NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has challenged Minns to sack the four Labor MPs who attended the Town Hall demonstration last night, if they are found to have flouted restrictions imposed on the protest, as she lamented the “incredibly confronting” yet “entirely predictable” scenes.
Sloane accused the Labor MPs at the demonstration – Anthony D’Adam, Stephen Lawrence, Sarah Kaine and Cameron Murphy – of “whipping up a frenzy” at Town Hall, accusing them of “ignoring” the legislation designed to ensure peaceful protesting in the state.
NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane.Sam Mooy
“The premier should hold his team members responsible, and if they have flouted those laws, he should sack those team members,” Sloane told 2GB.
“His own Labor caucus, who defied him, who defied the police and stood at the front of that rally. They are supposed to be lawmakers.”
Sloane cautioned against a planned protest at a Sydney police station this evening, as she railed against the “out of control” scenes on Sydney’s streets. She also expressed sympathy for the officers stationed at the demonstrations, as they “put themselves in the middle of something they knew they could not contain”.
Minns has previously dismissed suggestions the MPs would be sacked, articulating his opposition to their views but finding that, provided their actions didn’t break any laws, a sacking wasn’t justified.
Police and protesters clashed on Monday night.Wolter Peeters
Minns rushed to the defence of officers’ conduct this morning, and urged the public against judging their actions from short videos posted to social media.
He conceded the images posted online didn’t “look good”, but found that the demonstration could’ve turned much uglier if protesters breached the containment line at Town Hall, which he said was attempted on two occasions.
“What’s not shown on the videos because it didn’t happen, is what would have happened if protesters had breached police lines in the middle of Sydney, it would have been chaos, even worse than the scenes that were reported on the news,” Minns said.
Police desperately sought to prevent the containment line from being breached, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed a crowd of Jewish mourners at the nearby International Convention Centre while the protest occurred.