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What we learned; Tuesday 10 February
We will wrap up the live blog here for the evening. This is what made the news:
There was ongoing criticism of the police handling of the protest against Israel’s president Isaac Herzog in Sydney. The Greens said the police action amounted to “summary physical punishment against legitimate and peaceful protest”.
Dozens of Muslim organisations across Australia have condemned the NSW police disrupting a Muslim prayer and the use of force at the protest.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, defended police, saying they were “put in an impossible situation”.
Anthony Albanese says all views on Herzog’s visit should be expressed “peacefully”, and that the Israeli president’s visit is appropriate.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said the protests last night were a “disgrace”.
New South Wales police say nine people have been charged after yesterday’s protest.
Labor backbencher Ed Husic has questioned the police actions.
Demonstrators gathered outside Surry Hills police station to protest what they have characterised as police brutality at last night’s protest.
First Nations Australians will be able to make submissions to the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, and the minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy is encouraging the community to do that.
Sussan Ley survived a party room meeting with her leadership in tact, while her supporters have called for those wanting a spill to sign their names to a motion if they’re making a move.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull accused his own party of abandoning the centre for an ideological “la la land”.
The Australian government should take stronger action against the Laotian government over the deaths of two Australian women, Sussan Ley and the shadow foreign minister, Michaelia Cash, said.
We’ll be back tomorrow with all the latest.
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Updated at 09.21 CET
Penry Buckley
Leader of prayer group moved on by police at yesterday’s rally addresses Sydney protest
One of the men who led the prayer group moved on by police at the Sydney town hall protest yesterday has addressed the crowd outside Surry Hills police station.
Sheikh Wesam Charkawi says the group had decided to move away from the road while conducting the prayer.
We didn’t want to instigate anybody. We weren’t baiting anyone. We wanted to find that private space. And anybody that knows our tradition is that when the time of prayer comes, you pray. And the prayer literally takes about three or four minutes. We conducted ourselves in the prayer. And naturally people, when they see a congregational prayer, they join. And so as we there was one line, a second line, and there was a third row of women.
He alleges this first line of women was the first to be “attacked by police”.
I saw one of the young men, and we have an 18-year-old with us today, who said he was kneed in the back by New South Wales Police, and one of the other men who dropped us off here today, he was too traumatised to get out of the car and be with us today, because he was that guy that went flying about two metres after he came up from the most holiest position when he had his face in prostration and prayer.
Sheikh Wesam Charkawi (centre) at the Surry Hills rally. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The GuardianShare
Updated at 09.00 CET
Adeshola Ore
Herzog visit will ‘stoke the fires of division’, Victorian Greens say
The Victorian Greens say Isaac Herzog’s visit to Melbourne will “stoke the fires of division”.
In a letter sent to the premier, Jacinta Allan, on Tuesday, Victorian Greens MPs said the Israeli president’s visit to Melbourne should not go ahead, pointing to a United Nations commission of inquiry which found Herzog had “incited the commission of genocide”:
As we have seen from scenes in New South Wales yesterday, his arrival in
Victoria is likely to spark heightened community distress, increased police violence, the erosion of democratic rights and diminishing trust in the government.
Herzog has denied the accusation and says his words were taken out of context.
It comes after Allan today warned protesters ahead of Herzog’s visit to Melbourne on Thursday.
Allan told protesters not to “bring hurt or pain” to the streets of Melbourne and said Herzog’s visit was to provide care to the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
On Monday, thousands of demonstrators in Melbourne protested against Herzog’s upcoming visit.
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Updated at 08.42 CET
Penry Buckley
NSW Greens MP calls for charges against protesters to be dropped
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, addresses the crowd next, telling the crowd, “I am so sorry that we had to experience this.”
Higginson reiterates a call to drop nine charges against protesters after yesterday’s protest.
I have written to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. It’s the one accountability body we have at the NSW police. It’s not perfect, but it’s the one we have. We are calling on them to establish an independent investigation, and we want every charge withdrawn from every individual.
Sue Higginson addresses the rally in Harmony Park, Surry Hills. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The GuardianShare
Updated at 08.46 CET
Penry Buckley
Sydney protest will be ‘peaceful, static’
Josh Lees draws attention to people allegedly assaulted by police, including NSW Greens lower house MP, Abigail Boyd, prompting a chant of “cops bash women”.
Lees reiterates that tonight will be a peaceful, static protest.
It’s a chance for us to get together to … debrief whatever, share the stories that have happened and all the rest of it, but of course, also to recommit ourselves to the fight for a free Palestine. We have to redouble that commitment that we absolutely will not be intimidated.
People gather for a protest against Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia and police brutality at Harmony Park in Surry Hills. Photograph: George Chan/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 08.32 CET
Penry Buckley
‘We have the right to demonstrate,’ Sydney protesters tell police
Josh Lees, organiser for the Palestine Action Group, has addressed the crowd of at least a thousand, after leading them in chants of “Say it loud say it clear, Herzog is not welcome here” and “This is not a police state, we have the right to demonstrate”.
He says:
What happened last night was, on the one hand, it was wonderful, because 20,000 of us came out on a national day of protest that [Isaac Herzog] that should never have been invited to this country.
