NSW Police deputy commissioner David Hudson told the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion on Monday, 27 July 2026, that allowing the Jewish community's security organisation to carry firearms at public events would be perceived as preferential treatment by the government or police force.

Hudson said NSW Police is "generally opposed" to individual communities, including the Jewish community, being able to carry arms or use body armour. He told the commission that allowing "certain areas of society to have special privileges in relation to their security would further fracture relationships between different groups." Arming private security for specific groups, he said, "would certainly be looked upon by others as the police or governments showing favouritism to that group." (The Guardian)

The protection of all members of the community is the responsibility of police, not other individuals or groups, Hudson told the commission. He expressed a "strong preference" for a "user pays" model in which event organisers or venues fund police presence rather than turning to armed private security guards.

The Community Security Group (CSG) is a Jewish community organisation that provides security for Jewish events, led by security professionals and supported by trained volunteers. Under current NSW law, CSG NSW personnel are not permitted to carry firearms at events. (Interim Report, Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion) CSG security guards can carry weapons at schools and synagogues but were unarmed at the Hanukah celebration in December. Approximately 2,000 people were expected to attend that event, a Chanukah by the Sea gathering, with four police officers tasked to attend.

The question of arming CSG personnel has gained political traction since the Bondi beach terror attack. After that incident, NSW Premier Chris Minns said his government was "actively considering" expanding access to guns for CSG. A NSW Legislative Council notice paper dated 4 June 2026 references government willingness to arm CSG with weapons and significantly expand its powers. (NSW Parliament) During NSW Budget Estimates 2025-2026, the Minister for Police was asked supplementary questions on notice about CSG, with answers stating that a trial was first proposed by a Deputy Commissioner. (NSW Parliament) Evidence given to a NSW Portfolio Committee No. 5 hearing in September 2025 noted that CSG experiences "a large number of incidents." (NSW Parliament)

Hudson's position puts him at odds with voices within the security and Jewish community advocacy space who have argued for an expanded armed role for private security. Risk consultant Gavriel Schneider told the royal commission that the private security sector should be armed at open-air events as a valuable alternative or support to existing police resources. Australian Jewish Association president Robert Gregory said the Jewish community would not feel safe attending open-air events without armed protection and called for a government review of the protective capabilities of licensed security guards.

The royal commission's interim report found no gap in current laws that could have prevented the Bondi shooting but called for greater coordination of policing at Jewish festivals and events. The commission has been conducting public hearings since its opening in Sydney on 24 February 2026, with subsequent hearing blocks in Sydney and Melbourne, and is scheduled to hold its sixth public hearing block in Sydney from 28 July to 31 July 2026. (Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion)

The broader context here is a tension that has surfaced repeatedly in liberal democracies confronting targeted violence against minority communities: how to provide adequate physical protection without creating tiered systems of armed authority that may themselves become sources of social division. Hudson's framing of armed community security as a potential driver of intergroup fracture reflects an institutional logic in which the state's monopoly on legitimate force is understood as a precondition for social cohesion rather than merely an administrative arrangement.

The "user pays" model Hudson prefers shifts the cost burden onto organisers and venues, which in practice raises questions about whether communities hosting large-scale events can secure sufficient policing at their own expense. The December Chanukah by the Sea event, with 2,000 expected attendees and four officers allocated, illustrates the resource calculus the model would require. Whether the commission's final recommendations reconcile the competing imperatives of community safety, equal treatment, and police resourcing remains the central question as hearings continue into their sixth block.