Australian news and politics live: Albanese ‘devastated’, Minns blasts protesters after violent clashes

During the anti-Herzog protests at Town Hall on Monday, a group of Muslim men, who were praying in the square, were forcibly moved on by police.

The video quickly went viral online, with many questioning the police action.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said that the video does not give full context, while backing the actions of officers.

The Lebanese Muslim Association on Tuesday called for answers.

“We are appalled and outraged by footage from last night showing a group of peaceful worshipers being pushed and treated in a heavy-handed manner by the NSW Police while in a state of peaceful prayers,” a spokesperson said Tuesday.

“The conduct of the NSW Police represents a serious breach of religious sanctity. It is deeply distressing, unacceptable and not reflective of (the) Australia we know.

“The Australian Jewish community is hurting after the terror attacks at Bondi. We hurt with them, and we stand with them in grief and solidarity. At the same time, we are also deeply hurt by the ongoing atrocities and genocide committed against our brothers and sisters in Gaza.

“We demand clear answers from the NSW Government, the NSW Premier Chris Minns and the NSW Police.”

As the Liberal Party sideshow continues in Canberra, Anthony Albanese used a caucus meeting to take another dig at the Opposition’s chaos.

The Prime Minister thanked his caucus colleagues for their “discipline and dignity” over the past couple of weeks.

“Our task is to continue as the adults in government, in contrast to the circus that we see from the Opposition,” he told them, according to a source in the room.

Mr Albanese also mentioned that he would make the Closing the Gap statement on Thursday, “in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack in Perth, an attack motivated obviously by racial hatred”.

The Labor caucus had signed off on Jim Chalmers introducing legislation to reduce the tax concessions on multimillion-dollar superannuation accounts.

The Treasurer announced the policy in the last term, but it got stalled in the Senate.

Last year, he announced a reworking of the policy that will double the tax rate on superannuation balances above $3 million and now also increase a top-up payment for people on low incomes.

Parliament will finally see that legislation this week, according to a senior Government spokesperson, after it was endorsed unanimously by Labor MPs.

Malcolm Turnbull has accused the Liberal Party of focusing on ideology over policies and mocked their infighting.

“If you hear a sort of … soft, purring, rubbing noise in the Parliament, it’s all of the Labor members just rubbing their hands and hugging themselves with glee as they watch the catastrophe on the other side,” he said at a press conference during a visit to Parliament House for a clean energy conference.

He said the Coalition needed to get back to the centre and not fall further into “La, La, Land”, while also suggesting there’s a potential gap in the political market for a centrist party.

“Regrettably, the Liberal Party and the National Party at the moment are no longer, by their own choice, competing in the centre, and the mistake has been to fall into that sort of right-wing media ecosystem.”

Premier Chris Minns said former Australian of the Year Grace Tame’s chanting at the anti-Herzog demonstrations was “distressing”.

“I thought that was a distressing scene,” Mr Minns said on Tuesday.

“You know, I – in the circumstances where six weeks ago we lost 15 members of the Jewish community to a hate crime, a violent terrorist uprising, that’s what the consequences of ‘globalise the intifada’ mean, a violent uprising in Sydney’s streets.

“I can only imagine what those families thought when they saw someone screaming it from the steps of Town Hall, the pain they would have gone through.

“It’s not a distant memory. We’re talking about weeks ago, their family members were mowed down and murdered because they were Jewish.”

Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd has accused NSW Police of punching her in the head as she attempted to move on from the protests at Town Hall.

Ms Boyd said while NSW Police were attempting to move people on, she told them she was a member of Parliament when she was allegedly “lifted off the ground” then punched in the head and shoulder by two officers.

The protests have sparked division in Sydney following the demonstrations that defied police orders that were in place for public safety.

Despite being told not to hold the event at Town Hall, Palestine Action Group went ahead with the event there.

Now, the group claims that NSW Police gave them nowhere to go, creating a pressure cooker situation.

NSW Police and the NSW Government say if the group followed police direction and held the event at Hyde Park, the situation would have been manageable, likely without incident.

Josh Lees from the Palestine Action Group on Monday claimed 50,000 people turned out in Sydney to protest Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit following the Bondi Beach terror attack.

On Tuesday morning, he claimed the number was 30,000.

NSW Police have said the number was between 6000 - 7000.

On Tuesday, Mr Lees said he attempted to calm and disperse the crowd when police moved in, a version of events heavily disputed by the NSW Premier and NSW Police.

Protest groups have gathered on Tuesday morning to accuse the NSW Government and NSW Police of a “monumental failure” over the actions taken at the anti-Herzog protests.

NSW Police had offered protesters the opportunity to demonstrate at Hyde Park, but instead they demanded the Town Hall.

The decision went all the way to the Supreme Court, and was rejected, but protesters defied Government and police direction and gathered at Sydney’s Town Hall, something police say caused an “impossible” situation.

NSW MP Sue Higginson of the Greens said that NSW Police should have allowed the protesters to march from Town Hall to State Parliament, and no violence or clashes would have occurred.

In the statement, the protest group acknowledged that people wanted to march, despite organisers assuring NSW Police that no one would march.

Chris Minns has labelled the anti-Herzog protests “a riot”, saying NSW Police avoided “chaos” on the streets on Monday night.

“One of the things you didn’t see last night, because it didn’t happen, was protestors breaching police lines,” Mr Minns said on Tuesday.

The Commissioner and Premier said protesters would have been able to “choose your own adventure” to take over city streets and potentially clash with Jewish mourners nearby.

In response to viral footage of police removing a group of Muslim men praying, Mr Minns said NSW Police were forced to make “critical” safety decisions and did not target anyone of a particular faith.

Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon have again blasted anti-Herzog protestors, applauding police for their action to keep 7000 Jewish mourners in the Sydney CBD and the community safe.

Mr Minns said it was an “impossible” situation to get right as demonstrators illegally gathered near where 7000 Jewish Australians and the Israeli President were holding an event.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley says the volatility shown by anti-Herzog protestors in Sydney was something never seen before by NSW Police.

“That volatile crowd, I’ve been told by police, is one that they have not seen so aggressive before,” she said on Tuesday.

“However, they (NSW Police) were able to disperse the crowd after some period of time and keep our community safe.”