Australia’s NSW passes tough anti-protest, gun laws after Bondi attack

The coverage leans hard on the idea that NSW “rushed” these laws and that a constitutional challenge is the natural next step. That framing treats urgency as inherently suspect, even after a public attack that exposed real gaps in safety and enforcement.

Conservatives should be clear-eyed: protest is a right, but it is not a permission slip to intimidate, blockade, or menace communities. If the new rules draw tighter lines around disruptive tactics, that is not “anti-protest,” it is public order. And if gun restrictions focus on keeping weapons away from dangerous hands, the argument should be about effective enforcement, not virtue signaling.

The real test is rule of law and public trust. Emergency lawmaking must be narrow and reviewable, but it also has to work. A stable society protects peaceful speech while refusing to normalize chaos.