2026-05-13
The NSW Police Commissioner has confirmed on ABC Radio this morning that prosecutors are reviewing charges arising from the 9 February Town Hall protest to determine whether they were made under the unconstitutional Public Assembly Restriction Declaration laws struck down by the Court of Appeal, stating that charges laid under the PARD laws “will be dropped”.
Greens MP, solicitor and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said the Commissioner’s admission confirms that the Minns Labor Government’s unlawful anti-protest laws directly contributed to wrongful arrests and legal chaos that unfolded at Town Hall.
“The Police Commissioner has now confirmed that people were charged under laws that were unconstitutional and invalid. Those charges should never have been laid,”
“These unlawful laws empowered police to violently crack down on a peaceful community protest at Town Hall. Premier Chris Minns is responsible for the chaos and harm that followed,”
“People were wrongfully arrested and brutally assaulted because the Minns Labor Government chose to impose unconstitutional anti-protest laws on the people of NSW,”
“All charges against every person charged that night at Town Hall should now be dropped. The entire police operation was built around unlawful restrictions that had no legal force,”
“Premier Chris Minns has exposed the people of NSW to massive civil liability risks as a result of wrongful arrests, excessive force and assaults against members of the community. That liability sits squarely with his Government,”
“The courts have once again pulled Chris Minns back into line after he chose authoritarianism over democratic rights and peaceful protest,” Ms Higginson said.