From protest laws to deaths in custody, Minns’ rush to claim the conservative high ground is clumsy and costly

At almost every opportunity, the NSW premier chooses a conservative path: get the cops on side and let nobody fault Labor’s toughness on crime. It’s not workingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere 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.Anne Davies is Guardian Australia’s NSW state correspondent Continue reading...