A rally by black-clad members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network (NSN) was permitted to take place outside the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney on Saturday morning, prompting condemnation from community groups, political leaders and law-enforcement officials.

Around sixty men lined Macquarie Street and displayed a large banner reading “Abolish the Jewish Lobby”, while speakers repeated antisemitic tropes including claims that Jewish political influence corrupts government.

The gathering was authorised through the submission of a Form 1 notice under the Summary Offences Act, and police did not oppose the protest within the legal timeframe.

The situation was described by the Chris Minns-led state government as a serious failure of oversight, and the New South Wales Police Force Commissioner admitted a breakdown in communication.

The premier told a press conference the event should never have been allowed, calling the speakers “pissants” and announcing a review of laws governing public assemblies.

“It is likely the case that we need to give police more legislated powers to stop this kind of naked racism and hatred on Sydney streets,” he said.

The commissioner acknowledged neither he nor the police minister had been briefed on the process that led to authorisation of the rally.

Jewish communal organisations, including the Jewish Board of Deputies of New South Wales and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, condemned the protest as a blatant act of antisemitism and questioned why police had not intervened under recently enacted hate-speech legislation.

They warned that the failure to act—and the apparent double standard compared with other demonstrations—undermines public confidence in law-enforcement.

Opposition figures joined the criticism, arguing that laws passed earlier this year to criminalise incitement of racial hatred should have enabled police to block the event.

Some activists noted the contrast with heavy-handed responses to pro-Palestinian rallies, describing the police inaction as a double standard.

The NSN event also referenced recent antisemitic arson and vandalism campaigns in New South Wales, which the state and federal police have partly attributed to criminal syndicates fabricating hate-crimes to manipulate sentencing outcomes.

The state premier warned that the targeting of the Jewish community was part of a broader threat that could also extend to Indian and Muslim communities if left unchallenged.

As law-makers prepare to review the Summary Offences Act and consider amendments to strengthen protest-control powers, legal experts caution that any new regime must balance civil-liberties concerns with the urgent need to counter extremist mobilisations.

For now, the spotlight remains on how the NSW Police will respond to and prosecute any hate-speech offences arising from the rally and how the government will close the legislative gaps exploited by such groups.