A motion criticising the AUKUS pact – which had raised concern among figures within the federal government – also passed on Saturday, but with significantly toned-down language.

The motion called for a review of the $800 million submarine pact with the United States and the UK, rather than withdrawal, and did not contain criticism of US President Donald Trump.

A second AUKUS motion, from the Commonwealth policy committee, was passed agreeing to an inquiry and resolved for Labor to “call on the Commonwealth Government to suspend participation in the AUKUS pact and funding of UK and US shipbuilding industrial base, pending the results of the inquiry”.

The second motion resolved that Victorian Labor should make a submission to any future inquiry recommending withdrawal from AUKUS and to remove it from the national party platform.

Hamish McPherson, the Victorian convenor of Labor Against War and a conference delegate, said Australia should cancel its involvement in the pact.

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“It’s time for the Albanese government to face reality and realise AUKUS is a dead duck,” McPherson said.

Earlier on Saturday, a small group of attendees held up phones and devices displaying the Palestinian flag while Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles addressed the crowd.

Under new security measures, placards were banned from the conference floor, so about 10 attendees displayed the flag using screens on their phones and devices.

Some of these people were ejected from the venue. Those removed were registered as observers not delegates on the floor.

A Labor Party member, speaking anonymously to avoid repercussions, said the placard bans were draconian and disturbing.

“It’s like Jacinta Allan’s new anti-protest laws are being tested out on Labor’s own conference,” he said.

Security was heightened at the conference after protesters last year tried to force their way into the event. At the time, attendees barricaded the doors to protect the room from the intruders while delegates were inside.

On Saturday, the NSW Supreme Court gave protesters there the green light to proceed with their Sydney Harbour Bridge protest on Sunday following a push from police and government to abandon the march.

The court’s ruling paves the way for thousands to walk on the global landmark in protest over the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, which include claims of mass starvation and the destruction of the territory’s hospital system.

On Friday, police in Victoria warned pro-Palestine protesters planning to blockade a bridge in Melbourne’s CBD – also on Sunday – that their demonstration will disrupt crucial emergency services, and urged them to find another route.

Police warned that the Melbourne demonstration – which involves plans to shut down the busy King Street Bridge – would require hundreds of officers to be redeployed from other policing duties across the state.

Rally organisers have vowed to let emergency services vehicles through, but police warned it was not enough to mitigate the risk.

Event organisers Free Palestine Coalition Naarm said in a statement posted to social media on Friday morning that the Melbourne protest was being held in solidarity with thousands of NSW demonstrators planning to march on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Israeli government has denied claims of genocide and says the war in Gaza is an act of self-defence.

It has also denied claims that there is starvation in Gaza after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused it of breaching international law by stopping food from being delivered into the 13-kilometre-wide strip, which has 2.1 million people squeezed into an area half the size of Canberra.

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The World Health Organisation said there were 63 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza last month, including 24 children under the age of five, a figure up from 11 deaths in total for the previous six months of the year.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims 82 people died last month of malnutrition-related causes, taking Gaza’s death toll from the war to more than 60,000. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed more than 700 civilians in southern Israel.

Albanese has also called on Hamas to release the Israeli hostages taken as part of the attacks on Israel, as Jewish-Australian leaders raise fears the protests will fuel antisemitism.