{"id":20277,"date":"2026-02-09T20:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=20277"},"modified":"2026-02-09T20:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:46:18","slug":"australian-politics-live-minns-defends-police-actions-at-protest-in-impossible-situation-plibersek-says-videos-from-scene-very-concerning-australia-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=20277","title":{"rendered":"Australian politics live: Minns defends police actions at protest in \u2018impossible situation\u2019; Plibersek says videos from scene \u2018very concerning\u2019 | Australia news"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Minns says police \u2018put in an impossible situation\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\"Penry<\/div>\n

Penry Buckley<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

The NSW premier, Chris Minns<\/strong>, is making the first of multiple appearances across the media this morning following the violent clashes between police and protesters yesterday evening.<\/p>\n

He has told Channel Nine\u2019s Today program that police were \u201cput in an impossible situation last night\u201d:<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>It\u2019s worth remembering they did everything possible to avoid that confrontation, starting last week when they begged protest organisers to have it in Hyde Park, where it was safe and a march could take place.<\/p>\n

I know that some of the scenes on media are short clips, but people have to understand the circumstances where protesters breached police lines and ran amuck in Sydney would have been devastating.<\/p>\n

What we can say today what we couldn\u2019t say yesterday is that we had 7,000 Jewish mourners in the same city at the same time, and police had to keep those two groups apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Asked about comments from NSW Labor backbencher Sarah Kaine<\/strong> that the police response were disproportionate, Minns says:<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>No. She\u2019s wrong. I\u2019m not going to throw police under the bus this morning.<\/strong> This is a situation that\u2019s incredibly combustible. And the circumstances that weren\u2019t shown on the news this morning or on TV last night because is what would have happened if protesters breached police lines …<\/p>\n

It would have dangerous \u2026 as difficult as the scenes were to watch, it would have been infinitely worse if NSW police didn\u2019t do their job last night.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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<\/svg><\/span>A man reacts after being tear-gassed by NSW police at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney last night.<\/span> Photograph: Jeremy Piper\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n