There is a lesson for Chris Minns in the NSW supreme court’s declaration that police powers to deal with protesters near places of worship are invalid: laws curtailing civil liberties should never be rushed.

They should certainly not be pushed through in an atmosphere of panic and incomplete facts such as existed in the fevered days after the now notorious Dural caravan incident .

Justice Anna Mitchelmore ruled on Thursday that the police powers impermissibly burdened the freedom of political communication implied in Australia’s constitution.

Mitchelmore agreed with the Palestine Action Group that the laws were vague and could apply to any protest near a church or place of worship, regardless of whether the protest was addressed towards a religious community or focused on a place of

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