2025-11-12
Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice, Sue Higginson, has condemned the antisemitic demonstration by neo-Nazis at NSW Parliament House as a vile act of racial hatred that has no place in a democratic society. Ms Higginson warned Premier Chris Minns not to respond with another round of heavy-handed laws that would only strengthen the far-right by eroding civil rights and freedoms.
Sue Higginson said:
“There are existing criminal offences for racial hatred and vilification. We do not need another knee-jerk reaction from the Premier that chips away at civil liberties and makes it easier for police to target the wrong people,”
“Earlier this year, Labor pushed through a suite of unnecessary and rushed laws that restricted protest rights and freedom of expression and gave police excessive powers. The Greens opposed those laws because we knew that handing more power to police in moments of political pressure only ever backfires. Those laws have since been used against peaceful protesters calling for climate action and justice for Palestine, not against neo-Nazis,”
“The truth is, NSW Police already have enormous powers to stop and disband public gatherings. They didn’t use them in this instance. That’s not a gap in the law - that’s a failure of judgment and leadership. The Premier’s response should be to demand accountability, not to make our democracy smaller,”
“We have seen this pattern before. Every time there’s a moment of public anger, Labor reaches for more police powers instead of strengthening communities or enforcing the laws that already exist. We cannot fight fascism by adopting its tactics. Authoritarian laws do not protect democracy - they hollow it out,”
“We cannot simply arrest our way out of every problem, and the Greens will continue to hold this Government to account with their lazy approach to complex issues. We will always stand against hate, racism and antisemitism, but we will not stand by while our rights and freedoms are traded away in the name of political expediency,” Ms Higginson said.