Protests and power: How violence in Sydney streets put a premier under pressure

Chris Minns presents as the Mr Nice Guy of NSW politics, but fractures among Labor ranks have some party faithfuls questioning who he wants to keep onside. AdvertisementNSW State ParliamentProtests and power: How violence in Sydney streets put a premier under pressureBy Alexandra Smith and Jessica McSweeneyFebruary 21, 2026Fallout from the protest at Town Hall has put NSW Premier Chris Minns under pressure.Photos: Jessica Hromas; artwork: Monique WestermannSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAFirst he shared a prestigious award with his supposed nemesis, Dominic Perrottet, for civility in an election campaign. Then he extended invites to former NSW Liberal leaders to cut the ribbon on the metro, the brainchild of the Coalition.Now Chris Minns heaps praise on Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane for her handling of the Bondi massacre at every opportunity. The NSW premier is, by all accounts, Mr Nice Guy.Yet, with a little over a year until the next state election, rank-and-file Labor members are wondering who he wants to keep onside. The party faithful are not convinced it is them.The handling of last Monday’s CBD protest, organised by serial activist Josh Lees against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, has exposed the simmering discontent among some in the Labor Party as well as several trade unions, who are outraged at what they see as the premier’s draconian erosion of civil liberties.Premier Chris Minns, with former transport minister Jo Haylen (right) welcomed former Liberal premiers Dominic Perrottet (left) and Mike Baird (second left) to open the city metro line.Dean SewellFour so-called rogue Labor backbenchers attended the anti-Herzog protest, which resulted in 10 people being charged after chaotic scenes broke out, and Minns has sought to paint the MPs as outliers who are not in the tent. But those MPs, two from the Left and two from Minns’ Right faction, are not alone.On Friday, the South Coast Labour Council summoned their six local MPs, which include Health Minister Ryan Park and Planning Minister Paul Scully, to a “please explain” meeting. Only Anna Watson, MP for Shellharbour, turned up.AdvertisementThe meeting came after the Maritime Union of Australia’s southern NSW branch wrote to the council demanding an explanation from local MPs, and condemned the premier’s defence of police actions “in the strongest possible terms”.Related ArticleExclusiveProtestsSenior officer agreed to let prayer go ahead before violent Sydney protest scenes“The totally reprehensible sign of burly NSW Police officers pepper-spraying and aggressively manhandling women and elderly people that posed no credible threat to them was particularly galling and cannot be acceptable in Australian society,” MUA branch secretary Scott Carter wrote.“Minns is no Gough Whitlam,” says South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris, who said “bashing union veterans and grannies” at rallies would not motivate the Labor faithful to work the booths at election time.“Wollongong can be a tough place for Labor politicians at the best of times, and workers and their unions have this strange expectation that our Labor leaders are put there to help us, not smash us.”The premier has made his disdain for Lees and the Palestine Action Group’s protest efforts well known. Last year, Minns publicly insisted a march across the Harbour Bridge should not go ahead, before the NSW Police had even filed a court challenge.Minns would not allow protesters to shut down the city’s “central artery”, he insisted, citing safety concerns. Multiple MPs, including senior ministers Jihad Dib and Penny Sharpe, defied their boss and marched with up to 300,000 people anyway, making internal disagreements over the handling of pro-Palestine protests clear.AdvertisementIn late December, Minns linked the protests to rising antisemitic hatred in the community as justification for crackdowns after the Bondi massacre. Hateful words lead to actions, he said, and vowed to outlaw the phrase “globalise the intifada”.In the months since, some protesters, including former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, have continued to use the phrase.Minns’ latest crackdown on the ability to protest included legislating to restrict marches after a terrorism event and declaring the visit of Herzog a major event, triggering extra police powers to move on protesters.Police faced backlash after Muslims bowed in prayer were forcibly moved on after the Town Hall rally.@beastfromthe_middleeastThe morning after the chaotic scenes at Town Hall, when vision of police punching and charging at protesters were being spread like wildfire on social media, the premier did not deviate from his staunch defence of police officers.The clips did not show the full context, Minns stressed, and officers were faced with exceptional circumstances trying to prevent the unruly protesters from clashing with mourners at Herzog’s nearby event. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is now investigating the actions of police.The biggest political headache for the premier, however, has come not from