An emergency session of NSW parliament will give Sydney police tough new powers to crack down on racial and mob violence, amid signs the city's race tensions are spreading to other states.
A massive force of 450 highly-mobile police also patrolled Sydney streets on Tuesday night to try to prevent a third successive night of violence following Sunday's Cronulla race riot.
Eight people were injured on Monday night as groups of Middle Eastern men in fast-moving convoys of cars roamed southern Sydney suburbs, trashing vehicles and shop fronts.
In Maroubra, gangs on Monday night collected rocks and petrol bombs as they prepared to defend the beachside suburb.
On Tuesday, with Australia's and Sydney's reputation for racial tolerance under threat, the NSW government moved to end the spiralling violence.
An emergency session of parliament on Thursday will give police powers not seen since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"These criminals have declared war on our society and we are not going to let them win," said Premier Morris Iemma, who said the criminals had brought "shame" to Sydney.
Under the laws, police will be able to lock down parts of Sydney and search and confiscate vehicles - measures aimed at ending night-time "smash and bash" raids by carloads of young Middle Eastern men.
"We're dealing with an unprecedented situation the likes we haven't seen in Australia before, with this type of racial tension and these types of series of smash and bash attacks across multiple fronts," NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Goodwin said on Tuesday.
Powers to shut down licensed premises and impose temporary alcohol-free zones will also be aimed at avoiding a repeat of Sunday's drunken riot at Cronulla beach, when anyone of Middle Eastern appearance was chased and bashed.
The NSW opposition will support the new laws.
"I won't allow Sydney's reputation as a tolerant, vibrant international city to be tarnished by these ratbags and criminals who want to engage in the sort of behaviour we've seen in the last 48 hours," Mr Iemma said.
It's hoped the new powers will prevent a feared resurgence of violence at Cronulla on Sunday, inspired by a new wave of text messages.
However, tensions show no sign of abating, with Islamic leader Fadi Abdul Rahman saying Muslim youths are angry that police appear to be treating them more harshly than "Anglos".
On Monday night bullets were fired at teachers' cars after men of Middle Eastern appearance abused parents and children at a school carols service in the multicultural Sydney suburb of Auburn, said Catholic Archbishop Cardinal George Pell.
On Tuesday night there were also alarming signs racial tensions were spreading to other states.
An attack on a Middle Eastern family in Perth and on a Lebanese Australian taxi driver in Adelaide were linked to the Sydney tensions.
The Islamic Council of Victoria said vandalism of its Melbourne offices was retaliation for the Sydney violence.
And on the Gold Coast, mobile phone text messages targeting ethnic groups have called for people to attend a demonstration on Sunday and to start "cracking skulls".
Prime Minister John Howard denied the race-fuelled violence would damage Australia's reputation.
But Labor's Kevin Rudd declared: "Blind Freddy can tell you this is having an impact on Australia's international standing - that's just the truth."
On Tuesday night, NSW police more than quadrupled the number of officers patrolling Sydney.
Deputy Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said patrol numbers would be boosted from 100 to 450 on Tuesday night to discourage further violence before new laws come into force at the end of the week.
Violence flared for a second night on Monday night as fast moving convoys of vehicles targeted areas of Sutherland Shire, Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands.
Eight people, including three police officers, were injured as the mob wielded baseball bats, golf clubs, steel poles, machetes and axe handles, in what NSW Police Minister Carl Scully labelled "guerilla-type tactics".
Shop, house and car windows were smashed as the gangs tore through seaside areas attacking anyone in their path.
A couple suffered facial and head injuries when they were attacked at a restaurant in Caringbah, while a man sustained fractured ribs and head injuries while taking out garbage bins at his Cronulla home.
Signalling an escalation both in the method and planning of the violence, police said they had seized crates of rocks and Molotov cocktails placed on rooftops in Maroubra.
Five people were charged on Tuesday with offences including assault, affray, driving in a dangerous manner and malicious damage resulting from Monday night's actions.
Amid the tensions, there was one good sign in Sydney on Tuesday as two rival gangs - Maroubra's Bra Boys surfer gang and the Comancheros bikies gang - vowed to stay out of the violence.
At around 10pm (AEDT) potential flashpoints in Sydney were quiet, with the heavy police presence appearing to deter troublemakers.
At Cronulla, the scene of the worst violence on Monday night, a police road block was set up about one km from the beach, checking all cars heading into the beachside suburb.
Standing nearby were a small number of bystanders, one covering himself with an Australian flag.
Brighton-le-Sands, also the scene of trouble on Monday night, was quiet.
Copyright © 2005
AAP
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