The Point Live: Liberal leadership challenge firming, protesters condemn police response at Sydney rally

Meanwhile….

• 27 protesters were arrested in violent scenes in Sydney last night
• 10 have been charged with assaulting police
• Despite numerous videos showing police punching, pepper spraying and shoving protesters, NSW premier Chris Minns has defended police by claiming the ‘context’ is important
• Anthony Albanese has been ‘devastated’ by the scenes from last night’s protest, but continues to back inviting Israeli president Isaac Herzog
• Minns has criticised protesters for their actions, but says he doesn’t have enough information to criticise police for theirs.
• Minns has defended police for violently breaking up a peaceful Muslim prayer group, again claiming ‘context’
• Protests will continue tonight

NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson said there was only one way to describe the actions of NSW police on Monday night: “corporal punishment against a peaceful community.” 

The violence in the streets of Sydney had precisely one cause, an emboldened and thuggish Police response, caused by the inflammatory actions of NSW Premier Chris Minns,” 

I will be referring the actions of the NSW Police to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, to make it clear that the orders to commit violence against the community were wildly inappropriate, and to demand accountability,”

A lawful and peaceful public assembly was set upon with state violence because arbitrary and excessive special powers were granted to the Police, via a rushed regulation made on a Saturday, with no good cause and in defiance our implied constitutional rights to engage in political expression,”

I saw with my own eyes something I had hoped to never see, but the video footage that is spreading across social media is all the evidence that any of us need to see the descent of NSW into a Police State. We saw people of the Muslim faith who were praying set upon, dragged, assaulted and thrown to the ground. We saw dozens of armed police charging at peaceful members of our community,”

Charging horses, chemical weapons, unprovoked assault, and severe police violence. These should never be the tools of law enforcement, and their presence on Sydney streets must be a wake up call to all of us.

Still listening to the Triple M Hobart FM radio interview, Albanese said he will be meeting with Isaac Herzog and families who have lost loved ones in the Bondi attack this afternoon:

Later this afternoon, I will be with President Herzog visiting families who have lost loved ones, and people surely should be able to respect that whilst maintaining whatever position it is that they have on the Middle East, I think that Australians want two things. They don’t want conflict brought here. They want killing to stop, whether it’s Israelis or Palestinians, but they do not want conflict brought here.

On the visit itself, Albanese said:

Now people will have different views about the Middle East, and we have been critical, and have received some criticism of the Israeli government, but we do need to be able to have people express any views peacefully in an appropriate way, and this visit is an important opportunity for President Herzog to stand with Jewish Australians and remember those innocent lives lost on December 14.

On the footage of Muslims who were peacefully praying when police violently broke up the gathering, Chris Minns is asked whether they were ‘legitimately’ praying or ‘baiting police’ (!!!!!!!) and says:

Look, look, I think, it’s important to say that New South Wales Police would never, never have [target] the Islamic community. There’s a deep respect and a long standing history of cooperation between New South Wales Police and the Islamic leadership and the Arabic community in Sydney that stretches back a long, a long way.

But context is important.

New South Wales Police were caught in a dynamic situation in the middle of a riot. They don’t want that kind of confrontation. Nobody does in this city. But I’m hopeful that discussions can take place between the Islamic leadership and New South Police. When you’re looking at individual clips, understand the context. New South Wales Police tried everything possible to avoid a conflict last night, starting a week ago, when they asked protest organisers to do it from Hyde Park, not the middle of Town Hall. And as I said earlier, what we can say today that we couldn’t say yesterday for operational reasons is that we had 7000 Jewish mourners in the same city at the same  time.

Those two groups could not cross as damaging damaging as the were on television last night, that would have been far, far worse in Sydney.

Chris Minns has no problems in blaming protesters for injuries he said police sustained:

Several of them are injured. I’ve spoken to the New South Wales Police commissioner this morning. He’s concerned about it. Police are not punching bags.

Obviously, we’re worried about their their their welfare. We ask them as a public, as a civic society, to go into difficult situations, to keep the people of New South Wales safe.

I understand that people are unhappy. 

Some people are unhappy about what happened last night. But the truth of the matter is, a lot of people left that area once directed by police. There was some who were determined to have a conflict with police, and that’s what happened in the end.

But he won’t criticise the police for injuries protesters sustained, or for the use of violence and pepper spray:

Well, look, obviously they’ll be investigated, but I’m not prepared to say that. I mean, I think context is incredibly important. And all of the circumstances where police are affecting an arrest on a protester, are after protests protesters attempted to breach police lines twice.

In response to Labor backbencher Sarah Kaine‘s comments that the police response to protesters was not commensurate, Chris Minns says “she’s wrong” and defends the police before any sort of investigation has been taken into their actions.

