Clergy abuse survivors hit out at moves to ban protests outside Australian places of worship

John Ellis believes he would have been arrested outside a Sydney cathedral if a proposed protest ban was in place when George Pell died. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP

Survivors of clergy abuse have expressed deep concern at proposals to ban protests outside places of worship, with lawyer John Ellis saying a blanket ban would have seen him arrested outside a Sydney cathedral last year.

Anthony Albanese on Wednesday backed proposals in New South Wales and Victoria to ban such protests after an arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne and antisemitic vandalism in Sydney.