The President of Israel was invited to visit Australia. Large protests were announced across the country. The NSW government (the state Sydney is the capital of) passed draconian laws giving police broad powers and also limiting protesters ability to sue for assualt etc in special ‘zones’.

Just to clarify a point...

The new laws were passed for Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD) very shortly after the Bondi massacre, and before the Herzog visit was announced. The laws allow the police commissioner, after a terrorist attack, to declare an area in which an 'authorised protest' can't be held, and they can extend that for up to 90 days. An 'authorised protest' is when the protest organisers submit some paper work, and then protesters are legally protected to march on the road or block footpaths, etc. You can still have a public gathering regardless. The police commissioner made a declaration which covers central Sydney and eastward.

Then, just two days before the rally, Minns declared the Herzog visit a 'major event'. The major event declaration was under pre-existing law, and grants cops power to close roads, search people, limit the number of people and limit police civil liability for their actions within a declared zone. (No doubt they waited until two days before to impede legal challenges, though a challege was heard and rejected.)

So yeah, to be totally (maybe unnecessarily) clear, the order of events is:

NSW Government passes new draconian laws for Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD)
Police commissioner makes a PARD covering central Sydney
Herzog visit announced
Large protests announced
'Major event' declared under pre-existing draconian laws, with area covering central Sydney
Protest is held in Town Hall Square (Sydney, NSW) and the police get violent

Sorry if you knew all this already and had just simplified for brevity!

[–] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 7 points 1 month ago

Nope, I didn't know all of it. Thank you.