Technically it is not Australia but New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia. Australia is a federation of states, with the federal government only having legislative power in certain areas. The result is a mish-mash of different layers [1].
Hopefully these laws won't survive a journey though the NSW courts, but even so they will have achieved their goal of disrupting protests. If there is a glimmer of hope it is that the government that passed these laws is mired in a corruption scandal and probably won't survive elections early next year [2].
State governments in Australia, particularly NSW, kowtow to real estate developer / economic interests. Despite there being an official ban on political donations from real estate developers, the landed gentry seem to maintain their sway [3]. For example the koala is now an endangered species in NSW [4], as proposed koala protection laws for the then vulnerable species were gutted after pressure from land holders [5].
