NSW Premier Chris Minns was welcomed to the NSW Labor conference on July 4 amid cheers as well as those wanting to show their opposition to Labor’s position on Palestine and its anti-free speech laws.
Two observers, Mark Powell and Hassan Hijazi, hung a Palestine flag from the balcony above the entrance as Minns walked in. They were forcefully removed by NSW Police as Minns walked in, to rounds of applause. Outside, supporters of Palestine had gathered for a rally against anti-protest laws and for freedom of speech.
Minns referred to those outside as “Not the first group to try and disrupt our democratic conference”.
Minns has long had a connection to the state of Israel. In 2003 when working for Carl Scully, then Minster of Roads and Housing, Minns went on an Israeli funded trip. In 2024, he demoted Anthony D’Adams, a Labor MLC that has criticised the government's anti-protest laws and attended many of the Palestine protests.
