Public criticism has been quick to come in response to Tuesday’s NSW Police Commissioner announcement of an extension to a Public Assembly Restriction Declaration first issued Christmas Eve.

The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 passed the NSW Upper House in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 24 December).

Since last weekend's terror attack at Bondi Beach, gun law reform has returned to centre stage in state and federal politics, with changes likely to include limiting the number and type of weapons individuals can own, reviewing licensing rules, sharing criminal intelligence before approvals, and restricting firearm licences to Australian citizens.

I feel trapped. There isn’t a single time I attend where I don’t check my proximity to the exits, or imagine what I’d do if there was a fire, or worse, a shooter. The sense of being enclosed is unnatural, I can’t tell what time of day it is, I lose my sense of direction. It’s designed to be disorienting. It feels otherworldly. And never in a good way. They are designed to make you stay longer. They are by design, disorienting.