Abortion clinic-style protest bans could reduce ‘distress and anxiety’ at synagogues and Jewish schools, Dreyfus says

Mark Dreyfus told the antisemitism royal commission that restrictions on protests similar to those that apply to abortion clinics may be needed for synagogues and Jewish schools. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The former attorney general Mark Dreyfus has called on governments to consider banning protests outside synagogues and Jewish schools, invoking a high court decision allowing restrictions outside abortion clinics.

The federal Labor backbencher told the antisemitism royal commission the laws should be considered in light of a 2019 high court decision upholding safe access zone laws in Victoria and Tasmania, which prohibit protests within 150 metres of abortion clinics.