Door opened to further event-based protest bans

Future controversial high-level visits could be accompanied by beefed-up police powers to prevent protest after a judge explained his 11-hour decision about a contentious visit by the Israeli president.

Protesters on Monday lost a bid to overturn a designation that Isaac Herzog's Australian visit was a "major event".

The declaration granted police bolstered powers to manage crowds, minimise the risk of confrontation, and ensure the safety of both the visiting dignitary and the public.

Those and separate anti-protest powers were later used to forcibly disperse a crowd of thousands that rallied outside Sydney Town Hall, as Mr Herzog held an event in nearby Pyrmont.

In his reasons published on Wednesday night, Supreme Court Justice Robertson Wright explained why he dismissed the arguments that the presidential visit was a political event and thus unable to be dubbed a "major event".

Instead, he found Mr Herzog's visit was properly classified as cultural, given its purpose of honouring victims of the Bondi terror attack and providing solace to Jewish Australians.

"While there may be political aspects to his visit, that is neither the dominant nor the defining nature of the visit," Justice Wright wrote.

That conclusion is not negated by rallies against Mr Herzog, which the judge said may instead strengthen the need for crowd management and safety measures conferred by the major event declaration.

The protesters also contended that a fundamental and improper purpose of the declaration was to suppress protests against the Israeli president.

Mr Herzog, who was invited by the federal government to visit Australia in the aftermath of the Bondi terrorist attack, has faced scrutiny over 2023 comments which a UN inquiry found might reasonably have been interpreted as inciting genocide against Palestinians.

The president denies that claim and says his comments were taken out of context.

While the declaration might be improper if done to suppress public protest without regard to how it facilitated the conduct of the visit, that was not the case here, Justice Wright found.

Preventing protests by implementing reasonable safety or crowd control measures may be consistent with facilitating the conduct of the visit, Justice Wright found.

He also noted government leaders had tried to facilitate protest elsewhere, including through carve-outs for Hyde Park.

The first major decision on the 17-year-old legislation could be applied to future official visits by controversial figures.

Despite Monday's decision, protesters proceeded with their Town Hall rally, attended by thousands.

It later erupted into chaos, with demonstrators - some trying to leave the area - being pepper-sprayed, punched and shoved by police trying to disperse the crowd.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has defended the actions of police in what he described as difficult circumstances.