Threatened arrests in the premier's office? Now that's explosive
With federal Labor's thumping majority in the House of Representatives after its annihilation of the Coalition last month, it is easy to forget that there is a vastly different dynamic for the ALP in NSW. In Macquarie Street, NSW Labor has been clinging to power since March 2023, two seats short of a majority in the lower house and not in control of the upper house.
For the first half of the state Labor government's term, it barely mattered. But the upper house crossbench – which includes a motley crew of ex-One Nation MPs, the Greens and a dumped Liberal – is flexing its muscles and creating headaches for Premier Chris Minns and his government.
Tensions between the two houses had been simmering but have reached a new level of distrust and antipathy. This week, a group of upper house MPs hit the nuclear button. At the heart of their fury is an inquiry examining the so-called 'Dural caravan incident'. This was the alleged antisemitism terror plot the premier was quick to label a potential 'mass casualty event'. Minns has since acknowledged that, from the beginning, police briefed him that the explosives found in the caravan, along with a list of Jewish premises, were more likely the work of opportunistic organised crime gangs than an act of terror. Nevertheless, Minns called it thwarted terrorism.
The upper house inquiry was established with a simple set of reasonable questions. Who knew what and when? And did the government push race-hate laws through the parliament under false pretences?
At the time the laws were introduced, they were heavily criticised by faith and LGBTQ groups for being too narrow and too focused on race-based hate. Crossbenchers and Liberals were also unhappy that they had only 24 hours to digest the new laws before voting on them. The government maintained that time was of the essence.
Loading
Minns calls the inquiry a 'massive conspiracy', a bold claim given his government rushed through the laws based on the unfounded fear that Sydney had dodged a potentially devastating antisemitic attack.
As is his right as a member of the lower house, Minns has refused to appear before the inquiry. So has Police Minister Yasmin Catley for the same reason. Speaking to 2GB's Ben Fordham this week, Minns maintained that he makes himself available for interrogation during parliamentary question time as well as twice yearly budget estimates hearings. That's enough, he reckons.
Nonetheless, the upper house has upped the ante in its quest to hold the executive to account. If Minns and Catley will not show, then the inquiry wants their staff members to turn up and answer questions. According to police, political staffers sat in on the early Dural briefings. But Minns has told these staff to stay away.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Everything we know about NSW budget
NSW Treasurer Daniel Moohkey will hand down the Labor government's third budget on Tuesday, with billions of dollars already announced for housing, schools, and police. The budget comes as NSW continues to grapple with a dire housing market following the failed sale of the Rosehill racecourse for what would have been 25,000 new homes. While Premier Chris Minns is yet to reveal his government's 'Plan B' for large-scale housing near the Sydney CBD, he has unveiled plans for expanded crisis housing. The NSW government will also splash hundreds of millions of dollars in the budget on new schools, police and law reform and on the new Bankstown Hospital. NSW Treasurer Daniel Moohkey will unveil the next budget on Tuesday. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Housing NSW Labor will extend tax concessions for build-to-rent housing developments and invest in crisis and homelessness accommodation as part of the 2025-26 budget. Aimed at giving investors long-term certainty, the extension will result in owners being able to access land tax concessions of 50 per cent of assessed land value indefinitely. The reduction was previously set by the former Coalition government to end in 2039, with the extension improving 'feasibility of build-to-rent developments' in NSW. Proposed 'work-in-kind' agreement guidelines will also be released as part of the budget. The agreement allows a developer to dedicate land for public purposes or deliver an infrastructure project instead of paying a Housing and Productivity Contribution. A further $30.4m will be invested as part of the budget into ensuring 'more vulnerable people can access homelessness services and find a safe place to live'. It includes $20m to expand existing crisis and transitional housing, delivering more beds and frontline support to help people in urgent need. A further $10.4m will also be spent over four years on the Bill Crews Foundation, which provides free meals, healthcare, and social and welfare support to people in need. Schools The state government will spend $9bn over four years on school infrastructure, including $2.6bn in the next financial year. The funds will go towards new primary schools in Emerald Hills, Grantham Farm and West Dapto and a high school in Wilton. Major upgrades will also be delivered to public schools across Greater Sydney, including in Newington, the Northern Beaches, Rydalmere, and Bayside. The investment will deliver about 140 new classrooms for about 2500 students, with the Emerald Hills school, near Leppington, to open for more than 500 students. A sketch of the proposed new Bankstown Hospital. Supplied Credit: Supplied The site for the proposed hospital. Supplied Credit: Supplied Police and justice The state government will spend $227m on the NSW justice system as part of the 2025-26 budget. The package includes $100.5m to address rising demand in the correctional system as well as $34.5m for upgrades to the Downing Centre and John Madison Tower courts. A further $48.3m will be spent on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to fund additional solicitors, 'allowing for more prosecutions'. More than $12m will be spent on 15 staff within the Child Sexual Offence Evidence Program and other measures to reduce the burden on child complainants in sexual offence matters. A further $272.7m will also be spent on frontline domestic, family, and sexual violence services as well as $2.3m for the NSW Victims Register reforms. As for police, a further $42m will be spent on a new Nemesis Marine Area Command vessel. Singleton Police Station precinct will also get $8.7m for upgrades. As for emergency responses, $17m has been