Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, has passed sweeping new gun control and anti-protest laws following the Bondi Beach mass shooting that killed 15 people.

Axar.az, citing Al-Jazeera, reports that the legislation grants police broad powers to restrict protests for up to three months after a terrorism declaration and bans the public display of symbols linked to prohibited organisations.

Critics say the laws disproportionately target pro-Palestinian expression and threaten free speech.

Several Palestinian, Jewish, and Indigenous groups have announced plans to challenge the measures in court, calling them rushed and unconstitutional.

State leaders defend the laws as necessary for public safety, while human rights advocates warn that excessive restrictions risk undermining democratic freedoms.