NSW premier and ministers ordered to give evidence in court about policing of Herzog rally

The New South Wales premier and two of his cabinet ministers have been subpoenaed to give evidence about their roles in planning the police operation for the protest against Isaac Herzog’s visit.

Chris Minns, the police minister, Yasmin Catley, and the tourism minister, Steve Kamper, were served with subpoenas by the defence to appear before the local court in the criminal case against 17 protesters.

The senior politicians are scheduled to give evidence the week before the March 2027 state election.

The Herzog protesters, who were charged with offences including resisting arrest, failing to comply with a police direction and assaulting police, are due to face a joint hearing in July 2027. The pre-trial hearing is scheduled for March.

Twenty-five protesters were initially set to face court, however, many have had their charges withdrawn, including Eyad Shadid, who is now suing over his detention.

A lawyer representing the protesters, Nick Hanna, said Minns had been subpoenaed because the defence would argue the police operation in February 2026 was unlawful and the premier had “openly admitted his government was involved in operational police decisions about the protest”.

Other senior police, including the police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, have also been subpoenaed to appear.

The premier and ministers have the option to apply to the court to have the subpoenas set aside on the grounds their appearance lacks relevancy or the terms are oppressive.

Minns, Kamper and Catley declined to comment given the matter was before the courts.

Hanna said: “If police were carrying out the decisions of the Minns government, our clients are entitled to know what those decisions were, who made them and why.”

Hanna said on Thursday that lawyers intend to scrutinise the use of the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (Pard) during the rally, which restricted protesters from marching and was later found unconstitutional by the state’s highest court.

The police were also given expanded powers ahead of the protest under the Major Events Act – typically used for major sporting events – which the Palestine Action Group failed to overturn on the day of the protest. The unusual use of the act for Herzog’s visit was approved by Kamper.

In the days after the protest, Minns told reporters: “We can’t blame the police for doing what we asked them to do, and that is to keep the people of NSW safe, protect [Bondi beach massacre] mourners who were down at the ICC on that evening”.

Last month, the police commissioner lost an application to have a subpoena for internal police documents set aside. The defence showed during that hearing a 32-minute video compilation that Hanna alleged showed a concerning “pattern of conduct” including unlawful arrests and unlawful use of force and capsicum spray.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) kicked off its inquiry into allegations of police brutality in October before holding five weeks of hearings in private after Lanyon made a last-minute bid to have the entire held investigation held in private.

The counsel assisting the Lecc Kirsten Edwards SC said in her opening address that the evidence was far from complete but so far it showed “limited evidence of physical violence on the part of the protesters”.

“The protest appears to have been largely peaceful in its early stages.

“Later conduct by protesters, described in the evidence of police as aggressive, was for the most part verbal and connected to a desire to march.”