He told Nine:

No. She’s wrong. I’m not going to throw police under the bus this morning. This is a situation that’s incredibly combustible. And the circumstances that weren’t shown on the news this morning or on TV last night because protesters breached…what would have happened if [protesters breached] police lines.

I mean, at the end of the day, we had the President of Israel, 7000 mourners, all in the city at the same time. It would have dangerous. As difficult as the scenes were to watch, it would have been infinitely worse if New South Wales Police didn’t do their job last night.

NSW premier Chris Minns has been on a media blitz of his own, defending police and and echoing the line of NSW police that the footage people can see on social media with their own eyes are just individual moments taken out of context.

This was Minns on the Nine network this morning:

NSW police were put in an impossible situation last night. It’s worth remembering they did everything possible to avoid that confrontation, starting last week when they begged protest organisers to have it in Hyde Park, where was safe and a march could take place. I know that some of the scenes on media are short clips, but people have to understand the circumstances where protesters breached police lines and ran amuck in Sydney would have been devastating.

What we can say today that we couldn’t say yesterday is that we had 7000 Jewish mourners in the same city at the same time, and police had to keep those two groups apart.

Anthony Albanese has continued his FM radio blitz for the second day, which included speaking to Triple M radio Hobart this morning.

There he was asked about the protests (which is unusual for a FM radio interview – yesterday all the interviews largely ignored Isaac Herzog’s visit) and he said he was “devastated” by the protests – but not for the reasons others may be.

I’m devastated by it. These are scenes that I think shouldn’t be taking place.

People should be able to express their views peacefully, but the police were very clear about the routes that were required if people wanted to march to go a particular route, and for to ensure that this was done peacefully.

But the causes are not advanced by these sort of scenes…they’re undermined.

The president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Timothy Roberts says NSW premier Chris Minns “has directly contributed to creating an adversarial atmosphere between NSW Police and protestors” and at last night’s protest “we saw the fruit of this failing leadership”.

Instead of allowing the community to exercise their right to assembly and political communication he has taken an increasingly regressive approach to legislation that erodes both.

It speaks to the legacy of Premier Minns and this Labor Government that as the community comes to grips with the footage of wanton violence by NSW Police against peaceful protestors and the needless disruption of religious practices, that we have no assurance that he will stop.

It has been clear that the Premier does not understand the fundamental foundations of both peace and democracy in NSW. The community deserves better than a Premier whose track record indicates that he will not even learn from what we all witnessed tonight. 

Australians should be deeply concerned about what this means for the future of political freedom in this country. A country that prides itself on fairness and the rule of law, cannot tolerate dissent being crushed and silenced like was attempted tonight”. 

Japanese companies with gas export interests have met with Australian policymakers at least two dozen times in recent years, as an analysis asserts narratives pushed by both countries do not align with global climate goals.

Japanese firms, including INPEX, JERA and Mitsubishi Corporation, have almost $70 billion ($US50 billion) in equity invested in 13 Australian liquefied natural gas export projects, according to research from climate think tank InfluenceMap.

The report’s author Jack Herring was surprised by the scale of their financial stake.

“This serves to link Japanese corporate interests directly to Australia’s gas export economy,” InfluenceMap’s Australian program manager told AAP.

Australia is a major supplier of gas to Japan but in recent years, the importer’s practice of reselling it to other markets – namely Southeast Asia – has come under scrutiny, particularly against the backdrop of warnings Australia might not have enough of the fuel to meet domestic needs.

Roughly 600 to 800 petajoules of Australian gas was onsold to other Asian markets by Japanese companies in 2024, according to Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimates – comparable to eastern Australia’s annual domestic gas consumption. 

InfluenceMap says four tactics are being used to keep expanding the fossil fuel industry: investment, lobbying in Australia, government influence in Japan, and public and political “narrative capture”.

At least 24 meetings between Japanese companies and Australian ministers and officials since Labor came to power in 2022 have been identified via freedom of information requests.

Mr Herring said the two-dozen meetings were “the tip of the iceberg” and it was impossible to know the full extent without mandatory ministerial diary disclosures and other transparency reforms.

The report also contained briefs, revealed for the first time, prepared for Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King before an October 2024 visit to Japan that repeatedly emphasised Australia’s commitment to “encouraging targeted investment into new gas projects in Australia”.

Pro-LNG narratives were also tested against scientific guidance for meeting global climate goals set out in the Paris agreement.

Common descriptions of gas as a “transition fuel”, as well as its importance for energy affordability and security, were deemed inconsistent with science-based pathways to stay within the 1.5C warming limit.

Mr Herring said continued investment in the LNG industry could delay decarbonisation in both Australia and the broader region by locking in decades of gas production.

