Entire NSW Labor left calls for controversial anti-protest laws to be scrapped ahead of party conference

Premier Chris Minns will address the NSW Labor party conference on Saturday, with an announcement on train manufacturing expected. Photograph: Bianca De Marchi/AAP View image in fullscreen Premier Chris Minns will address the NSW Labor party conference on Saturday, with an announcement on train manufacturing expected. Photograph: Bianca De Marchi/AAP Entire NSW Labor left calls for controversial anti-protest laws to be scrapped ahead of party conference Fifty-six state branches want the laws reviewed, while gambling, Aukus and Palestine are also on the agenda Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Fifty-six Labor branches have passed motions to the New South Wales state conference calling for controversial anti-protest laws to be repealed or reviewed, with the entire left faction backing a motion for two of the laws to be repealed. Gambling reform, Aukus and Palestine were also among the top issues in motions submitted by branches to the conference, the last before the March election and which is key in informing policy. But some Labor members are concerned that the rank and file will not be afforded the opportunity to debate the protest laws after the matter was scheduled second last on the agenda. NSW budget winners and losers: commuters, gambling operators and shark control Read more In a press conference on Friday held by civil liberties groups, Labor party member Asrah Sobh labelled it an attempt to “shut down branch members’ voices”. “The single most submitted issue to state conference was in the social justice and affairs chapter, and that is the right to protest, that is the right to express ourselves in this democratic society,” Sobh said. “Chris Minns is essentially not listening to his rank and file, which is not OK … because [the party] is the rank of file at the end of the day. The party is not one single man up at the top, and like all happy families, debate is an important part of how things work.” The premier was approached for comment. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Minns will address the party faithful in a speech on Saturday. In a move to appease unions, he is expected to announce a plan to bring train manufacturing back to the Hunter region. “For over 100 years, the best trains in the world were proudly made by union workers in NSW,” he will tell delegates. The government has not specified a start date for the commitment to $12bn in funding over 15 years, nor was it accounted for in last week’s state budget . It has identified two potential sites for a state-owned, privately operated facility in Teralba and Broadmeadow. It says the project will provide 780 jobs in site construction and 550 ongoing jobs in manufacturing. But the announcement will likely be overshadowed by the Labor left motion to repeal the 2022 anti-protest laws, which were passed by the then Coalition government and supported by Labor. The law includes penalties of up to two years in jail for blocking major facilities. It