The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) applauds the NSW Legislative Council for initiating an inquiry into whether Premier Chris Minns and Minister Catley misled Parliament and the public to secure the passage of the Places of Worship Bill, Racial and Religious Hatred Bill and the Inciting Racial Hatred Bill.

NSWCCL's persistent advocacy has successfully secured the inquiry, which aims to uncover whether the government knowingly used fabricated threats of terrorism and a mass casualty event to justify the swift passage of repressive legislation that risks criminalising legitimate speech and protest.

We expect the inquiry to shed light on the following questions:

1. When was the Premier briefed by the police that the caravan bombing plot was a suspected hoax?  

2. Why did the Premier call the incident a “potential mass casualty event”, inciting fear across the Jewish community, if he knew that it was in fact a suspected hoax?  

3. What did the Premier know by 18 February, when he insisted that the threat to the public from the caravan bombing plot was not overstated? 

4. Did the Premier and the Police Minister intentionally exploit this hoax to speed through legislation criminalising protest and speech?  

Comments attributable to Timothy Roberts, President of NSWCCL

“No laws, but especially ones that take away our democratic freedoms, should be introduced and passed in just a two week period. 

“In the lead up to these laws passing, the Minns Labor Government ignored the serious concerns raised from across civil society and may have knowingly used an unjustified sense of urgency for their passing. 

“NSWCCL is glad the Legislative Council has listened to our calls for an inquiry. The Minns Labor Government must be held accountable for its actions, particularly if it has knowingly exploited fear to erode essential democratic freedoms.

“NSWCCL maintains that these laws will only deepen divisions within our community and suppress legitimate dissent. We hope this inquiry will lead to these repressive laws being repealed and ensure that such legislative overreach is never repeated.

“Repealing these laws would say to the people of NSW that our government values democracy, freedom of speech and the right to dissent. It would say that the NSW government received new information and responded accordingly.  

“NSWCCL will always stand against tyranny to protect democratic rights and freedoms and will actively participate in the inquiry process to ensure transparency and accountability.”