He pointed to a Deloitte report commissioned by the WA Labor government and leaked in 2025 that found gas could “crowd out investments in renewable technologies”.

A spokesperson for Ms King said regular meetings with industry stakeholders were part of the role.

“Japan has been a strong and valued investment partner for Australia’s offshore LNG industry,” the spokesperson said.

A JERA spokesperson said like many businesses in Australia, it regularly engaged with state and federal governments and regulators on the operation and management of the LNG projects it is involved in.

“Australian LNG contributes to Japan’s supplies of reliable and affordable gas while generating valuable jobs and revenue in Australia,” the spokesperson said.

INPEX senior vice president corporate Bill Townsend said the company took a “bi-partisan approach to government engagement” and highlighted the jobs created by the Ichthys LNG project it operates, and its tax contributions.

“We are actively working to support Indo-Pacific energy security, while helping the region to achieve net zero by 2050, as detailed in our INPEX Vision 2035 strategic roadmap,” he said.

The New Daily

Police have defended their actions after officers were filmed punching protesters at a rally against visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog attended by thousands on Monday afternoon.

Anti-Herzog activists gathered at Sydney Town Hall and there were also protests in capital cities around the country.

One video shared by Greens Senator David Shoebridge shows police repeatedly punching a man who is holding up his hands.

Another video circulating shows police forcibly removing Muslim men who are praying on the street.

Protesters told media outlets that police were “aggressive”, throwing tear gas and “squashing” people who were ringed by officers, with no way to get out.

Police said 27 people were arrested and 10 officers were hurt when the rally erupted in clashes.

NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Peter McKenna said the footage on social media was just small snippets that had been “taken out of context”.

He described the protest action as a “rolling melee of violence and unAustralian and unappropriate (sic) behaviour”.

McKenna said officers had been “threatened, jostled and assaulted” and had to enact special powers to move people on.

Police detain demonstrators during the protest at Sydney’s Town Hall. Photo: AAP

Prior to the chaos, the crowd stood peacefully and chanted in between speeches from people like former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Jewish academic Antony Loewenstein, and Amnesty International Australia spokesman Mohamed Duar.

Organisers had hoped to march through the city but a court decision, that upheld the police’s ability to restrict protests, scuppered plans.

As the demonstration drew to an end, the group moved towards the exit, with some trying to leave and others calling on the hundreds of surrounding police to let them march.

Though there was an exit towards the south side of the block where some could trickle out, along most of the square’s mouth, police restricted movement and would not let people march, forcing the large group into a gridlock.

Protesters’ chants soon grew louder and the police presence swelled.

Officers issued a move-on order but many within the immense, densely packed crowd were unclear on directions and the situation quickly devolved.

Police were accused of firing tear gas and using pepper spray. Photo: AAP

Police on foot and on horseback formed a front and rushed at the protesters as they attempted to disperse the group.

Others were seen beating and deploying pepper spray at attendees, and at one point a group of Muslim men leading a prayer were ripped from their knees and taken away by police.

Media, including photographers and those with press passes displayed, were forcibly pushed away from the scene by officers.

The streets were lined with medics kneeling over pepper-sprayed protesters, pouring water into their eyes as they sputtered and hacked up phlegm.

The protest began peacefully. Photo: AAP

“Instead of respecting the right of 50,000 people who turned up to express their outrage against our government celebrating someone accused of inciting genocide, the police resorted to unleashing unseen violent repression,” Palestine Action Group Sydney wrote in a social media post.

Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting officers.

Protests across other major Australian cities also drew strong attendance as participants spoke out against Israel’s bombardment and starvation of Gaza — which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians — and decried photos of Herzog signing an artillery shell that would be dropped on the occupied territory.

The Israeli president is set to carry on with his Australia tour on Tuesday.

Herzog was invited to Australia by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Bondi mass shooting in mid-December.

He visited the scene of the terror attack on Monday and is set to attend more community events on Tuesday.

Asked by AAP if he had a message to protesters, he claimed the demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel’s existence.

He previously said Palestinians bore collective blame for Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, before later walking back the remarks.

A United Nations Human Rights Council commission of inquiry in September found the statement might reasonably have been interpreted as inciting genocide.

The federal government has said Mr Herzog’s visit would provide comfort to the Jewish community.

-with AAP

Tanya Plibersek says this plan is different as it involves everybody:

The important thing about this plan is it’s not just a Commonwealth government plan. All of the states and territories have signed onto the plan as well. What it says for the states and territories and the systems they run is they need to work better with Aboriginal women and communities, to make sure the systems the states and territories run are also fit for purpose.

And of course, that covers policing, justice, child protection, the day to day delivery of refuges and those front-line services for women, it has responsibility for us to, as a Commonwealth government, to reform ourselves.

