How a Premier Betrayed His Voters, Weaponised the State, and Turned Police into an Arm of Foreign Influence

By Andrew Klein 

Dedicated to the woman whose door was broken down at 5am. To every Australian who has been pepper-sprayed, kettled, and silenced. To the democracy we are losing while politicians play politics with our rights.

I. The Facts of the Case

At 5am on March 26, 2026, eight heavily armoured officers from the New South Wales Police Force—helmets, vests, face masks—broke down the door of a 42-year-old woman in Ashfield. They found her asleep, half-naked. They arrested her. They searched her belongings. They seized her phone and demanded her passcode under a digital evidence access order.

Her alleged crimes: throwing a water bottle at an officer during a protest six weeks earlier, and threatening to assault another officer if he touched her .

She has no criminal record. She is not alleged to pose any ongoing danger. Her lawyer, Nick Hanna, who has practiced criminal law for nearly 20 years, said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like what happened today” .

She is the 26th person to be charged in relation to the February 9 protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog . She now faces court on April 15. She must report to police three times a week. She cannot go within 300 metres of Town Hall.

This is not policing. This is state terror. And the man responsible is Premier Chris Minns.

II. The Legislative Sledgehammer

The raid on the Ashfield woman was not an isolated incident. It was the logical conclusion of a systematic legislative assault on the right to protest in New South Wales—an assault orchestrated by the Minns government.

December 24, 2025: Ten days after the Bondi Beach terror attack, the Minns government rushed through laws giving the police commissioner the power to declare a “public assembly restriction declaration” (PARD) over entire geographical areas for up to 14 days, extendable to 90 days. The law captures all protests, regardless of whether they have any connection to the terrorist incident.

The NSW Court of Appeal has heard that these laws use a “sledgehammer to seek to crack a nut” . Justice Stephen Free noted that the legislation gives the police commissioner no “capacity to differentiate between types of assembly.” Protests against planning laws. Protests against deaths in custody. Protests completely unrelated to any security risk. All are swept up in the same blanket ban .

February 7, 2026: The Minns government declared Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit a “major event” under the Major Events Act 2009 . This legislation—designed for sporting events and cultural festivals—had never before been used for a foreign dignitary visit . It was deployed 48 hours before Herzog arrived, giving protesters no time to challenge it.

The Act grants extraordinary powers: police can shut off access to areas, search people without warrants, use “reasonable force” to compel citizens to comply with directions, and impose fines of up to $5,500 for failing to obey move-on orders . The state is relieved of most liability for damage caused in the exercise of these powers .

The Act explicitly states that a political protest must not be declared a major event . Yet the government successfully argued before the Supreme Court that Herzog’s visit—which the President himself described as aimed at rebuilding Australia’s relationship with Israel—was not a political event but a “cultural” one . Justice Robertson Wright accepted this absurd proposition.

The Result: On February 9, 2026, hundreds of peaceful protesters were kettled in Town Hall Square. Police used pepper spray indiscriminately. People were violently thrown to the ground while praying. A 76-year-old journalist was assaulted by six officers and held without water for five hours before being released without charge . Videos of police brutality went viral around the world.

Premier Minns defended the police actions as “reasonable” . Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said he was “very proud” of his officers .

III. The Influence: Who Is Chris Minns Serving?

The question that must be asked—the question the mainstream media has failed to ask—is this: Who benefits from this crackdown? And what is Chris Minns’ relationship with those who do?

The Arms Trade:

In November 2025, Premier Minns personally spruiked the Indo-Pacific Arms Exposition in Darling Harbour, declaring he was “proud” and “delighted” to welcome weapons manufacturers to Sydney . Among the companies he welcomed were Israeli weapons manufacturers, including Elbit Systems, which makes the F-35 bombers used in the bombing of Gaza.

When asked about Israeli weapons companies at the expo, Minns ducked: “I’m not responsible for the invitations” . But he was responsible for his choice to endorse the event, to say he was “delighted” to welcome corporations that manufacture the weapons used in what a UN Commission of Inquiry has found to be genocide.

Greens MP Sue Higginson called it out directly: “Chris Minns has said he doesn’t control who is invited to this weapons expo, but he does control his own decisions to offer a personal endorsement of the event, to say he is ‘proud’ and ‘delighted’ to welcome into NSW corporations who massacre babies, and to use taxpayer funds to sponsor the event” .

The Lobbying Networks:

The infrastructure of influence is well-documented. Former Labor Premier Bob Carr has described the pro-Israel lobby in Australia as a “well-funded foreign influence operation” . Its power does not rest solely on donations—though the Henroth Trust, linked to Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal, provided $280,000 to the Liberal Party in 2024-25. Its power rests on fear. Fear of reputational destruction. Fear of being branded weak on security. Fear of becoming the next viral political target.

