New South Wales plans to ban the slogan "globalize the intifada," which would be classified as hate speech, Premier Chris Minns said on Saturday.
"I will insist that ‘globalise the intifada’ is included in that list of hateful, violent rhetoric in New South Wales," The Guardian cited Minns as saying.
Minns announced emergency reforms in the aftermath of what has been described as the country’s deadliest terror attack in decades.
"When you see people marching and showing violent bloody images, images of death and destruction, it’s unleashing something in our community that the organizers of the protest can’t contain,” NBC News cited Minns as saying.
Authorities in Australia and Britain tightened restrictions on pro-Palestinian demonstrations following the Bondi Beach massacre, which left 15 victims dead during a Hanukkah celebration on December 14 at the popular Sydney location.
The attack at Bondi Beach has prompted a shift in how Western law enforcement agencies approach political speech and what they define as “hateful extremism.”
New hate speech laws target terror slogans in NSW, Britain
After the massacre, new legislative and policing measures were introduced in both countries.
Under the new measures, police will be granted expanded authority to shut down unauthorized protests for periods of up to three months.
According to Fox News, Minns declared that, under the ban, police would be given more powers to demand that protesters remove face coverings during demonstrations.
"Horrific, recent events have shown that the chant ‘globalize the intifada’ is hate speech and encourages violence in our community," Minns told reporters. "You’re running a very risky racket if you’re thinking of using that phrase."
The reforms also prohibit the public display of flags and symbols associated with designated terrorist organizations, including ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram, and give police broader powers to require protesters to remove masks or face coverings during demonstrations.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Office of National Intelligence had identified an ISIS video feed reinforcing the “ISIS-inspired” nature of the shooting.
The attack was carried out by 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed, authorities said. Naveed was charged after awaking from a coma in a Sydney hospital, NBC News reported.
The impact of the Bondi attack has extended to Britain, where London’s Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced they will arrest individuals for chanting "globalize the intifada" or displaying related placards.
British authorities cited the “changed context” following the Sydney massacre, as well as a previous Yom Kippur attack in Manchester, to justify the stricter enforcement.
Home Office data shows that hundreds of arrests have already been made under terrorism legislation, with enforcement efforts particularly focused on supporters of the banned group Palestine Action.
In Australia, pressure is mounting on Albanese to establish a federal Royal Commission to investigate potential security failures.
Critics, including former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and RSL Australia head Peter Tinley, have pointed to what they describe as missed warning signs, The Australian reported.
They noted that the elder Akram was assessed by ASIO in 2019 as posing “no ongoing threat,” that the household held a firearms license for six weapons issued in 2023, and that the two travelled to an ISIS hotspot in Mindanao in the Philippines weeks before the attack without intervention.
As Australia observes a national day of reflection, the legislative direction in both countries indicates a move toward more assertive policing, with governments redefining the boundary between protected political expression and what they consider to be “hateful incitement.”