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# Is Australia losing the right to protest?
- URL: https://www.ycsob.org/is-australia-losing-the-right-to-protest/
- Published: 2026-02-23T07:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-01T09:41:25.000Z
- Author: You Civic SOB
- Tags: Big Ideas

Following the violent evening (9 February) where protesters met police outside Sydney’s Town Hall over Israel President Isaac Herzog’s controversial visit to Australia.   
  
We ask the question - what is the point of a protest?   
  
In this video, [Professor Maria O’Sullivan](https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video%5Fdescription&redir%5Ftoken=QUlxb01IYk5vcWIyeWl4LTZLeHpnWXdGNGdGYnxBSTVJdTV0TkplNDVKb0taZGppbGdGT0lKWUJ5WWZzWi1ZUmRmUE11U0hRQkJ6Q2pReFpvZ0ZUaXg0RUg5Um43c0NuYmg4NUw0TXJxR3BwLUgzZWpZeGJCZ0g0dmNoSy1fWWI4&q=https%3A%2F%2Fexperts.deakin.edu.au%2F63718-maria-o%27sullivan&v=AGTmQqy4fSY&ref=ycsob.org) from the Deakin University School of Law, takes us through: 

- The right to assembly in Australia
- How laws allowing protests have been rolled back across the country over the last few years
- And the controversial decisions made by the NSW Government, Police and Supreme Court around that eventful evening.