When Premier Minns was asked in Parliament about Bob Carr’s statements on the Jewish lobby, he refused to engage. He said he did “not subscribe to everything that Bob Carr has said in the past” but had appointed Carr to an $80,000 position on the Sydney Water Board because he was “qualified to do the job” . The question—asked by Liberal MP Kellie Sloane—was a trap. Minns walked into it, deflecting rather than defending the democratic principle that Australians should be able to question foreign influence without being accused of antisemitism.

The Selective Outrage:

In the wake of the Bondi terror attack, Minns announced he would ban the phrase “globalise the intifada” and linked pro-Palestinian protests to the massacre . Yet when asked about the presence of neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian community groups his government has supported and funded, he has said nothing .

Investigative reporting has documented that the Minns government has:

· Hosted fundraisers for the Da Vinci Wolves battalion, now commanded by a neo-Nazi with Totenkopf tattoos 

· Spoken at rallies where the 3rd Assault Brigade—the successor to the Azov Battalion, led by a man who has called for a “final crusade against Semite-led Untermenschen”—was celebrated 

· Promoted the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) as a support organisation despite the fact that CYM holds regular memorials for Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevych, a war criminal who participated in the murder of 4,000 Jews in Lviv 

· Remained silent while the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lidcombe sells patches for the 14th Waffen SS and the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion 

When it comes to antisemitism, Minns acts. When it comes to actual neo-Nazis—those who display the same symbols worn by the Christchurch terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims at prayer—he is silent .

Has Minns Received Training or Indoctrination in Israel?

The evidence is circumstantial but suggestive. The pattern is clear: Minns has consistently aligned himself with the interests of the Israeli government and its lobbying networks, even when those interests conflict with the expressed will of his voters, the principles of his party, and the basic democratic right to protest.

In 2017, the Turnbull government established a program sending Australian police, paramedics, firefighters and defence personnel to Israel for training in “counter-terrorism” methods . The flow of Israeli doctrine to Australian police has continued. In January 2026, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs formally offered to host and train senior Australian police officers . The Albanese government is considering the offer.

Where does Minns stand? He has not opposed it. He has not questioned it. He has simply defended the police actions that flow from it.

IV. The Oxymoron: Anti-Terror Laws Used Against Peaceful Protesters

The raid on the Ashfield woman is an oxymoron. If the state’s surveillance apparatus is so accurate, if the data gathered is so precise, then the police knew she was not a threat. They knew she was a 42-year-old with no criminal record whose alleged offence was throwing a water bottle. They knew she was asleep when they came.

They came anyway. Eight officers. Armoured. Masked. At 5am. They broke down her door. They seized her phone. They turned her life upside down.

This was not a legitimate police operation. It was an act of capricious violence designed to send a message: We can come for you. We will come for you. There is nowhere to hide.

This is not counter-terrorism. This is state terror. And it is being carried out in the name of “community safety.”

V. The Bipartisan Silence: Where Is Anthony Albanese?

The Prime Minister has been notably silent on the crackdown in New South Wales. His government has:

· Appointed Jillian Segal, whose household trust donated $280,000 to the Liberal Party, as Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism 

· Expanded the relationship with Palantir, the data analysis firm whose platforms underpin US immigration enforcement (ICE) and provide battlefield intelligence to the Israeli military 

· Granted Palantir “protected-level” access to sensitive national data 

· Is considering the Israeli offer to train Australian police 

When the Attorney-General’s Department was asked about the use of the Major Events Act to suppress protest, it referred questions to the NSW government . When the Prime Minister was asked about the police violence at the Herzog protest, he said nothing.

This is not leadership. This is abdication. And it is bipartisan. The Liberal Party, which passed the original legislation, is no better. The federal government, which could intervene to protect Australians’ rights, has chosen not to.

VI. The Mainstream Media: Complicity by Omission

The mainstream media has covered the Herzog protest and the subsequent raids. But it has failed to ask the fundamental questions:

· Why was the Major Events Act—designed for sporting events—applied to a political protest?

· Who in the Minns government made that decision?

· What is Chris Minns’ relationship with the Israeli government and its lobbying networks?

· Has the Premier or his family received any benefits, travel, or donations from these networks?

· What training have NSW Police officers received from Israeli forces?

· What is the background of Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon?

The media reports the violence. It quotes the lawyers. It notes the LECC investigation. But it does not connect the dots. It does not name the pattern. It does not ask the questions that would hold power to account.

This is not journalism. It is stenography.

VII. The Threat to Democracy

What is happening in New South Wales is not an isolated aberration. It is a direct threat to every Australian.

When a government can declare a foreign dignitary’s visit a “major event” and unleash unprecedented police powers with 48 hours’ notice, no protest is safe.

When a government can pass laws giving the police commissioner the power to ban all protests in entire geographical areas for up to 90 days, the right to assemble is dead.

When a government can send eight armoured officers to break down a woman’s door at 5am for throwing a water bottle, no citizen is safe from state terror.

This is not the Australia I served in. This is not the Australia where community policing once meant officers knew the locals, walked the beat, were part of the neighbourhood. This is something else. Something imported. Something that treats citizens as enemies, dissent as disloyalty, and protest as crime.

