Action Group organiser Joshua Lees. Attorney-General Michael Daley said the court found a provision intended to protect the rights of worshippers was found to operate more broadly than necessary. “It was not limited in the way it was drafted to conduct affecting persons accessing or attempting to leave a place of worship,” Mr Daley said during question time. Mr Daley said the new Bill would repeal the invalid provision in the Law Enforcement Powers and Responsibilities Act (LEPRA) and replace it with a clarified one that would address the constitutional issues raised by the Supreme Court. Measures inserted into the Crimes Act were not affected by the Supreme Court’s decision. “This is important because no one deserves to be blocked, harassed, or intimidated while trying to attend their church, synagogue, temple or mosque,” Mr Daley said. “It was never our intention to prohibit or restrict lawful, peaceful protests that happened to be near a place of worship.” Mr Daley said the court’s decision did not affect the offence of intentionally blocking, impeding, harassing, intimidating or threatening a person accessing a place of worship. Instead, he said the state government was acting to ensure police had move-on powers, which were often negated by approval of a Form 1 public assembly application. “The amendments in the Bill balance community protections with the freedom of political expression (and) sometimes that is difficult,” he said. “We make no apology for introducing strong laws to protect the community. No apology whatsoever. “We stand by them and we are improving on them, and we can see, for those who were trying to impugn the Premier and his motives early in the year, the characters who assembled outside this place on Saturday afternoon starkly show that the Premier was right.” Mr Daley condemned the neo-Nazi rally outside state parliament on Saturday. “History has demonstrated beyond doubt that anti-Semitism is dangerous and that it has no place in NSW,” he said. Mr Daley said further legislation to bolster protections against racial hatred and vilification would also be introduced next week. Speaking earlier, Premier Chris Minns said the state government was exploring legislation against Nazi behaviour and speech alongside Nazi symbols. “In addition to that, we’re looking at the Summary Offences Act to ensure that there’s no ambiguity that the agreement to a Form 1 does not accept in any way exemptions from hate speech laws passed by this government,” he said. Mr Minns also singled out the Dural caravan plot, which is subject to a parliamentary inquiry in relation to the former Places of Worship Bill. The caravan filled with explosives and a note referencing the Great Jewish Synagogue was initially believed to be linked to anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney but was later determined to be a hoax terror plot fabricated by criminals. “It emboldens extremists, and they used that rhetoric to justify their appalling, obnoxious behaviour on Macquarie St,” Mr Minns said.