Lifesavers gather at Bondi for two minute’s silence to honour terror attack victims

New South Wales lifeguards have gathered at Bondi Beach to remember the 15 people killed in the December 14 terror attack.

Hundreds of volunteer lifesavers formed a golden line along the waterfront, standing beside each other while looking out at the waves.

Many Bondi lifeguards were at the scene when the anti-Semitic shooting unfolded, some were at a nearby Christmas party and rushed to the scene to help the injured.

Yesterday, Bondi’s waters were filled with surfers doing a paddle out to honour the victims. They formed a circle in the water echoing calls for unity in the wake of increased violence against the Jewish community.

“The emotions are extremely raw for everyone and it’s very hard,” Waverley Council lifeguard services co-ordinator Daniel McLaughlin told AAP.

“We do a lot of training knowing these emotions are the normal reaction to a horrific, traumatic event.

“But that doesn’t make it easy.”

Volunteers hugged and cried together in the aftermath of the silence, many reflecting on the people around them touched by the shocking violence.

Members of the Bondi Surf Life Saving club and lifeguards ran into the fray on Sunday when they heard the gun shots ring out.

Some offered shelter while others provided medical care to those who had been shot.

Many are still decompressing from the events, and Mr McLaughlin acknowledged it would be some time before a sense of normalcy returned to the beach.

But he refused to focus on the negative.

“The Australian spirit of bravery and pride came out that day,” the lifeguard said.

“As a community, we will show strength and plant that foot forward and keep going.”

Victims of the shooting are still being treated, with 15 remaining in hospital.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the NSW government is set to introduce snap changes that will give the police commissioner powers to suspend the protest authorisation system after a terrorism incident.

The declaration would last two weeks and could be renewed for up to three months.

It could be applied to specific locations or statewide.

But the proposed laws, set to be rushed through a special sitting of NSW parliament next week, are likely to be immediately tested in court.

“These are far too broad powers for the police commissioner,” NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Tim Roberts said.

“The banning of protests will not stop anti-Semitism.”

Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 and Greens MP Sue Higginson also came out against the changes.

“Restricting the civil liberties of all Australians due to the actions of two depraved terrorists with guns is not conducive to social cohesion,” Ms Higginson said.

But the government hopes the restrictions will protect the grieving Jewish community.

“This is obviously extraordinary powers not seen before in any jurisdiction in the country,” Premier Chris Minns said.

Pressed earlier in the week on whether the legislation was targeting pro-Palestine rallies, which some Jewish groups have described as a factor in rising anti-Semitism, Mr Minns said it would be a “blanket rule”.

Jewish peak bodies have praised the changes but say more needs to be done to combat anti-Semitism specifically.

“The right to protest is an Australian value but so is letting us come together without harassment and intimidation,” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said.

NSW police on Friday said they were aware of plans for unauthorised gatherings this weekend promoted on social media.

Anyone planning to attend should rethink their decision, the force said in a statement.

“This is not a time for large gatherings that may heighten tension or create further risk to the safety of the community.”

NSW parliament struck down other protest restrictions earlier this year.

When asked if he was confident his new laws could withstand a court challenge, Mr Minns insisted they were robust.

The state’s Supreme Court can hear urgent applications, including protest matters, every day of the year.

- with AAP