allocated over two years for additional firefighting appliances, including fire trucks. Health A new $492m NSW Health Pathology Statewide Hub will be funded as part of the 2025-26 hub will be located within the Westmead Health Precinct and include a new build for the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research. It will also include an upgrade to the high security PC4 biocontainment laboratory – the only one of its kind in NSW. Western Sydney The NSW government will invest in a range of measures across Western Sydney as part of the 2025-26 budget, including the new Western Sydney Airport. The Western Sydney Aerotropolis, the business precinct to adjoin the new airport, will receive $835m as part of the new budget. That will feature $150m for road infrastructure, including about $60m for new green directional signs to the airport across Sydney and incident response. Bankstown's new hospital will also get a whopping $700m in additional funding in the budget, blowing out total construction costs to $2bn. A further $100m will also be spent in relocating the TAFE NSW Bankstown campus to enable construction of the new hospital. The budget is the third for Premier Chris Minns. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia The Minns government will chip in $68m and the Albanese government a further $88m on local roads in Sydney's booming northwest. The funds will go towards to planning and development of critical road upgrades in Rooty Hill, Marsden Park, Schofields, Blacktown, and Rouse Hill. A further $42.2m will also be spent on hiring 52 new firefighters to staff the new Badgerys Creek fire station. Arts and film The Minns government will invest $100m in a capital fund to begin the hunt for the location of a second film studio for Sydney as part of a $380m arts and film package. The package includes $280m for programs to support the sector, including the Made in NSW fund and Post, Digital and Visual Effects and Digital Games Rebate programs. There is only a single film studio in Sydney, Disney Studios Australia at Moore Park, despite franchises such as Thor, Mad Max, and Planet of the Apes being made there. Agriculture and biosecurity About $140m in new funding will be provided to strengthen NSW's biosecurity detection, protection, and response, bringing the total investment to a whopping $1.05bn. That will include $41.2m to be invested into modernising the primary industry research and development program. Those programs include upgrades to digital infrastructure to promote research in emerging areas such as AI-assisted farming.
The Australian
4 hours ago
- The Australian
Chalmers draws voters into a vital debate
After urging journalists at the press club not to play the 'rule in, rule out' game, however, the Treasurer was reserved in responding to questions about potentially increasing the GST or dropping the government's push to tax unrealised capital gains on high-value superannuation funds. Both measures deserve attention in any serious discussion about holistic tax reform needed to lift productivity. Economists have suggested that Australia expand the GST to be less reliant on personal and company taxes. In January last year the International Monetary Fund highlighted our 'growing dependence on bracket creep' and called for an overhaul of the tax base towards greater reliance on the GST, with compensation for the least well-off. Questioned at the press club, however, Dr Chalmers restated his previous view: 'It's hard to adequately compensate people and I think often an increase in the GST is spent three or four times over … by the time people are finished with all the things they want to try and do with it.' In relation to the current debate over increasing defence spending, Dr Chalmers described himself as an 'enthusiastic supporter' . But he also talked up Labor's existing commitment to boost defence spending to about 2.3 per cent of GDP by the early 2030s as a 'very substantial commitment'. In a deteriorating geo-strategic environment that view will not pass muster with the nation's major ally, the US, which has called on Australia to lift spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Other middle powers, such as Britain and Poland, are lifting their allocations faster and higher than Australia At this stage the productivity roundtable, to be held in the cabinet room, which seats about 25 people, will be a small table. And Dr Chalmers has set out three worthwhile preconditions for participants: Ideas should be put forward in the national interest, not through the prism of sectoral, state or vested interests; ideas or packages of ideas should be budget-neutral but preferably budget-positive overall; and ideas should be 'specific and practical, not abstract or unrealistic'. That criteria should help maximise the possibility of good ideas being adopted. And Dr Chalmers has given an important commitment in return: 'We won't come at this from an ideological point of view but from the practical, pragmatic and problem-solving middle ground we're most comfortable on.' On that basis, workers and business, including in the 24/7 hospitality and retail sectors, are entitled to hope that ideas for more flexible work practices that would advantage staff and employers would not be stymied as a way to improve labour productivity and produce sustainable improvements in wages and conditions. Dr Chalmers' preconditions for ideas to be submitted to the roundtable and the limited size of the group have been designed to keep the discussion to a targeted productivity agenda. The risk, however, is that valuable voices with practical expertise from Australia's diverse economic sectors – mining, energy, construction, housing, agriculture, transport, universities, small business, hospitality, manufacturing, medical science, digital technology, media and entertainment, the care economy and many others – could be excluded. They will have opportunities to make submissions and attend other forums. It is important that the limited experience of participants does not limit the event's potential effectiveness. Dr Chalmers is stepping up to the government's most important challenge apart from national security: creating the conditions to improve productivity and reverse the alarming slide in living standards. He has taken on an ambitious challenge and it is vital for this and coming generations that he is able to translate it into delivery. As he said: 'Let's see what we can achieve together if we dial up the ambition a bit and dial down the rancour a bit as well.'
