‘Asleep at the wheel’: NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman blames Police Minister Yasmin Catley for anti-Semitic scenes at Sydney Opera House

New South Wales opposition leader Mark Speakman has blamed two senior government ministers for the anti-Semitic scenes that occurred on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Pro-Palestine protesters marched from Sydney’s town hall to the Opera House on Monday night, which was being lit up in blue and white in solidarity with Israel following the horrific attacks launched from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

At the Opera House, protesters burnt Israeli flags and chanted anti-Semitic slogans including “gas the Jews”.

Speaking to Sky News Australia, the NSW Liberal leader said the protest at the Opera House “certainly should not have been allowed to go ahead”.

“There was a protest yesterday townhall and the protesters – the mob – should not have been allowed to march through the streets of Sydney to the Opera House,” Mr Speakman said.

The opposition leader said the lighting of the Opera House in Israeli colours should have been an occasion for Sydney’s Jewish community to grieve and reflect on what has happened.

“Instead, we see the ugly scenes; the anti-Semitic slogans, the hate speech, the burning of a flag, the lighting of flames – one of that should have been allowed to happen.”

Mr Speakman said there had been “multiple failures” by the NSW government in allowing the protests, before singling out Police Minister Yasmin Catley for being “asleep at the wheel.”

“The Police Minister is a serial non-performer,” he said, adding that she should “reflect on her position”.

“She told parliament today that she had been in constant contact with the police. And yet she has not lifted a finger. She has not said anything to stop this protest descending on the Opera House last night.

“What was she doing? She was asleep at the wheel. She should have been demanding to know why this protest couldn’t be prevented.”

The NSW Liberal leader also singled out Attorney General Michael Daley, who went on radio to tell Sydney’s Jewish community that they should stay home to remain safe.

“That’s an appaling abrogation of responsibility,” Speakman said.

“We had the Attorney General this morning on breakfast radio, not even knowing what had happened last night. And this is the senior law officer in New South Wales.

“So you’ve got a policing minister who won’t say anything to the police about stopping this mob descending on the Opera House. You’ve got an attorney general who doesn’t even know what’s going on.”

When asked what charges – if any – could be used against people shouting death to the Jews and gas the Jews, the opposition leader – who served as attorney general from 2017 to 2023 – said there “wide variety of offences” that the police could use.

“I’m not going to comment directly on whether there has been any breach of the criminal law in case there are prosecutions, but I’ll speak at a more general level,” he said

“When we’re in government we introduced new provisions in the Crimes Act, making it a criminal offence to incite violence or threatened violence on the basis of race or religion. That’s something that police could look at.”

“There are also laws about federal laws about assisting terrorist organisations. There are general criminal law provisions about breaches of the peace.”

Earlier on Tuesday NSW Premier Chris Minns said he would speak to the Attorney General over Mr Daley’s warning for Sydney’s Jewish community to “stay home” in the wake of the pro-Palestine protests. 

“I want to make it clear that I don’t support those comments, I will be speaking to the Attorney General today,” the Premier said.

“I think there’s a false equivalence when you’re speaking about the Jewish community in NSW that want to come together in solemnity in relation to the barbarism that we’ve seen in Israel over the last 48 hours.”

Premier Minns also condemned the pro-Palestine protests as “abhorrent”.

“I think that they were abhorrent, I think they were the opposite of what we want in our modern, multicultural community,” he said.

“To have some people celebrate atrocious, indiscriminate killing and kidnapping in Israel is appalling.”