Our big investment in recent times has been the leaving violence payment, that has helped over 10,500 people with payments up to $5,000.

But we need to make sure that that program is meeting the needs of Aboriginal women and their families as well. So there’s work in here for all of us. This report is important because it comes after many years of calls for these types of changes. 

And remember, if you need any help or just need a chat, call 13 Yarn or 1800RESPECT

Tanya Plibersek was speaking to the ABC because she is launching the first dedicated national plan to address violence against Indigenous women and children. Of the plan, she says:

This is a very important next step. It’s not to say that there hasn’t been important work going on up to now, in communities right around but this national plan has the support of every state and territory government and the Commonwealth government.

It comes with substantial additional funding. And it charts out how we really reduce the – unacceptable – shockingly high rates of violence against Aboriginal women and children into the future. It says that we need to prioritise delivery of programs that are locally designed, locally staffed, because Aboriginal communities themselves know what works in their communities.

But it also says our big mainstream systems like health, education, policing and justice, need to reform themselves as well. So they are better fit for purpose.

It also comes with over $200 million of additional funding that will make a real difference on the ground as it begins to flow out from 1 July.

That means programs like literally being able to go to an Aboriginal woman who is in a situation of domestic violence and say, how can we help you safely leave?

In a city area that’s hard enough, but if you’re in a tiny remote community and you need to fly in to help someone stay safe, you can imagine how much more complex that work is. It means setting healing programs for adolescent boys, it means working through play groups, connecting young mums to elders to help support them.

As they make some of these really difficult decisions about keeping their families safe. It will make a real difference on the ground. It comes on top of about – almost a doubling of funding for family violence prevention legal services a couple of years ago, it comes on top of $267 million of extra funding in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan, under national plan on violence against women and their children.

So it’s not there hasn’t been before, there has been really important effort made, this brings that work together and super charges it.

Tanya Plibersek was asked about the protests on ABC TV News Breakfast and said:

Well, we always understood that this visit might be controversial in some quarters. I mean, there’s even parts of the Jewish community who have made clear they didn’t want this visit to proceed. I would ask the Australian community just to take a deep breath and reflect on the reason for the visit. 15 people have been murdered in Australia’s worst domestic terrorist event and there’s a grieving community saying this visit will bring them comfort. 

Surely as Australians we can just take a deep breath and allow brings comfort to some people, they should be allowed that comfort at a time like this.

I’m not going to comment on the specifics of the marches. I think people absolutely have a right to protest in this country, to make their points peacefully. I think the – the protest organisers, when both the police and the courts said to them, yes, you can protest, but you can either do it in a stationary way here in Town Hall, if you want to march, you can march through a different part of the city, should have heeded that advice.

But of course, some of the videos that we’ve seen have been very concerning. And I – I expect they’ll be investigated.

Hello and welcome back to parliament and estimates. There should be a bit more estimates action today, so we will bring you more from those hearings, as well as the House mess, where the focus is on whether or not the Liberals current leader will remain the leader for much longer.

All signs are pointing to it being a matter of when Angus Taylor challenges, not if. But first there is the Coalition election review to get through. The Liberals are pretending they have policies by dressing up slogans in canva and posting them on social media like it might actually convince someone to vote for them. But you know, hire clowns, get a circus.

While the Liberals are flopping to the finish line, there is still the matter of governing.

There were protests in every major centre and region against Israeli president Isaac Herzog visit to Australia, with the biggest in Sydney. Police have been accused of an over the top response to the peaceful gathering, which included violently ‘moving on’ Muslims who were peacefully praying. Videos posted to social media show protesters being chased, and pepper sprayed and punched.

As Deepcut reported:

State Labor backbencher Anthony D’Adam, who was demoted by Minns in 2024 after criticising police treatment of pro-Palestine protesters, said yesterday that he “personally witnessed disgusting and excessive police violence which needs to be investigated”.

“This could have been avoided if police had been allowed to facilitate a peaceful march to the parliament as originally proposed,” D’Adam said.

More protests are planned for the duration of Herzog’s visit, which will include a trip to Canberra as I understand it.

Chris Minns, the NSW premier has not taken a backward step and was at a special dinner function with Herzog as the protest in Sydney was held. Anthony Albanese and federal Labor did their best to avoid any mention of it in the parliament yesterday, until independent MP Sophie Scamps forced some acknowledgement, when she questioned whether sanctions would be applied against Israel for its illegal annexation of the West Bank. Richard Marles ‘noted the timing’ of Scamps’ question and said Herzog was an ‘honoured and welcomed guest’.

We’ll follow what happens there, as well as what comes out of Labor’s response to the economy and the potential for tax reform in the coming budget.

You have Amy Remeikis and my two coffees to guide you through the next little bit. Ready? Me either. But let’s get into it.