Australia news LIVE: Talkback radio veteran John Laws dies aged 90; BBC boss and news chief quit over Trump video outrage

Over in NSW, Premier Chris Minns said he does not know how a nazi rally was held with approval from police outside state parliament on Saturday.

“I don’t know the circumstances of how that march or protest was approved. I know the NSW Police Commissioner wasn’t aware of it, and he’s looking at it, holding an inquiry into those circumstances so that it doesn’t happen again,” Minns said on Nine’s Today show.

A National Socialist Network rally held outside NSW parliament on Saturday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

About 60 members of the National Socialist Network attended the rally, which held a large banner that read “Abolish the Jewish Lobby”.

Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said a notice of the NSN’s intention to hold the rally – made by a known leader of the group, with the stated purpose of criticising Jewish organisations – was first lodged with Sydney City Local Area Command on October 28.

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Minns said “these groups” understand how to skirt laws and protest applications.

“These groups work incredibly hard at trying to skirt the law and make it difficult to prosecute under the existing legislation, so I understand why police’s hands are often tied,” he said.

“Mal and the police have made a serious point, and that is, are the existing laws in New South Wales fit for purpose when confronting this kind of naked hate, hate and racism on our streets? And the answer to that is probably no.”

The Coalition is starting to creep up in the polls from a record low as rising anxiety over the cost of living has begun to drag on Labor’s post-election honeymoon.

A fortnight of infighting and backbiting has barely moved the Coalition’s primary and two-party-preferred vote, while Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has gained net three points as preferred prime minister, though she still trails Anthony Albanese by a significant 14-point margin.

Labor’s economic management, meanwhile, is coming under heavier scrutiny as two out of three voters said they would cut back on Christmas this year and three out of five said they couldn’t afford any unexpected major expenses.

Labor’s primary vote is down one percentage point to 33 per cent, continuing the trend of support for the government softening since a post-election high of 37 per cent in August. The Coalition’s primary vote grew one percentage point to 29 per cent, still below the dismal 31.8 per cent achieved at the last election.

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