Growing legal bill for failed defence of controversial NSW protest laws runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars

Palestine supporters rally outside Downing Centre court in Sydney on 3 June to demand that all protest charges are dropped and justice is sought for those injured by police at the protest against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in February. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP View image in fullscreen Palestine supporters rally outside Downing Centre court in Sydney on 3 June to demand that all protest charges are dropped and justice is sought for those injured by police at the protest against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in February. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP Growing legal bill for failed defence of controversial NSW protest laws runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars Exclusive : Documents show $117,455.50 was spent in a single legal fight over laws rushed through after Bondi attack Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to unsuccessfully defend constitutional challenges against protest laws that were expected to be struck down. The costs, outlined in documents obtained by Guardian Australia via freedom of information legislation, include $117,455.50 of taxpayers’ money on a single challenge to controversial public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) laws. Those laws were enacted following the Bondi beach terror attack and were in place during a now infamous rally against the Israeli president , Isaac Herzog, in February. The state’s court of appeal struck down the laws in April after finding they impermissibly burdened the implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication. It awarded costs to the plaintiffs, three activist groups, with the total bill to the taxpayer set to rise once they are finalised. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email It was the second time in six months an anti-protest law passed by the Minns government was found unconstitutional by a court, after the NSW supreme court struck down an older law that gave police expanded powers to prevent protests near places of worship. The government spent almost $96,400 on barristers and solicitors fees in that case, the documents reveal. Revealed: the ‘less lethal’ weapons Australian police don’t want you to know about Read more The law, which was reintroduced with amendments last year, caused friction during a Labor caucus meeting when it was first being legislated. Upper house Labor MP Anthony D’Adam had moved a motion to redraft the bill so that it was limited to protests directed at a place of worship, with colleagues Stephen Lawrence and Cameron Murphy warning the current wording could be found to be unconstitutional. The premier, Chris Minns, said in March 2025 the government believed the laws were “constitutionally sound”. Guardian Australia has also obtained NSW police’s costs over two court cases which saw them oppose “form 1” applications to authorise pro-Palestine protests on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera Ho