VIII. What Must Happen Now

1. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission must investigate. The LECC is already investigating the February 9 police operation. It must also investigate the March 26 raid on the Ashfield woman. It must examine the decision-making process that led to the application of the Major Events Act. It must name the politicians and senior police involved.

2. The charges against the Ashfield woman must be dropped. She is not a threat. She is not a danger. She is a citizen who exercised her democratic rights. The resources being spent on her prosecution are a waste of taxpayer money and an abuse of state power.

3. The Major Events Act must be reformed. It must never again be used to suppress political protest. The exemption for political events must be enforced, not ignored.

4. The public assembly restriction declaration laws must be repealed. The “sledgehammer” approach to protest bans is incompatible with democracy. Protests must be assessed on their individual merits, not swept up in blanket bans.

5. The importation of Israeli police training must end. The doctrine that treats citizens as enemies has no place in Australian policing. The Albanese government must reject the Israeli training offer. The Minns government must disclose what training NSW Police have already received.

6. Premier Chris Minns must answer questions. What is his relationship with the Israeli government and its lobbying networks? Has he or his family received any benefits, travel, or donations? Why did he support the arms expo that showcased Israeli weapons manufacturers? Why did he remain silent on neo-Nazis while criminalising pro-Palestinian speech? Why did he defend the police violence at the Herzog protest?

IX. I Accuse

I accuse Premier Chris Minns of using the trauma of the Bondi terror attack to pass legislation that criminalises dissent.

I accuse him of deploying the Major Events Act—a law designed for sporting events—to suppress political protest against a foreign leader whose government has been found by a UN commission to be committing genocide.

I accuse him of standing by while NSW Police engaged in violence against peaceful protesters, including a 76-year-old journalist who was assaulted and held without water.

I accuse him of defending that violence, of saying he was “proud” of police officers who broke bones and blinded people with pepper spray.

I accuse him of welcoming Israeli weapons manufacturers to Sydney, of saying he was “delighted” to host corporations that profit from the massacre of Palestinian civilians.

I accuse him of selective outrage—cracking down on pro-Palestinian speech while remaining silent on neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian community groups his government has supported and funded.

I accuse him of turning the New South Wales Police Force into an arm of foreign influence, of importing Israeli counter-terrorism doctrine, of treating Australian citizens as enemies.

I accuse him of breaking down a woman’s door at 5am, of sending eight armoured officers to arrest a 42-year-old with no criminal record for throwing a water bottle.

I accuse him of hollowing out the right to protest, of criminalising dissent, of taking a sledgehammer to the democratic freedoms that generations of Australians fought and died to protect.

And I accuse the federal government, the Liberal opposition, and the mainstream media of complicity by silence.

X. A Question for Every Australian

The woman in Ashfield is not a terrorist. She is not a threat. She is a citizen who exercised her democratic rights. Her door is broken. Her phone is seized. Her life is in limbo.

If they can do this to her, they can do it to you.

If they can declare a political visit a “major event” to suppress protest, they can do it to any cause they oppose.

If they can pass laws banning all protests in entire geographical areas, they can silence any voice they dislike.

If they can break down a door at 5am for throwing a water bottle, no one is safe.

This is not about Israel. It is not about Palestine. It is about Australia. It is about the democracy we are losing while politicians play politics with our rights.

How many more doors must be broken? How many more citizens must be pepper-sprayed? How many more rights must be eroded before we say enough?

Dedicated to the woman whose door was broken down at 5am. To every Australian who has been pepper-sprayed, kettled, and silenced. To the democracy we are losing while politicians play politics with our rights.

We will not be silent.

Sources:

· City Hub, “NSW Police Criticised For Heavy-Handed Arrest Of Anti-Herzog Protester,” March 28, 2026 

· The Australian Independent Media Network, “Herzog’s Visit to Australia: Just Who Is Being Comforted, and at What Cost?” February 12, 2026 

· ABC News, “Palestine Action Group loses court challenge to extra police powers for Israeli president visit,” February 9, 2026 

· Green Left, “Minns spruiks defence exports, while protesters take aim at Indo-Pacific arms expo,” November 4, 2025 

· Sydney Criminal Lawyers, “Criminal Offences That Apply to ‘Unauthorised Protests’ in New South Wales,” February 10, 2026 

· The Echo, “Premier faces backlash for supporting Israeli weapons showcase,” November 4, 2025 

· Michael West Media, “Are nazis in Chris Minns hate speech sights … or just Palestinian peace protestors?” January 2, 2026 

· Café Pacific, “Herzog protest – when politicians fail, police go rogue, justice fails to protect,” February 16, 2026 

· Parliament of NSW Hansard, “Sydney Water Board,” November 11, 2025 

· The Age, “Minns government took ‘sledgehammer’ to protests after Bondi, court told,” February 26, 2026 

Andrew Kaelen

March 30, 2026