Gun yes, protest no

Timothy Roberts, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said the new law ignores a recent decision by the state's supreme court which found the so-called "move-on power" at religious locations went against Australia's implied constitutional freedom of political communication.

Religious institutions exercise significant and overt political power in Australian politics and this makes them a legitimate site of protest in a democratic society, Mr Roberts said.

"The laws introduced today are an affront to our right to assemble and communicate with each other," he said, adding they "damage our democracy".

He said Minns wants social cohesion but he does not know the meaning of the term.

"He thinks silence is peace, and does not seem to realise it can also reflect oppression. Passing laws that oppress some parts of our community in the wake of an attack like we saw, does not bring us closer - it drives us further apart and stops us from healing well in this time of grief."

On gun reform, the new laws will mean licence holders in NSW cannot own more than four firearms with exceptions for farmers and sport shooters who can have up to ten.

The move follows similar laws introduced in Western Australia earlier this year to cap gun ownership. Elsewhere across the country, there are no limits.