Why these empty seats could lead to arrest warrants for a state premier's staff members
Five senior government staffers could face arrest after failing to appear at an inquiry into an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney's outskirts earlier this year. In a dramatic escalation of an otherwise routine inquiry, the process to arrest the high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley was set in motion on Friday after the quintet declined to appear. Committee chair and independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff James Cullen and four other staffers before approaching upper house president Ben Franklin to seek arrest warrants. Roberts said the president was non-committal when asked to go to the Supreme Court for the warrants, but Franklin had a "very important and very crucial decision". "All along, Labor has tried to stonewall, delay and ridicule this important inquiry," fellow committee member John Ruddick said on social media.
Arrest warrants can be issued to force a witness to attend an inquiry while witnesses who refuse to answer questions can face jail time. NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman said if Minns had directed staff not to appear at the inquiry into controversial protest and hate speech legislation, "that would appear to be a breach of the ministerial code". The protest and speech laws were rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, antisemitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's north-west on 19 January. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dubbed it. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to attend, the staffers said appearing before the inquiry "would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability". Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. "The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament," Roberts said.
Minns attacked the upper house on Thursday for trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries "on a routine basis" as if they were "criminals and under investigation". "And if not, they're under threat of arrest," he said. As members of the lower house, Minns and Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. But staffers can be forced to appear. Another staffer named in the motion, Minns' deputy chief of staff Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee because he was on leave at the time and did not attend meetings. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including at parliamentary hearings and press conferences and during question time.
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