But he goes on to address the violent clashes yesterday, laying the blame at the premier, Chris Minns, whose name is booed by the crowd.
“I’m sure for many of us what we saw we was reminiscent … of Donald Trump’s America,” he says.
An impromptu chant of “Chris Minns, in the bin” interrupts Lees’ speech.
Palestine Action Group Sydney spokesperson Josh Lees. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 08.17 CET
Optus says 35,000 devices still not connected
Following yesterday’s Optus mobile outage we reported in the blog yesterday, Optus says 35,000 customers have yet to restart their phones to fix the software issue.
An Optus spokesperson said:
Optus is continuing to see a reduction in the number of mobile customers impacted by a software issue however 35,000 customers remain impacted and have not yet restarted their mobile device.
We have identified all remaining affected customers and are currently contacting them directly via email with instructions to restart their device. This will restore their service immediately.
Emergency calls to triple zero remain unaffected and available at all times.
We again sincerely apologise to customers.
ShareSarah Basford Canales
‘Sustained, coordinated national action’ no longer optional, antisemitism envoy says
Jillian Segal, the special envoy against antisemitism, is appearing at Senate estimates this evening, where she is appearing for the first-time since the Bondi attack last month.
Segal begins with this:
My central message is this: antisemitism in Australia has reached a point where sustained, coordinated national action is no longer optional. It’s essential for community safety, for social cohesion and for the integrity of our democracy.
The events at Bondi marked, I think, a profound turning point for the nation. They brought growing antisemitism into sharp national focus and made visible what Jewish Australians had been saying for many months – that fear, intimidation and exclusion are no longer abstract concerns, they are lived realities.
Jillian Segal. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShare
Updated at 08.05 CET
Penry Buckley
Hundreds protest police in Sydney
There are now several hundred people gathered in Harmony Park outside the Surry Hills police station.
Many carry signs referencing yesterday’s violent clashes, reading “Stop Police Brutality” and “No to state violence”.
The atmosphere is calm, with many sitting on the hill overlooking the park. A man has led a call to prayer in Arabic and several men and women have started to pray.
People at a protest outside the Surry Hills police station in Sydney. Photograph: Penry Buckley/The Guardian
A video of officers allegedly pulling away a group of men from prayer yesterday has been the subject of significant concern, with the premier, Chris Minns, rejecting the idea it showed police were disproportionately targeting the Muslim community.
Police are watching on from a distance.
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Updated at 08.23 CET
Tom McIlroy
Haines concerned after Australia slides on corruption perception index
Helen Haines, the independent MP for Indi, says it is concerning that Australia is at its lowest point in a decade on the latest Transparency International corruption index.
One of the architects of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Haines said Australia should be a world leader, expressing concern the country has fallen out of the top 10 in the new rankings.
Australia has slipped in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
We were just in the top 10, now we’re out of it. We’re back to being only a few points away from the record low of 2021.
We should be a world leader. Australians value honesty, a fair go, accountability.
This index reinforces the need for parliament to progress changes to lobbying laws, ending the culture of jobs for mates, deliver fair election donation and spending reforms, more oversight on the NACC and whistleblower protections.
Independent member for Indi, Helen Haines (left). Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 07.47 CET
Protesters gather outside NSW police HQ in Sydney to protest violent scenes yesterday
Penry Buckley
Demonstrators have started to gather outside Surry Hills police station to protest what they have characterised as police brutality at last night’s protest against the visit by Israeli president Isaac Herzog.
There are at least 100 officers lined up directly in multiple rows outside the front of the station, with protesters gathering inside a cordoned off area in Harmony Park about 50 metres away. There are smaller groups of officers on the entrances to the park, and mounted officers patrolling as well.
Police outnumber demonstrators currently, although the protest does not start until 5.30pm.
A senior police officer approached Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees a moment ago, who confirmed the demonstration will be static.
“We’re outside the zone,” says Lees, drawing attention to the fact the police station is not covered by the major events and public assembly restriction declaration which covered the area where protesters gathered yesterday.
“Is this really necessary after last night?” says Lees to the officer, referencing the significant police presence.
Here’s what the scene looked like earlier:
Police standing out the front of the Surry Hills police station ahead of a potential protest. Photograph: Carly Earl/The GuardianPolice out the front of the Surry Hills police station. Photograph: Carly Earl/The GuardianShare
Updated at 07.47 CET
Tom McIlroy
Australia slides backwards on corruption perception index
Australia has gone backwards on a leading indicator of international corruption, dropping out of the top 10 countries.
Transparency International’s latest annual Corruption Perception Index, out on Tuesday, gave Australia a score of 76 out of 100. It saw Australia fall from equal 10th to equal 12th place on the global ranking.
Australia’s score is nine points below a high of 85/100 in 2012 but still above the country’s record low of 73 in 2021.
Transparency International Australia chief executive, Clancy Moore, said the score reflects the risks of big money in politics and weaknesses in areas including whistleblower protections and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Despite the Albanese government’s strong reforms since 2022, this result shows integrity reform in Australia needs renewed commitment – not complacency.
It’s time for the Albanese government to shine a light on lobbying, shut the revolving door between industry and politics, and finish the job on political donations and spending laws.
This year 31 countries improved their rankings, 50 went backwards and 100 stayed put.
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Updated at 07.35 CET
