The NSW opposition has distanced itself from post-Bondi protest laws it backed, calling the response “reactionary” and misdirected.
The NSW opposition has questioned whether protest restrictions rushed through parliament after the Bondi massacre addressed the causes of the attack.
The laws, passed with Liberal support in December, expanded police powers over protests alongside tougher gun and hate speech measures introduced by the Minns government.
At a press conference on Tuesday, shadow attorney general Damien Tudehope said the changes failed to confront the motivations behind the attack at a Jewish gathering.
Tudehope said the alleged gunmen were not motivated by protests, describing the government’s response as “reactionary”.
He said the opposition instead wanted reforms targeting online radicalisation, including a crackdown on extremist grooming and legislating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
The Nationals voted against the legislation over gun control changes but supported the protest restrictions.
Asked whether she shared Tudehope’s assessment, NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane said she did not know what motivated the alleged attackers.
“I couldn’t get into their heads,” she said.