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Highly vulnerable' Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may try to activate ‘sleeper cells' in the West as Israeli onslaught mounts: expert
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may be attempting to activate terrorist 'sleeper cells' across the West as he repeatedly makes inflammatory statements rejecting President Trump's calls for surrender, Middle East experts say. As Iran is increasingly squeezed by Israel — losing far more than the Jewish state has in the nearly week-old war — Henry Jackson Society research fellow Barak Seener warned Wednesday that Khamenei may be seeking to awaken terrorist Iranian sympathizers across the world as he runs out of traditional resources. 'The very fact now that the Iranian regime is volatile, it's targeted, and it's highly vulnerable — that's what actually makes it increasingly dangerous to the West, in that it has nothing to lose it has this about this sense of nihilism, and it affects the rational calculus,' Seener said during a call with reporters hosted the America-Middle East Press Association. Khamenei on Wednesday rejected Trump's demands that Tehran give up its nuclear program, calling the president's demands 'absurd rhetoric' while refusing to back down. 'The US entering in this matter is 100% to its own detriment,' he said. 'The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.' However, Iran is rapidly running low on ballistic missiles and missile launchers, making it exceedingly difficult for Tehran to follow through on any conventional threat to the United States, Israeli military experts say. What's more, Israel has effectively defeated Tehran's proxy groups — such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps relatively alone in its fight, Seener said. 'The very fact that Hamas and Hezbollah are sitting this one out is also a humiliation to Iran,' he said. 'They don't have their proxies to insulate them, which they have previously had.' 'These proxies have been significantly degraded, opening the skies directly for Israel to get to Tehran. And as a result of that, where can the IRGC flex? The only place where it can really flex now is the international community to potentially activate sleeper cells and to conduct malign activities at an even greater capacity than it had beforehand.' However, it's unclear how much capability Tehran would retain if Israel manages to end the IRGC's core components and officials. The Israel Defense Force killed IRGC commander Hossein Salami on Friday, though he was later replaced by former Iranian Minister of the Interior, Ahmad Vahidi. 'To what end does it have its ability to activate its sleeper cells or IRGC networks internationally, if the IRGC is command and control has been decapitated? Who gives the orders? Is somebody willing to put themselves on the line to conduct a terrorist activity, if they may not even get paid for it, right?' Seener said. 'I mean, these are all questions.' 'Though perhaps contingency measures have been created where malign activities can go on unaffected,' he added. The feds have foiled several attempts by the Iranian government to conduct assassinations and terror attacks on US soil in recent years. In 2011, Iran's Quds Force recruited, funded and directed an Iranian American man to coordinate a murder-for-hire plot targeting Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US. Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized US citizen, received a 25-year sentence after he contracted men he believed were Mexican drug cartel associates to assassinate the ambassador — by bombing the Saudi embassy in DC and restaurants frequented by the diplomat. Former Bronx resident and Hezbollah 'sleeper' agent Ali Kourani was sentenced to 40 years in 2019 for providing material support to the terror group between 2002 and 2015. Kourani surveilled airports, federal buildings and military facilities on behalf of Hezbollah as part of an attack-planning mission, according to federal prosecutors. In 2022, IRGC member Shahram Poursafi was charged for allegedly attempting to arrange the assassination of former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Poursafi — who remains at large — attempted to hire a hitman for $300,000 to take out Bolton, likely in retaliation for the US killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in a January 2020 airstrike at Baghdad's international airport, according to authorities. Hezbollah would be the most likely Iranian proxy group to engage in terror attacks out of desperation, Brian Carter, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats project, told The Post. 'Iran or Hezbollah could turn to terrorism as a tactic in the coming months because both actors have been so badly weakened and have fewer options,' he said. 'Iran has historically used Hezbollah as a tool for its terror acts, and it is possible Iran could do so again.' Reuel Marc Gerecht, a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that the track record of Iran's overseas operatives demonstrates a lack of competence in their ability to actually carry out attacks. 'The clerical regime has sometimes been persistent; it has never shown much competence or ingenuity,' Gerecht told The Post. 'They might get lucky, of course. But the current generation IRGC intel and intelligence ministry operatives may be the least impressive overseas since the revolution.' Originally published as 'Highly vulnerable' Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may try to activate 'sleeper cells' in the West as Israeli onslaught mounts: expert
